Everyone learns differently. Knowing this, we understand that a one-size-fits-all approach to education doesn’t benefit everyone equally. Instead, teachers can use strategies to differentiate learning so every student can reach their full potential.
Differentiation requires teachers to consider the needs of their class and identify potential barriers to learning, so they can support students in overcoming them. This may sound difficult and time-consuming, but it doesn’t need to be. There are plenty of practical and proactive strategies to differentiate your teaching.
Why is Differentiation Important?
Many benefits come with using differentiated instruction in your classroom. The goal of differentiation is to make learning as effective as possible for all students, considering their individual needs. Building on that idea, here are some of the advantages of using differentiation in the classroom:
It caters to diversity. For example, if you have students in your class with disabilities, it’s important that they feel just as included and supported as everyone else. This may mean providing them with adapted materials, changing the layout of your classroom, and ensuring that everyone can participate in activities.
Students feel more enthusiastic about learning. Every child is unique in their interests and passions. Why not take advantage of that? Differentiation can also mean giving students a sense of agency over what they’re learning. For example, if your class was studying the environment, you could allow them to choose their environmental issue to look at in more detail. Giving students choices in this way helps to foster an enthusiasm for learning and take advantage of their natural curiosity.
It helps decrease disruptive behavior. Students who feel their work is too hard or easy are less likely to engage with it. Sometimes, this may mean channeling their energy into disruptive behavior instead. Effectively differentiating instruction for students is a proactive way of preventing behavior issues caused by boredom, frustration, or under-stimulation.
The bottom line is that all students need to be able to make progress in your classroom. That is why differentiation is important.
How can learning be differentiated in the classroom?
Three aspects of teaching should be considered when using differentiated instruction.
Learning Environment
To differentiate your learning environment, consider whether the organization of your room is beneficial to all students or conducive to learning.
For example, if you have students in your class with mobility issues, it’s important to ensure that your classroom is fully accessible to them. This is always essential for an inclusive classroom. However, the classroom layout is always important and should be set up to support your teaching style.
When choosing the best seating arrangement for your classroom, there are countless factors to consider. Think about where you’d like students to be facing, how much group work you expect students to do and whether you want to organize students according to ability or interest.
Organizing students in this way can make differentiating instruction for small groups easier, as the teacher can circulate and personalize their education among different tables. In addition, arranging your classroom in this way will make it easier to differentiate your materials and instruction.
You might also decide to seat students next to a buddy of a different ability level. Again, this can be a nice way to encourage collaborative learning and foster a supportive atmosphere in the classroom.
It’s also worth considering whether your classroom displays and decorations are conducive to learning. You want to aim for a personalized classroom that makes information accessible and ensures that it doesn’t distract from learning. On the other hand, sometimes excessively colorful or busy displays can cause problems for students who struggle to concentrate, so it’s worth keeping this in mind when setting up your classroom and assigning students seats.
Content
Differentiating your content means adapting your teaching materials so all students can benefit. This could mean providing tailored worksheets for students of different levels of ability, changing them slightly to ensure all students feel supported and challenged.
You could also try and make your teaching materials as accessible as possible, perhaps by including a simple key with challenging vocabulary words at the bottom of texts or using fonts that are easy to read.
Keep in mind that students also absorb information differently. So try to provide students different ways to access information, including texts, videos, images, and audio. This also helps to mix things up and keep learning interesting.
Process
In your daily practice as a teacher, pay close attention to your questioning techniques. Set students up for success by challenging them through the questions you ask, and build their confidence by asking questions they’re equipped to answer. Bloom’s Taxonomy is a good framework when choosing the questions to ask. You can also pose different questions to students of varying ability levels to give students an equal chance of progressing through the material.
You can also differentiate your teaching by providing additional learning tools for students who may benefit from them. For example, dyspraxic students may benefit from using laptops and tablets to do their classwork instead of writing by hand. Colored overlays can also be useful for some dyslexic students to help them during reading activities. Consider simple changes you can make to assist students in their everyday learning.
Differentiating your process would also include asking students what they’d like to focus on in their studies and giving them control over their learning. Occasionally making the time to speak with students individually, set goals and discuss any concerns they have are ways to differentiate your process.
What are some strategies for differentiation?
This blog looks closely at the different strategies teachers can use to differentiate learning. It’s full of useful ideas and is worth a read for teachers just starting to dip their toes into the world of differentiated instruction.
