Differentiation

AITSL STANDARDS: 1.5 – Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities

Develop teaching activities that incorporate differentiated strategies to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.

Differentiation

Differentiated teaching is the process of modifying learning for students for a lower or higher academic ability. Teachers often look at data set from classroom assessments, grades from previous years, information from parents and standardised tests to understand whether students need additional support in the classroom.

There are a number of different ways you can differentiated learning for students. In this section of the website, I have focused on differentiated instruction and differentiated learning activities.

Differentiated Instruction

Not all students process information in the same way.

Explaining an activity or concept to students may not be enough for the information to sink in. Some students learn best visually, while others process information better through conversation and social situations

While multiple intelligences may be highly contentious, varying the way students process information keeps the classroom both exciting and broadens the way students experience learning.

Differentiated Learning Activities

Different paths can lead to the same learning outcome.

Some students might need modified learning activities in order to engage with the learning. With minor adjustments to your normal routines, activities can be organised to cast a wider net in the classroom to engage students.

In this section, you will explore a number of different ways that you can differentiate the learning for students. In each section, I outline a problem that you might be experiencing along with a possible solution.