Differentiation

With differentiation being the focal point this week, I noticed that differentiation was used specifically when Ms. M was creating the puzzle she was going to use in her class as an activity. Not only did she use different depths of knowledge to tailor the activity for her students, she also used different language and vocabulary to make the material easier to read and comprehend. The use of the puzzle was interesting, too, because it provided the teacher a way to offer different levels of reading to students that might need it without calling to attention the students that might need a lower reading level. As I watched how Ms. M differentiated, and do it well, I tried to think back in my school experience to a teacher that used differentiation. I could not really think of a time where I noticed this, but I think this has more to do with me not looking for it or really knowing that this was something teachers did. I do have experience using differentiation from my after-school program experience. For some students, I didn’t have to change how explained the material, other students required me to change some of the language I used to explain the material, and others had to be walked through the material. For instance, some students would have to have a math problem broken down completely. As educators, it’s so crucial to know that most students are not going to be on the same page. That’s why differentiation is so important.

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