Online Support for Differentiation

Our students are each unique and each comes with individual needs, learning styles, varied backgrounds, and interests.  To be effective in our classrooms we must differentiate instruction to respect the specific learning needs of each of our young learners.  As Carol Ann Tomlinson puts it, “Differentiation is responsive teaching rather than one size fits all teaching.”  

A website we recommend that is filled with valuable information on this topic is Differentiation Central. Their goal is “to reach every learner every day with differentiated instruction.”  This quality site is filled with podcasts, learning models, tips, and professional materials that will build the skills, strategies, and resourcefulness of educators for students of all ages.

http://differentiationcentral.com/

Here is a quick look at their Differentiation Model:

You can unpack the concepts of this model and learn more by visiting:  http://differentiationcentral.com/DIis.html

Formative assessments are ongoing and are used to direct instruction in the differentiated classroom.  You can find key insights here:  http://www.bestpracticescenter.org/blog/success-student-by-student-our-interview-with-carol-ann-tomlinson

It has been said that teachers in differentiated classrooms are students of their students.  We must keep learning from our students to better meet their needs.