Emeritus Professor Carol Ann Tomlinson:
I think differentiated instruction actually is just teaching with the child in mind. It suggests that we have a responsibility to teach students content, but also that we have to always bear in mind that we teach that content to students, to human beings. That not all students will understand it the same way or in the same length of time or make the same connections, or need the same support system.
Differentiated instruction is a way of thinking about teaching which suggests that we establish very clear learning goals that are very substantial. That we teach with an eye on the student. So that we are constantly trying to ascertain where the student is, relative to where we are going. Then making adjustments as necessary, to make sure that all of the students go with us on the learning journey and arrive at the end where they need to be.
For that reason, differentiation suggests to us that we need to look at those learning goals, ask how we might adjust our teaching in terms of students varied readiness levels, their particular interests and their particular modes of learning, so that learning works. So that it fits for each student in the classroom. We often think about students in a classroom as though the class were just one student. And we speak of them as the students, like the students do not understand this, when in fact it is rare that a particular moment works equally well for all students.
Differentiation asks us to disaggregate ‘the student’ into individual human beings. And to understand what they bring to the classroom in terms of strengths that we can build on and what they bring in terms of needs that we can address, to maximise their possibilities for success.
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