Differentiation fundamentally relies upon the principles of respect and trust and the belief that every individual is capable of learning, being challenged, and achieving success. While Tomlinson (2001) includes respect as a characteristic of effective learning communities in the differentiated learning environment, noting “mutual respect is a must” (p. 22), Hill-Sypnieski and Ferlazzo (2012) state that “the knowledge and trust we develop with individual students can make or break differentiation efforts.” They further note that the philosophy of differentiation embraces the belief that “all students can learn and be productive.” At its most basic level, then, differentiation speaks to the fundamental belief that each of us has value as both an individual and a learner. In this light, engaging with a community of learners appeals to a most basic desire to be accepted for our beliefs, differences, quirks, and similarities…and to accept others for the same.
Although McCarthy (2015) was speaking about our abilities to prepare content, processes, and learning activities when he said “every teacher already has the tools to differentiate in powerful ways for all learners,” when viewed through the definitions offered by Tomlinson (2001) and Hill-Sypnieski (2012), his words hint at a far greater point. As an individual who loves to learn, who craves variety and challenge, who knows both her strengths and weaknesses (to be fair, I’ll divulge neither), and who has survived learning environments (seemingly) designed to discourage students, I have the tools necessary to differentiate for my students. If I base my actions in the belief that each of my students, as individuals who have different backgrounds, interests, and abilities, deserve respect and a safe environment that allows them to reach their highest potential, differentiation will fall into place. I will strive to develop engaging content, I will work to ensure they have choice in process, and I will encourage them to think big in terms of product…because I believe in their value and their ability. While environment is the most intrinsically difficult aspect of differentiation to define (Smith and Throne, 2009), I believe it is the make-or-break factor for the success of differentiation and should guide all of our actions.
As to the question of intervention, I believe it depends on the situation.
To effectively implement differentiation, a teacher must put proper scaffolding in place to ensure students understand the process and, over time, achieve success when supports are slowly removed and learning becomes autonomous (Tomlinson, 2001; Wormeli, 2008). If students did not receive the proper scaffolding or instruction and are struggling in autonomous learning, intervention needs to occur. This does not mean the teacher flies to the rescue the second a student exhibits frustration at challenging content. Our students need to understand that an integral part of learning is the ability to tackle difficult concepts, persevere through the frustration (walking away if necessary), and successfully complete the learning. (Conrad, I’m looking at you and thinking of Heart of Darkness.) Intervention should occur only when learning cannot take place because of some structure or knowledge that is fundamentally missing on the part of the student(s).
Finally, if a classroom environment has become unsafe or unsupportive, intervention should occur immediately. As differentiation fundamentally hinges on respect for others and the importance of an integrated community of learners, anything less cannot be tolerated. Period.
References
Hill-Sypnieski, K. & Ferlazzo, L. (2012, January 17). The five-by-five approach to differentiation success. Education Week Teacher. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2012/01/17/tln_ferlazzo_hull-sypnieski.html
McCarthy, J. (2015, August 28). 3 ways to plan for diverse learners: What teachers do. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-ways-to-plan-john-mccarthy
Smith, G. & Throne, S. (2009). Differentiating instruction with technology in middle school classrooms. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology Education.
Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Wormeli, R. (2008). Interview. Education World. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat223.shtml
I think you hit on a nerve for me when you stated kids should struggle before getting help. One of the most frustrating things I encounter in teaching (Algebra specifically, but any other upper level math content) is the idea that if my students need help, they don’t take the time to struggle with the problem. In my observation, kids don’t take the time to struggle. They give up way before they begin to sweat. This is a mindset that students need to change. I encourage trial and error, and tell students to think about the several ways to solve a problem. It is okay to walk away from a problem, but it needs to be tackled later, with renewed vigor, and sometimes it does take VIGOR. I remember reading about how a math teacher would put up some “random” numbers, or figures, or anything that requires some thought. The question that is posed then is which one of the numbers/figures is out of place? Students are expected to explain why they chose the number/figure. The thing that is unexpected is that there is more than one correct answer! The whole goal of the problem is to get them thinking. We need more of this type of problems in math class.
I ran into the same problem teaching World History; if something couldn’t be done in the immediate, it was “impossible” and they “couldn’t.” As someone who is rather dogged in their perseverance (I once had a friend call me as subtle as a Missouri class battleship when I’m determined to do something ;)), it was a mindset to which I cannot relate. When you contextualize our students, understanding they are digital natives who have, and always have had, the wealth of the world’s information at their fingertips and that they are members of a generation characterized by immediacy and instant gratification, it makes a bit more sense. As Tomlinson (2001) spends a great deal of time discussing the importance of building a culture within the community of learning, I think perhaps perseverance is something we need to incorporate.
I had a bit more luck when I framed historical sources as mysteries to be uncovered; building them as “puzzles” for my students to solve. In math, perhaps talk to them about some of the greatest theorems and how many years they took to develop. Another strategy, outlined by Hill-Sypnieski and Ferlazzo (2012) is the Zeigarnik Effect. This effect, which states “once we start doing something, we tend to want to finish it,” provides insight into our students. Perhaps, in Algebra, you could stage your problem as multi-step solutions where they could experience initial success on the easier first stages which should, as evidenced by research on the Zeigarnik Effect, encourage them to follow through to completion. You might also consider exercising a “phone a friend” option; this is something we’ve applied in our early level nursing programs and seen decent success with. Students are allowed to phone a friend for assistance when stuck, however they are always held accountable for the end result. Finally, I had a Physics teacher who had quite a few timers placed around her room for this very reason. If we encountered a particularly difficult problem, she would have us set the timer for a certain amount of time (5-10 minutes) after which, if we were still struggling, she would help. The caveat to this was that if she saw us not working on or attempting to complete the problem while the timer was running, it was restarted. It didn’t take long before we had all learned we could rely on each other, our textbooks, etc. to complete the problems.
References
Tomlinson, C. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Wormeli, R. (2008). Interview. Education World. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat223.shtml
I think that resilience should be taught as soon as kindergarten. Last year, my first graders were driving me crazy with crying and whining. I felt like I had to do something. I taught them that “Struggling makes us strong. Frustration is fine.” It was not fun or easy, until I brought some technology into it. I used Chibitronics and actually taught resiliency to my students. I believe the will to give up is sometimes taught to students at a young age. All too often people are excited to help a child (tying shoes, zipping coats, giving answers) instead of letting the child try. Many will say it’s faster to help them, but is it more beneficial to the child?
I’m not familiar with Chibitrionics, so I looked it up. I’m curious how you used it to teach them resiliency – sounds like a neat process!
I agree with you Heather, it’s o.k. to let them struggle (provided you know they’ve been taught the way to do things). Too often I find when students run across a tough problem or question, they want the answer presented to them. They are not always fond of thinking. But I know these skills of thinking and problems solving and perseverance will be used well beyond the classroom. Doesn’t always make me the most popular one in the classroom, but I can live with that. 🙂
I’m okay with them not liking me…that said, when you hold them accountable, ensure they have the tools needed to learn, and they know you have their best interest at heart, they end up liking you anyways. 😉