Differentiated

Learning
ANDI HASLINDA BINTI ANDI SIKANDAR
PISMP MATEMATIK JAN 2012

A Fable
One time the animals
had a school. The
curriculum consisted
of running, climbing,
flying and swimming,
and all the animals
took all the subjects.

The duck was good in swimming,

better than his instructor, and
he made passing grades in
flying, but was practically
hopeless in running. He kept
this up until he was only average
in swimming. But, average is
acceptable, so nobody worried
about that but the duck.

The eagle was considered a

problem pupil and was disciplined
severely. He beat all the others to
the top of the tree in the climbing
class, but he had used his own
way of getting there.

The rabbit started out at

the top of his class in
running, but had a nervous
breakdown and had to drop
out of school on account of
so much makeup work in
swimming.

The squirrel led the climbing class, but

his flying teacher made him start his
flying lessons from the ground instead
of the top of the tree, and he developed
charley horses from overexertion at the
takeoff and began getting Cs in
climbing and Ds in running.

The practical prairie dog

apprenticed their offspring to a
badger when the school
authorities refused to add digging
to the curriculum.

At the end of the

year, an eel that
could swim well,
run, climb, and
fly a little was
made
valedictorian.
- Printed in The Instructor, April 1968

Fairness is not
everyone getting the
same thing. It is
everyone getting
what they need.

When I skate, I
go where the
puck is.
Wayne Gretsky

When we teach, we should

go where the student is.

Why Do We Need to
Differentiate?
When a teacher tries to teach
something to the whole entire class
at the same time, chances are, onethird of the kids already know it;
one-third will get it; and the
remaining third wont.

Lillian Katz

Willis, S (November 1993). Teaching Young Children: Educators Seek

Developmental Appropriateness. Curriculum Update, 1-8.

Differentiated Instruction is
NOT
Individualized Instruction
Chaotic
Just another way to provide

homogeneous grouping
Just tailoring the same suit
of clothes

At its most basic level,

differentiation means shaking
up what goes on in the
classroom so that students
have multiple options for
taking in information, making
sense of ideas, and expressing
what they learn.
Tomlinson, C.A. (2001) How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms

Teachers Can Differentiate:

Content

Process

Product

According to Students
Readiness

Interest

Learning
Profile

We know that students learn

better IF
Tasks are a close match for the

skills and understanding of a topic

(readiness)
Tasks ignite curiosity or passion in
a student (interest)
The assignment encourages
students to work in a preferred
manner (learning profile).

How does Interest

Impact Student
Learning?

Primary Consideration:

What is your learning

target?
What must ALL students:
Know
Understand
be able to Do

Learning Target

Students may have different paths to the target.

Student Choice Boards

Enable students to choose learning

activities that are designed by the teacher

Can be used in any subject area and
enhanced with nonlinguistic representation

Fractions Choice Board

Learning Goals: Students will
KNOW:

Fractions show parts of a

whole and can be expressed
numerically.
UNDERSTAND: Fractions represent
equal sized portions or fair shares.
Be able to DO: Use different materials
to demonstrate what the fraction looks
like.
Turville, J. (2007) Differentiating by
Student Interest

Turville, J. (2007)
Differentiating by
Student Interest

Insects Choice Board

Learning Goals: Students will
KNOW:

The characteristics of insects.

UNDERSTAND: Insects have
particular characteristics and parts and
are different from other kinds of bugs.
Be able to DO: Create a product that
demonstrates an understanding of
characteristics that are particular to
insects.
Turville, J. (2007) Differentiating by
Student Interest

Turville, J. (2007) Differentiating by Student Interest

Considerations for Planning a

Differentiated Lesson
Identify the student learning target/s

that ALL students must reach

Decide WHAT you will differentiate:
Decide HOW you will differentiate
and the assessment method you will
use
Determine what assessment method/s
you will use

Creating a Differentiated
Classroom
Start SlowlyBut Start
One subject or one class
Where the need is greatest
Where you feel most comfortable
Deliberately plan to differentiate
Content, Product, or Process
Based on your Students Readiness,
Interest or Learning Preference
Dont Bother Differentiating Fluff

Remember
A teacher in a differentiated
classroom does not classify herself as
someone who already differentiates
instruction. Rather, that teacher is
fully aware that every hour of
teaching, every day in the classroom
can reveal one more way to make the
classroom a better match for its
learners.
Tomlinson, C.A. (2001) How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms

I like this class because theres

always something different going on
all the time. Other classes are like
peanut butter for lunch every single
day. In this class, its like my teacher
really knows how to cook. Its like
she runs a really good restaurant
with a big menu.
~ 7th grader