Teaching Methods - Differentiation an Earnest Observer

Teaching Methods - Differentiation

An earnest observer of human beings eventually realizes that there are many types of intelligence and that different people have different skills, needs and knowledge. Differentiation is based on that realization and celebrates it. Abandoning more rigid methods of teaching, Differentiation consciously sets out to discover and use the uniqueness of each student, which can cause valuable critical transformations in teaching and allow teachers to recognize and seize opportunities for teaching individuals.

Definition of Differentiation

Differentiation is a student-centered teaching method that: acknowledges and celebrates the existence of many types of intelligence; examines the age, needs, interests, knowledge, skill level and learning style of each student; tailors well-organized lessons for each student in a qualitative, flexible, dynamic and fluid manner; works toward required educational standards and beyond; and evaluates student performance based on whether the student has mastered the lesson content.

Visual Comparison of Undifferentiated vs. Differentiated Teaching

Undifferentiated, in which the teacher rigidly uses a teaching method with no regard for student individuality

VS.

Differentiated, in which the teacher examines each student's uniqueness, then tailors and "colors" the lessons for each student's needs and skills.

Critical Transformation in Teaching Experience

Tomlinson's realization that she really did not know the student upon whom she relied for affirmation and that it was far more important to understand the students rather than knowing "the theory behind preposition and conjunctions" (Tomlinson, 2010) reminds me of my assumptions about a group of 6-year-old children. At the age of 20 and as a favor to a friend, I prepared a group of 6-year-olds for their Roman Catholic First Communion through 4 one-hour classes. On the last day of class, I was quite proud of how well I had prepared these children, having rethought and taught theology so it could be easily digested by 6-year-old. During the entire 4 weeks, I left a chalice, hosts and altar cloths on my desktop without using them, assuming the children knew about them. At the end of that last class, I was picking up those items and picked up the host first. One of the children asked, "What's that?" I suddenly had the horrible realization that I had prepared the lessons for cardboard cutout children without discovering what these children actually knew and had experienced. I have never forgotten that moment and take great pains to "build bridges between where [students] are and where [I need] them to be" (Tomlinson, Seizing Opportunities, 2010).