Differentiation for Learning
a Personalised Approach
Prompt:
· What is “differentiation”...? (your thoughts)
To use a more “user friendly” word, perhaps we should consider “personalisation”... as does not everyone have a right to a “personal” experience which is then “differentiated” from everyone else’s experience.
Of course there are core teaching and learning directions and this may only be just a word, but the concept of “Personalised Learning” rather than just “differentiated teaching” makes a difference to how teachers “teach” and how learners “learn...!
Personalised Learning is:
“engaging everyone: pupils/students, parents,
teachers and administrators as partners in learning.”
QU.: “uniformity” – is every student the same?
· do we want to make everyone the same, or just give the same message but just packaged in different ways...?
QU.: are some students “hard to teach”?
· Every child/person is different and learns in different ways, shouldn’t we, as education professionals, be able to deliver something good for EVERY child and be able to reach, teach and give valuable learning opportunities to every child...?
QU.: What is the challenge for students as learners and for us as education professionals?
· It is a fact that students learn from us, or rather from the challenges we give them. We need to ensure that we balance, target and personalise the challenges we present...:
o Too high = frustration, disaffection, disappointment
o Too low = boredom, disruption, disengagement
o Just right = motivation, participation, cooperation
Learning Considerations...:
A. How do Learners Learn...?
"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write,
but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." ? Alvin Toffler
We all learn in different ways... we must, accept and target our personalised leaching/lessons/discussions to how learners learn.
We all have different learning styles and multiple intelligences – which are YOU, which are your students...? A knowledge and understanding of these enables us personalise the learning experiences we provide for our learners.
The challenge...: how can we target what we do to the different learning styles/types...?
B. Verbal and Non-Verbal Discrepancies...?
These represent two very different sets of skills which affect how learners learn.
C. Gender in Learning...?
Does Gender make a difference to how learners learn...?
D. Questioning...?
How do we question our learners in order to stimulate their participation and challenge their thinking..?
Further Considerations
How do we assess learning?
- Should we (do we) allow students the opportunity for their own creative feedback to demonstrate their learning...? Is it not us (pro-teachers) who have the skills to evaluate student learning based on what they demonstrate to us...?
- How would allowing students such personalised feedback opportunities fit in with a standardised criteria/assessment approach...?
- Are written assignments the only way for us to tangibly see student learning and assess achievement..?
We need to create a STIMULATING AND ENGAGING environment for learning which is:
- Creative
- Visual
- Oral
- Personalised
Further Prompts
- How different/similar is this concept to what currently happens at DISV...?
- How much desire is there for change and in what direction...?
- How will all stakeholders choose to adapt and develop...?
Remember: FUN in learning gives RESULTS !
Change is inevitable but progress is optional
