There is a lot of talk about differentiation but less of it actually happening in classrooms. Why? Well, one reason may be that most teachers have students with a variety of academic needs as well as levels of English language proficiency. In planning lessons they probably ask themselves, “How can I possibly meet all these individual needs?” Sometimes whole class teaching without differentiation results.
A one-size-fits-all approach is ineffective in today’s classrooms. But, learning to differentiate comes with challenges.
In our SIOP work, we met a veteran middle school math teacher who probably represents the position of other teachers. At the beginning, he was resistant to learning how to differentiate and believed that all students should “tow the line” and learn — a one size approach. Here’s how his SIOP coach told the story:
I went into a middle school for a meeting and a math teacher stood up at this meeting and said, “Out of my 28 students, I have twelve ELLs and eleven of them are flunking, one has a D.
I replied, “There are a couple of things you can do to help them,” and it kind of changed his look. [She then worked with him and other teachers to make instruction meaningful for their English learners]
I saw him a couple of months ago and I ask him, “How’s it going?” And he said, “You know, you taught me a lot. The main thing I can say is that we weren’t ready for these kids [English learners] and we were doing these kids a disservice…that’s it. We’ve got to be ready. The problem with our school district is that we were not ready.”
This is a big jump for this guy.
This story highlights that even the most resistant teachers can, with the right professional development, learn practices that will help students succeed.
While differentiated instruction may mean different things to different teachers, most agree that it has something to do with providing appropriate instruction for students with diverse needs, strengths, and abilities. The challenge lies in determining what this looks like and how it works. Thorough our SIOP research, we have observed several elements of differentiation that are practical, doable, and effective. These elements include:
How instructional tasks are designed.
- The teacher sets up the class so that a number of tasks occur at once, such as having some students work on computers, others may be writing in their journals, while a third group is working with the teacher.
- Students produce different products, some more scaffolded than others (see example below)
- Pacing of tasks is tailored to student need. Some students may be able to accomplish a task in three steps, while other students may need more modeling and guidance in five or more steps.
- The difficulty of tasks is adjusted. Learning needs to be appropriately complex for all students but the difficulty level may be adjusted. For example, comparing and contrasting the characteristics of land and marine mammals is a complex, higher order task but some students may write words on a Venn diagram while others may write an essay. The same concepts are learned but learning is expressed at different levels of proficiency.
- The amount of material covered varies. Some English learners (and other students, as well), may not be able to independently read an entire chapter with comprehension. However, if the key concepts, critical explanations, and key vocabulary are highlighted, and English learners are expected to only read the highlighted sections, they may cover less material but with greater understanding.
How instructional materials are used. For many students, grade-level texts can be frustrating to try to navigate. Some students may need significant scaffolding such as audible texts or reading with a partner or small group for support. The same applies to other tasks such as conducting experiments, creating a research project, and completing math assignments.
How students are grouped for instruction and practice. In differentiated classrooms, students work with partners, small groups, independently, and as part of the whole class. In order to promote interaction, a component of SIOP, teachers need to consider how they will group students during each lesson, and for what purpose.
- Instructional groups are small groups (approximately 3-7 students), where the teacher is providing instruction. They include reading groups, pre-teaching groups, reteach/review groups, and mini-lessons.
- Interactive groups involve students working on their own while the teacher is working with another small group. They include partners, triad, small groups, discussion circles, cooperative/jigsaw groups, research groups, and centers. For interactive groups to be effective, students must be taught how to participate appropriately, and they should practice the process often.
How teachers provide feedback and ask questions. Higher-performing students generally are on the receiving end of high-order thinking questions; lower-performing students are asked lower-level questions. In differentiated classrooms, teachers ask higher-order questions of all students, and provide helpful, specific feedback, differentiating to account for language proficiency. English learners can address higher order questions when the teacher scaffolds how questions and feedback are worded.
Some examples of differentiation include the following, expressed as language objectives.
| Students will be able to: | ||
| Beginning/Emerging | Intermediate/Expanding | Advanced/Bridging |
| Use simple graphic organizers, maps, tables and timelines to process information. | Construct and present various graphic organizers, maps, tables and timelines to organize ideas and process information. | Construct, interpret and present various graphic organizers, maps, tables, and timelines to organize ideas and process information. |
| Use simple summaries and outlines to identify key information. | Create simple summaries and outlines to detail key information. | Create complete summaries and outlines to process and explore content information. |
| Recognize the need for assistance and begin to use assistance-seeking strategies (teacher, peers, reference sources) | Seek assistance when appropriate using a variety of strategies (teacher, reference sources, question box) | Seek assistance independent from the teacher as needed through a variety of strategies. |
The bottom line is that there are a variety of ways for teachers to differentiate teaching to make sure that English learners receive the instruction they need and to have the opportunity to express their knowledge at their level of language proficiency.
Based on: Echevarria, J. Short, D. & Vogt, M. (2008). Implementing the SIOP Model through Effective Professional Development and Coaching. New York: Pearson.