Differentiation
Excerpts from the Approaches to learning and teaching series, courtesy of Cambridge University Press and Cambridge Assessment International Education: cambridge.org/approachestolearning
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What is differentiation?
ADifferentiation is usually presented as a teaching approach where teachers think of learners as individuals and learning as a personalised process. Although precise definitions can vary, typically the core aim of differentiation is viewed as ensuring that all learners, no matter their ability, interest or context, make progress towards their learning intentions. It is about using different approaches and appreciating the differences in learners to help them make progress. Teachers therefore need to be responsive, and willing and able, to adapt their teaching to meet the needs of their learners. There is no one style teachers should adopt. Teachers do not need to differentiate everything for everyone every day; instead, they should select appropriate moments in the instructional sequence to differentiate. In other words, effective differentiation is part of an experienced teacher’s daily lesson plan. It is important that teachers are able to respond to the needs of their learners and use the techniques they deem to be most suitable. It can be difficult to fit in all the syllabus content and support all learners, keeping them engaged in their learning. This is a challenge for teachers the world over. Although there is no single formula that creates a differentiated classroom, when differentiation is in place, opportunities for innovation and ongoing reflection are created that boost teaching and learning in a way which would not be possible in a ‘one size fits all’ lesson. It is clear how much overlap there is between differentiation and Assessment for Learning methodology. Both aim to support all learners to improve their learning, using similar techniques such as questioning, providing feedback and a learner-centred approach. Ongoing assessment in class is fundamental to differentiation; teachers need to see what the learner currently knows or can do, and then work out what the learner needs to know or do next. It is an approach that incorporates a variety of strategies and depends very much on the individual teacher’s school and classroom culture to guide practical implementation and outcomes. Effective differentiation is heavily reliant on teachers being able to respond to each individual and fully understand their needs to best support their next steps. The viability of this will depend on each teacher’s specific context, motivation, obstacles to overcome and training.
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Role of the learner
Understanding individual learners is vital for successful differentiation. In order to be effective, figuring out what the individual already knows or can do is a vital step in the process.
Getting to know learners is, however, more than just finding out what they know. It is also about a broader understanding of learner difference. Learners and their learning can be different for a number of reasons: they may have different levels of interest in the topic; they may have differences in their levels of motivation, their ability to remember information, their confidence, the accuracy of their handwriting, their levels of vocabulary acquisition.
Having knowledge of the individual helps teachers to plan for learning rather than teaching, and ensures that they are always supporting progress. In a differentiated classroom, teachers and learners collaborate in learning and learners have ownership and responsibility. Offering choice can encourage ownership of individual work and learning, creating a learning environment in which learners ‘have no fear’ and apply effort.
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Techniques
Since differentiation aims to support all learners in working towards particular outcomes, it is important to carefully consider what those outcomes are and maintain focus on the overarching learning intention and success criteria. Teachers can then formatively assess against these and gauge learner needs. A shared concept of quality between the learner and teacher is vital for learner progress. This includes both clarity of learning outcome and the use of examples of good work. If learners are aware of what good work
looks like, they are better able to both self- and peer-assess.
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Scaffolding
Scaffolding, a metaphor to describe the process of learning support that enables learners to go beyond what they are initially able to do, can be a key component of successful differentiation. These suggestions include the modelling of work and tasks, use of listening and writing frames, provision of sentence starters and structure guidelines, scaffolded use of questioning and the encouragement of group and pair work.
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Feedback
Feedback is a key tool in helping all learners to make progress in their learning. Good feedback can help move learners towards their learning outcomes, provided learners understand, act upon and learn from it. Feedback should address any misconceptions that are exposed during learner activities.
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Group work
Teachers should employ variety in their classrooms, using a mixture of whole-class instruction, one-to-one work, small group work and peer tutoring. Group work is suggested by many as a good way to differentiate as learners working in groups are able to create knowledge with their peers, help each other to learn, use discussion and apportion tasks based on the relative strengths of the group. A balance needs to be met between the use of group work and teacher instruction. As John Hattie (2008) argues, direct instruction done properly has a greater impact on learning than group work done incorrectly or inappropriately.
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Differentiation support in Cambridge Global English materials Our materials contain frequent opportunities for ongoing assessment in class to help teachers see what the learner currently knows or can do and then work out what the learner needs to know or do next. This will help to identify misconceptions or misunderstandings and guide actions. Through the course of the activities in the resources, we will support differentiation predominantly in the following ways:
There is no single, optimum way to conduct differentiated teaching. However, we can provide a selection of strategies to help teachers to become more confident in their teaching practice.
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