Anne+Johnson+-+Differentiated+Instruction

Anne Johnson October 26, 2010

Dr. Bea Baaden LIS 620

**Differentiated Instruction**

Differentiated instruction (DI) is a student-centered method of teaching that endeavors to maximize success “by recognizing that students have different ways of learning, different interests, and different ways of responding to instruction” (Diane Ravitch, author of //EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon,// as quoted in [|www.ascd.org], an educational website). It accommodates those differences by identifying the particular strengths, interests and learning profile of each student, and adjusting their lessons accordingly. Differentiation is concept-driven and stresses the study of topics in depth, rather than the rote memorization of facts. Carol Ann Tomlinson, a highly respected leader in the area of DI, states that the methodology “attempts to meet students where they are in the learning process and move them along as quickly and as far as possible in the context of a mixed-ability classroom” (//Education Digest,// 2000). In the classroom, there are “different avenues to acquiring content, to processing or making sense of ideas, and to developing products so that each student can learn” (Tomlinson, 2001). The idea of differentiated instruction is not a new one in education; in the one-room schoolhouse of the past, the teacher had to find a way to meet the needs of students working in a wide range of abilities. In an informative and entertaining journal article from the 1950’s, the author outlines the history of reform efforts aimed at making education more individualized (Washburn, 1953). Based on the research of the time, classrooms were said to contain students whose “Mental Ages” covered at least a four-year spread. From the “Project Method” to “ability grouping,” we read how an evolving understanding of learning and development began to shape educators’ efforts to meet the needs of all students. In chapter 6 of our text (Thomas, 2004), we learned of the “zone of proximal development” as defined by the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (who lived from 1896 – 1934 but whose work is most frequently quoted from a compilation of essays published in 1978), which refers to the “level of potential development” a student may attain when the teacher and the learner are working together on lessons that build upon each other, creating “scaffolds” to learning. DI is a natural outgrowth from the work of Vygotsky, who believed that learners must interact socially with their teacher and their peers in order to reach that zone of proximal development (Thomas, p.107). In a video posted on YouTube entitled “Carol Ann Tomlinson on Critical Transformations,” Dr. Tomlinson remembers a turning point in her career, one which led to her strong belief in the power of DI. She was a fairly new teacher at a middle school, and looked to a particular student to smile and nod during her lessons, taking that as a sign that she was doing her job. When the student ran away from home and the police came looking for clues as to where she could have gone, Dr. Tomlinson was disheartened to realize that she knew absolutely nothing about the student and couldn’t help at all. From that point on, she was determined to put her students first and learn all she could about them. Dr. Tomlinson maintains a website, [|www.diffcentral.com], in conjunction with the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. The website states that “differentiation is responsive teaching rather than one size fits all teaching (Tomlinson, 2005). To put it yet another way, it means that teachers proactively plan varied approaches to what students need to learn, how they will learn it, and/or how they will show what they have learned in order to increase the likelihood that each student will learn as much as he or she can, as efficiently as possible (Tomlinson, 2003).” In order for those varied approaches to be successful, the students (and their unique circumstances) must remain at the center of any lesson plan. There are three main components of DI, which are alluded to in the descriptions above. They are: 1) content; 2) process; and 3) product. __Content__ is what the students need to learn - the curriculum as required by learning standards. Content can be differentiated by level of difficulty within the same unit of study, by providing different sources, and by requiring different results from its interpretation, such as reading for factual information versus patterns or themes (Bush, 2006). __Process__ refers to the manner in which the student learns the content. It can be differentiated using strategies such as journals, graphic organizers, learning centers, etc. Lessons, or “instructional activities,” are flexible, can be tiered, and may take the form of inquiry-based, problem-based or project-based instruction. Flexible grouping is consistently used. The __product__ demonstrates the mastery of the content; it can take the form of tests, evaluations, reports, etc. Assessment is important to DI; it allows the teacher to develop challenging and engaging tasks for each learner, ensuring they are designed based on their best understanding. In a June 2008 article in //Teacher Librarian,// Carol Koechlin and Sandi Zwaan describe a fourth component to DI – __learning environment__. Classroom conditions can set the tone and expectations of learning, and can provide tables for group work or centers, a quiet corner for reading, and a computer or multimedia area. DI has an impact on school librarians in their roles as teachers, instructional partners and information specialists. In the teacher role, the librarian can differentiate __content__ by assembling resources that are meaningful to a range of abilities at varying levels of difficulty in all subject areas such as fiction, nonfiction, periodicals, databases, reference materials and websites. She can introduce students to a wide range of reading genres and develop reading lists and pathfinders to support specific interests, lessons or units. The teacher-librarian also differentiates through __product__ by helping students, and their teachers, design webpages or quests, power-point presentations, posters and web 2.0 applications. She can also encourage growth by helping students with letters, proposals, surveys and blogs. The __process__ component of DI affects the school librarian in her role as instructional partner. She should facilitate an understanding of DI and how it can best be utilized. She can collaborate with the teachers to design and provide scaffolding and assessment tools; resourced-based challenges such as research projects and inventions; information literacy instruction; instructional strategies for interdisciplinary learning; flexible groupings for learning experiences such as discussion groups, blogs and wikis; and assessment tools and strategies that ensure student growth.

http://www.diffcentral.com/model.html As information specialist, the school librarian differentiates through the __learning environment__ she creates in the library. The model of a learning commons is ideal for differentiating instruction. The librarian can arrange spaces for group and individual studying; design virtual library spaces for study and support; and provide students with self-evaluation tools to encourage improvement. She strives to tailor her collection to the needs of her learning community, and attends professional development seminars to stay current with strategies, education databases and websites. Differentiated instruction recognizes students’ varying background knowledge, readiness, language, preferences in learning and interests, and requires their teachers to react accordingly. Students and teachers (including school librarians) are in constant collaboration in order to monitor progress and adjust learning activities as needed. More than just another teaching strategy, differentiation is a way of life in the classroom, and in the school library as well.

Bibliography

Burns, J. (2004). “An Analysis of the Implementation of Differentiated Instruction in a Middle School and High School and the Effects of Implementation on Curriculum Content and Student Achievement.” Doctoral Dissertation. Seton Hall University. Bush, G. (2006). Differentiated Instruction. //School Library Media Activities Monthly// 23:3, 43-45. Harada, V. and Yoshina, J. (2004). //Inquiry Learning through Librarian-Teacher Partnerships.// Washington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing. [] Koechlin, C. and Zwaan, S. (2008). Everyone Wins: Differentiation in the School Library. //Teacher Librarian//. 35:5, 8-13.  Thomas, N. (2004). //Information Literacy and Information Skills Instruction.// Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. Tomlinson, C. (2000) Differentiated instruction: can it work? //The Education Digest.// 65:5, 25-31. .(2001). //How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms// (2nd Ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Vygotsky, L. (1978). //Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes.// Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Washburn, C. (1953). Adjusting the Program to the Child. //Educational Leadership.// December, 138-147. [|www.ascd.org] [|www.youtube.com] //Carol Ann Tomlinson on Critical Transformations.// Retrieved 10/20/10.