heart of heartlands lessons

Differentiation is an area close to my heart. As a student growing up with SEN, the need to feel lessons were pitched to suit me was vital for my engagement, enjoyment and ultimately, progression.

This is therefore, why I have spent a long time working on and trying different forms of differentiation and ways of planning to ensure challenge for all, regardless of starting points or targets, and excellent development for all my students,

Differentiation, along with marking, could be seen as the bane of teachers’ lives. With little time and classes with a huge ability range, the task of differentiation can be daunting. Here is what the most recent Ofsted guidance has to say on the matter:

“Inspectors don’t expect work and tasks in all lessons to be tailored to meet the individual needs of students. This is an unrealistic expectation. However, teachers should make sure that all students have opportunities to fulfil their potential, regardless of their starting points or abilities. Inspectors will expect to see evidence of this throughout the course as a whole.”

Ofsted inspections: myths (updated February 2018)

Planning with the end in mind and with the students that you have sat before you, is the key to a successful lesson, and one that students will remember for years to come. However it can go in the opposite direction when, despite hours spent preparing a lesson, it does not turn out go as planned. This can be disheartening for students.

So what’s the secret to success?

This is what I’ve discovered, it’s not about having 6 different versions of the same worksheet, it’s much more about lesson and resource design. Yes, there often will be one other version, perhaps with key terminology or vocabulary that the students might need, or an easier paragraph for them to read. However, are our students resilient and confident enough in their own ability, that they will try and opt-in immediately?

In my planning, have I given students the resources to allow them to access this lesson? You could try setting a flipped home learning so students come armed with some of the knowledge that they will need to access the lesson. Set out the room with a variety of books or chromebooks, with specific websites to use, to challenge independence but guided learning so that time is not wasted.

Are the aims set clearly during the lesson so each student knows what is expected of them? When planning any lesson, the first step is usually the aim. Our landscapes and Personalised Learning Checklists are crucial in ensuring they allow students to do work at a level appropriate to their targets. An easy and quick way to do this without excluding any students, is to have a “stretch” target. The language we use is powerful in communicating our expectations, and I have found that this method allows all students to feel they can “go for it”, rather than the idea that only the “cleverest” students are expected to achieve a certain aim.

What is the classroom environment like? Does cold calling work? Will all students raise their hand and try? Who do you (as a teacher) pick? How much thinking time do you give them? Is it okay to fail and then keep trying? To establish an all-inclusive opt-in culture, it is important you praise the effort and the answer they have given and find a way to use their answer in a positive way, even if it is not what you are looking for at that point. Then you guide them to develop their thinking, either on a different path or deeper process. Students also like to pass on questions to a peer by ‘phoning a friend’ who can help them get the answer. It makes them feel they have still been vital in answering and haven't ‘failed’. This has worked really well in my GCSE PE theory class where there is a range of students. All will try and answer questions. If a student has got a question wrong, I then re-scaffold the question. If they are still unable to answer it, they then have the option to pick a peer, who will answer the question for them. Why do some students immediately respond with ‘I don’t know?’ How do you challenge that to stop the opt-out, to make them feel they can do it, and to make them feel that their answer or their opinion matters.

Is the relationship with each student apparent to them and am I actively discovering their needs and how they like to learn? I fill my class with optimism and determination that I will get all students where they want to be, fill learning with your energy and passion and students can't help but get sucked in!

“Every child is entitled to the promise of a teacher’s optimism, enthusiasm, time, and energy”.

Carol Ann Tomlinson.

Tomlinson states “Becoming an expert at differentiation is a career-long goal. One step at a time, you will get there”. I believe this is so true, a master of any skill is always developing and learning, never think you know it all, you must keep searching and keep studying to enable truly fantastic progress for all students from every background, from whatever starting point. You must take risks, perhaps you will fail, but try again as you expect students to do. Try new things, discover what works for different classes, change the seating plan, try group work and keep groups fluid and not stagnant, so that everyone is constantly on their toes, being challenged and inspired to not just work towards their targets, but to exceed them.

Resources:

http://inservice.ascd.org/10-inspiring-quotations-to-help-you-differentiate-your-instruction/

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-and-skills-inspection-handbook/ofsted-inspections-myths#differentiation

http://teachlikeachampion.com/

http://www.bbcactive.com/BBCActiveIdeasandResources/MethodsofDifferentiationintheClassroom.aspx