Understanding Differentiation

A Teachers Guide

Sylvia McNamara, Gill Moreton

• Publisher: David Fulton Publishers
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781138161689
• eBook ISBN: 9781136605628
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

In every classroom there are children of many abilities. Managing the curriculum to meet the needs of all of these children can prove to be time consuming and difficult, as both OFSTED inspection and teacher appraisal observations have shown. This book looks at the many ways that teachers can differentiate work for children whilst keeping their work load manageable. It gives lots of imaginative ideas for activities and worksheets, whole lesson plans and many clearly described examples to help teachers to differentiate work more effectively in their own classrooms.

It is a resource book for initial Teacher Training and CPD (Continuing Professional Development); and for senior managers concerned with differentiation either before or after their OFSTED inspection.

Chapter 1 A Model for Differentiation

DOI: 10.4324/9780203390108-1

The ideas in this book are not new. The understanding about how children learn has been identified arid discussed in many other books as a result of teachers and researchers observing children. What we seek to do in this book is to help teachers understand how these insights about children’s learning translate into planning for differentiation. With this purpose we have developed a model for differentiation that has its foundation in the following: Vygotsky’s theory of thought and language; Hart’s (1996) collaborative learning; Bruner’s ideas (1983, 1985, 1986) on scaffolding; Rogers’ (1961) and Egan’s (1982) work on skills training for counselling and effective communication in pairs; Seligman’s (1978) learned helplessness; Craske’s (1988) research on attribution retraining, and Pramling’s (1988) work sharing criteria for success with children; Gipps’ work (1995) on assessment and learning as separate activities; Coopersmith’s (1967) and Burns’ (1982) theory of self esteem and academic success; Topping’s (1988) research on the benefits of peer tutoring, and Gardner’s (1993) thoughts on children’s learning styles.

Whilst these theories have had a profound influence on researchers in the field of education, to the authors’ disappointment we have seen little evidence that the theories have impacted on classroom practice. In order to help teachers to understand and apply these theories we seek both to explain the theories and to demonstrate their relevance to the issue of differentiation. In so doing we have developed a model which combines the effective use of co-operation and collaboration, peer tutoring, group structures that promote talk for learning and open-ended investigations which offer choice in recording their out-comes. This model provides a way of differentiating the curriculum to mixed ability classes whilst supporting children’s independence as learners and enhancing their self-esteem.

The teachers with whom we have worked tell us they recognise that children have different abilities and that they understand the need to differentiate in order to accommodate these different abilities. However, many of these teachers feel overwhelmed and frustrated at the amount of work and relative lack of success they have experienced as a result of struggling to differentiate. For most teachers differentiation is about differentiating the task itself and matching the task to the child’s ability. What many teachers may not have considered is that they need to differentiate not because of different abilities but because children learn in different ways. The view informing the approach taken in this book is that the effects of differentiating the task are often negative so it may be more appropriate to provide choice about how the task is done in order for children to learn in their preferred way. The strategies we offer derive from our belief about the way most children learn most effectively. That is, through talk and collaboration and support.

This book sets out to provide teachers with a model of differentiation and with ways in which the various parts of that model can be adapted to teach the core and foundation subjects of the National Curriculum. It focuses on the skills training that children need so that they can be successful and independent in their learning. It is a model which does away with the dependency that Differentiation by Task often creates. It challenges the notion that differentiation is about accepting different standards and end points from children depending on their ability and argues that this form of Differentiation by Outcome creates low teacher expectations of children. It equally rejects the notion that in order to get all children to the same end point we need to teach them all in exactly the same way. The model sees the current interpretation of the debate about teaching styles as overly simplistic and unhelpfully polarised between child-centred liberals and teacher controlled traditionalists. We have come to describe this model as: ‘There is Another Way’: this way focuses on independent learning, skills training and on separating the learning activity from the assessment activity.

Figure 1.1 The scales diagram.

When considering the current polarised debate in education about whole class teaching or individual work, setting and streaming or mixed ability, and thinking about the way in which we usually teach, the authors envisaged a model to summarise their approach. They saw the debate and their own approach in the shape of a pair of scales with the arguments of the two polarised sides on either side and their way in the middle. This is outlined in Figure 1.1.

The two sides

Progressive approaches	Traditional approaches
(usually associated with child-centred leamine.)
Mixed ability, mixed groups – this usually means that children are seated in mixed ability groups around tables.	Setting and streaming – grouping by ability.
Individual needs: children’s individual reeds are the focus, there is an expectation therefore that children will work at different rates, and produce work of different types and varying quality.	Children must be treated the same and equally, no allowances must be made, there are clear criteria and standards. In some European countries this means that children who fail simply repeat a year.
Children’s prior experiences are the starting point for a lesson. This sometimes means that the curriculum is built around children’s perceived needs, interests and environment. Topic work was an example of this.	The curriculum content is the starting point. The focus is on knowledge that has been prioritised and which all children need to experience.
Differentiation by outcome, where different standards of work are expected from children of different abilities.	Differentiation by task – teachers try to match the task to the ability of the child.
Differentiation by resource. Teachers set up activities in the room and try to ‘extend’ them by having conversations with the most able, and provide ’security’ by explanations for the least able. This creates a need for more adults in the classroom.	Teachers have usually already sorted children into ability groups and may feel that there is no reason to differentiate further. Those who do prepare worksheets and different types of work for different abilities visually use text access techniques to help those with literacy difficulties. This is time consuming.
Relaxed informal atmosphere where children are happy and encouraged to talk but talk will be on-task to teacher and off-task to peers. High achieving children will be interested but not stretched or challenged.	Tight formal structures, children not encouraged to talk. Strict routines, much whole class instruction and teaching. No talk for exploration or deeper understanding. Surface Learning the ‘norm’. In these circumstances talk is likely to be off-task.
Low expectations usually result from the Differentiation by Outcome.	Low standards and ‘refusal’ or alienation can develop in children who are constantly given the ‘easy’ sheet or activity in Differentiation by Task.
Dependency and Learned Helplessness develop because the children are dependent on the teacher for inspiration, organisation of classroom activities and assessment feedback	Learned Helplessness, negative self-belief and low self-esteem are the negative by-products for the children who are in the low ability group or who receive the low ability work. In our experience once children believe they are no good they cannot perform very well and are unable to do the work even if it is carefully matched to their ability level. Refusal to start ‘the work’ unless an adult helps them or nags them to write the date, draw a margin, write the question are examples of Learned Helplessness. (1978)

For both sets of teachers, those on the right and those on the left, variety and differences between children both in terms of ability and learning styles are seen as problems, usually to be resolved by ‘extra resources.’

It is the authors’ experience that children from both ends of the ability range can demonstrate enormous gains in learning if the material is presented in a different way. This happens when children see themselves as being equal in a classroom where difference is encouraged and valued rather than considered abnormal and a cause of extra work for everyone; and when self-belief is positive.

This other way sees variety and difference as an asset. It looks at children’s differences and sees them as interesting forms of potential collaboration, with children providing complementary skills for one another. The resourcing issue is then a straightforward one of class size rather than resources for difference in ability.

The Model for Differentiation

Differentiation is about giving access and entitlement. It should also lead to an end to dependency. A variety of abilities should be seen as an asset and not a problem. The Model for Differentiation is a model based on collaboration between children with different styles and strengths and not on ȧ hierarchy of abilities. Talk is the basis for differentiation, not tasks.

In our Model for Differentiation where talk and collaboration are the key, the teacher:

• structures learning and assessment so that children can learn through talk as well as reading and writing (Differentiation by Classroom Organisation).
• encourages the children to demonstrate their learning through any media they like, hence offering a variety of recording mechanisms (Differentiation by Outcome, Product).
• teaches children to help each other to set and reach targets and teach each other to improve their work through carefully structured peer tutoring (Differentiation by Paired Task).

This model sees an end to matching tasks to children and a beginning means that children are not repeating work that they can already do which is often an unfortunate consequence of focusing on the ‘basics.’

It is through the separation of the learning and assessment that differentiation in this way becomes possible. This method frees up the recording during the learning and enables the child to record in any way they wish – any way that helps them to demonstrate what it ift that they can do. It gets formal reading writing, in the way that is required for assessment purposes, out of the way during the learning process, and paradoxically this has the effect of increasing the amount of reading and writing that goes on in the lesson. This kind of reading and writing is incidental, purposeful and targeted. The amount of spontaneous learning increases enormously.

Figure 1.2 The model of differentiation

This model of differentiation rests on collaboration since each component: outcome, paired task, classroom organisation, either requires or encourages collaboration. The rationale for this collaboration for learning is presented in the next chapter.

Chapter 2 Collaboration: a Model for Learning

DOI: 10.4324/9780203390108-2

In this chapter the following views are presented:

• collaboration leads to deep thinking;
• collaborative learning leads to independence of teacher and support teacher;
• deep thinking motivates all learners including children;
• the way that collaboration leads to deep thin...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• 1 A Model for Differentiation
• 2 Collaboration: a Model for Learning
• 3 Planning and Assessment
• 4 Differentiation by Outcome
• 5 Differentiation by Paired Task
• 6 Differentiation by Classroom Organisation
• Appendix 1
• Appendix 2
• Bibliography