Runninghead:INCORPORATINGDIFFERENTIATIONINTHECLASSROOM

IncorporatingDifferentiationintheClassroom
KatianaMarieCokinos
PrincipiaCollege

Runninghead:INCORPORATINGDIFFERENTIATIONINTHECLASSROOM

AnAmericaneducator,authorandspeaker,CarolAnnTomlinsondefines
differentiationastheconceptofmeetingtheindividualneedsofeachlearner,of
customizinginstructiontohelpstudentslearn.Studentsprocessinformationinallkinds
ofways:spatially,auditory,linguistically,orkinesthetically.Ifateacherteacheshisor
herlessonsinonlyoneofthesetechniques,noteverystudentwillbeabletoprocessthe
materialeffectively.Notwobrainsarethesame,andteacherscannotteachtheirstudents
inaonesizefitsallmethod.Itissoimportantforteacherstounderstandthatweallare
individuallearnerswithdiverselearningneeds;teachingmustbecustomizedtoreach
eachuniquelearner.Astudentmaylearnbestwhilewatchingvideosorlookingat
pictures,butifteacheronlylecturestohisorherclass,thatstudentissetupforfailure
andisultimatelyunfairlytreated.
Ifateacherisntteachinginthewaythatthestudentlearnsbest,thestudentwill
probablyandusuallydoesbegintothinkthatsomethingiswrongwiththem.Albert
Einsteinoncesaid,Everybodysagenius.Butifyoujudgeafishbyitsabilitytoclimba
tree,itwillliveitswholelifebelievethatitisstupid.Somanychildrenrelatetothatfish
andneverfindtheirgiftsintheclassroombecausetheteacherhasnotgiventhemthe
opportunity.AsTomlinsonemphasizes,Differentlearnershavedifferentneeds,andthis
iswhatdifferentiationisallabout(Tomlinson3).Whenastudentconsistentlythinksthat
somethingiswrongwiththem,orthattheyareafailure,thiscanleadtothemdropping
outofschoolinthefuture.Researchprovesthat27.6percentofdropoutsarebecauseof

Runninghead:INCORPORATINGDIFFERENTIATIONINTHECLASSROOM

toomanyfailingclasses(BusinessInsider).Itisignorantforteacherstobelievethatitis
thestudentsresponsibilitytograspinformationifitisonlybeingtaughtinoneway.
Itisoftenintimidatingforteacherstodifferentiatetheirinstructionbecauseofa
fearoflosingcontroloftheirclassroom,butinreality,teacherscantakeadvantageofthis
strategicwayofteachingandgainleadershipandrespectfromtheirstudents.Teachers
mustsetthetoneoftheclassroom,ofauthority,ontheveryfirstday.Theyshouldmake
sureeverystudentunderstandsthateveryminutecountsintheclassroom,andtheyare
theretolearn.Whatifthestudentsdontfeelsafeintheclassroom?Theywouldntbe
abletoopenup,sharetheirideas,andexpressthemselves.Classmustbeorganizedand
orderly.Itisbeneficialforateachertoassignmanydifferenttypesofgroupwork,
whetheritsassignedgroupwork,studentschoosingtheirowngroup,orindividualwork.
Switchingthingsupintheclassroomisimportantsothattherearefewerexpectationsof
thestudentsandtokeeptheclassinteresting.
Ateacherrecognizesthattherearestudentswhoarestrugglingwithnewmaterial.
Howdoestheteacherreachthesestudents?Tomlinsonwritesaboutthethreemost
importantstepsinclude:changingthecontent(whatthestudentsarelearning,)the
process(howthestudentslearn,)andfinallytheproduct(evaluationoflearningtaking
place).Tweakingalessontomakesureeachstudentunderstandsthecontentcanbe
difficult,butitisachievable.Teachersshouldnotadjustthequantityofwork,butthe
natureofit(Tomlinson4).Therewillbestudentswhoaremoreadvancedandstudents
whoneedalittleextrahelp.Itisessentialforteacherstonevergiveuponthestruggling

Runninghead:INCORPORATINGDIFFERENTIATIONINTHECLASSROOM

students,throughmodifyinganassignmentbyallowingthestudenttoskipitordoan
alternateassignment.
Modifyingalessontoaccommodatetodifferentlearnersisineffective.Examples
ofmodificationincludeallowingstudentstoskipanassignmentbecauseitistoo
challengingortooeasyforthem.Especiallyifateacherisgoingeasyonastudent,how
aretheysettingthemupforsuccessifitiscrucialforthestudenttounderstandthe
material?Ifanadvancedlearnerhasmasteredtheskilltheyshouldmoveontothenext
skillinsteadofcontinuingtopracticethesameone.Ifastudentisstrugglingwithaskill,
theyshouldnotmoveontothenextoneuntiltheyhavemasteredit.Differentiationisall
aboutpacingandtakingbabystepsasthestudentbecomesmorecomfortablewiththe
contentheorsheislearning.
Ateachershouldassesslearningwithouttheuseofstandardizedtesting.Frederick
J.Kelly,themanwhoinventedstandardizedtestsevensaid,Thesetestsaretoocrudeto
beused.Howcouldbubblinginanswerseverevaluatesomebodyssuccess?Thereare
somanyalternativeoptions,suchasreflectivewriting,exitcards,groupprojects,
presentations,ect.
Ateachermustbeopentoadjustingthelessonorevenchangingitto
accommodatetotheneedsofthestudents.MyfirstformallessonItaughtduringmy
studentteachinginternshipforMrs.DrostessecondgradeclassatNorthElementary
focusedaroundthetopicofVeteransDay.MyUBDlessonplanwasorganizedand
intentional.Myintentionforthefirstactivitywastoactivateschema.Ipassedoutindex
cards,andwroteaquestionontheboardforthechildrentoanswer.Thequestionwas,

Runninghead:INCORPORATINGDIFFERENTIATIONINTHECLASSROOM

WhatisVeteransDayandwhydowecelebrateit?Thekidswerefrustrated;they
didntunderstandthequestionorwhattowrite.Morethanhalftheclasshadtheirhands
raisedbeggingforhelp.Onestudentstartedcryingbecauseshedidntknowwhat
VeteransDayis.Thiswouldhavebeenthebesttimeformetostoptheactivity,and
adjusttoaclassdiscussion.Thekidsfelttoomuchpressurefromanimmediate
independentactivity,forsomeonaforeigntopic.Lateroninthelesson,wewroteletters
toveteransthankingthemfortheirserviceandwishingthemahappyholiday.Ifailedto
modelasampleletterbeforehavingthekidsstartwriting.Thisactivityalsocausedthem
frustrationwithnotknowingwhattowrite.Ididntthinktoadjusttheactivityatthetime,
becauseIdidntunderstandthelearningneedsofthestudents.Ineededtobemoreopen
mindedandflexibletochangingmylesson.Theoutcomeofmyfirstlessonwasaneye
openertome.IlearnedfrommymistakesandadjustedthetypesofactivitiesIplanned
formysecondlesson,whichturnedouttobeacompletesuccess.
Waysthatteacherscandifferentiateintheirclassroomincludeimplementing
matchingactivities,groupskitperformances,think/pair/sharing,scavengerhunts,gallery
walks,andsomuchmore.I was impressed at the differentiated teaching I
witnessed while visiting the Kipp School. Although the classes were
large, they were often broken up into three groups: one group reading
and reflecting with the lead teacher, another group with the fellow
teacher reviewing vocab or grammar, and another group sitting quietly
at their desks doing activities with the iPads. I am sure that the

Runninghead:INCORPORATINGDIFFERENTIATIONINTHECLASSROOM

teachers broke up the students based on their learning styles and

whatever would fit their needs.
I noticed a lot of differentiation during my internship. Each
student in Mrs. Drostes class has a bucket of books that correspond to
their reading levels. No student is on the same level. The way that Mrs.
Droste assesses each learners reading level is through weekly
examination through listening to each student read to her. She then
decides whether the student is reading to move up a level, or if the
student needs to move down a level. Students who need extra help on
specific subjects work in small groups with Mrs. Pollett, the assistant
teacher, where she is able to work with students one on one.
It is not enough for teachers to differentiate their lessons every
once in a while. Every single lesson that the teacher plans should be
differentiated. Each student must be reached in some way. There have
been too many times in my personal educational experience where the
teacher blames the students for not understanding the material, or
ignores the few students in the room that arent processing the
content. The amount of differentiation embedded into daily activities
can make or break the academic successes of the students.

Runninghead:INCORPORATINGDIFFERENTIATIONINTHECLASSROOM

WorkCited
Tomlinson,C.A.(2001).HowtoDifferentiateInstructioninMixedAbilityClassrooms
(2ndedition).Alexandria,VA:ASCD.
Weller, S. G. (2015, October 01). The most common reasons students
drop out of
high school are heartbreaking. Retrieved December 04, 2016,
from http://www.businessinsider.com/most-common-reasonsstudents-drop-out-of-high-school-2015-10