Differentiation is a lot of things...but boring isn't one of them!
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“Differentiation is simply a teacher attending to the learning needs of a particular student or small groups of students, rather than teaching a class as though all individuals in it were basically alike.”
—Carol Ann Tomlinson (2000) |
Differentiation isn't just for the gifted or the slow learners. It won't make grading more difficult. It won't make your classroom unorganized, chaotic, or unstructured. It isn't the latest FAD. It doesn't mean unbalanced workloads for your students. Differentiation won't solve all of your teaching problems...but it will help you better understand your students and how they learn! Most importantly it will help your students SUCCEED!
Even Hollywood understands the need for differentiation in the classroom! Watch this clip to see how Hollywood portrays teachers using DI.
Check out these links for more reading on misconceptions of Differentiated Instruction:
http://dilangley.wikispaces.com/file/view/DI-What+Differentiation+Is+and+Is+Not+.pdf
http://nrichconsulting.com.s130784.gridserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Leader-handout.pdf
http://nrichconsulting.com.s130784.gridserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Leader-handout.pdf