post 6

Starting with a good unit is the starting point of differentiation. You need absolute clarity of what you want the students to learn and why to have true differentiation. These are sometimes called essential understandings. Starting with the advanced learners and then Tiering for the lower students would be the next step in planning for differentiation. This can also be done the other way around starting with the lower students.

The students need to have a sense of community in the classroom for it to all work. They need to be able to trust each other to learn. They all need to feel safe and secure in their surroundings. Students will not want to share their ideas if they do not trust their group members. Growth is what should be focused on not who is the smartest one. The students need to learn how to help each other not just rely on the teacher. It should be a team effort. To me, this is the or one of the most important parts of having a differentiated classroom.

Flexible grouping and having different tasks assigned and/or chosen also helps a lot with differentiation. This can mean that some groups are student lead or teacher lead. Teachers should differentiate the content or process. Teachers should also differentiate for readiness, interest, and learning profile. All of the tasks should seem just as important and fun as any of the others because you really don't want anybody to feel left out or that the assignment is unfair.  

Continuous assessments are necessary to show what the students need to learn. This can be informal or formal assessment. A short pre-assessment can really tell you where the students need to be grouped and what they still need to learn. exit cards also help the teacher to know what the students know. A 3-2-1- summary is an example. This is where the students write three things they learned during the activity or lesson. I really like the idea of exit cards because it is good for those students who do not usually voice their opinions or learning and every students participates and shows what they have learned.