Differentiated Instruction Tricia Pawlik-York Post University Edu605

Introduction Tricia Pawlik-York is currently the Workforce and Program Improvement Coach for Vermont Afterschool Incorporated. She has over 25 years of experience in education, and in the afterschool field, mentoring, coaching and providing direct service to children and families. Level of expertise: Journey(wo)man! Tricia is always open to learning new strategies and ideas, as she travels the state visiting programs. While she has a strong background in implementing instructional strategies to meet the needs of diverse learners within varied learning contexts, she still considers herself a lifetime learner. Examples of expertise: providing a differentiated curriculum to after school students, differentiating workshop content and delivery for after school professionals, coaching after school professionals on how to differentiate content, process, and product with their instructional strategies.

Topic for Exploration: Differentiated Instruction in the afterschool setting Each individual's learning path is unique, and therefore a "one size fits all" curriculum is not effective. Educators must create a learning environment that supports differentiated learning for various types of learners. In the after school setting, staff have ample opportunities to differentiate the content, process, and products in our teaching to meet the needs of each individual student. Teachers who differentiate instruction should focus on their role as coach or mentor, give students as much responsibility for learning as they can handle, and teach them to handle a little more (Tomlinson, 2001).

Why use differentiated instruction? Why have I chosen this topic? Research shows positive results for full implementation of differentiated instruction in mixed-ability classrooms (Rock, Gregg, Ellis, & Gable, 2008). When we differentiated our teaching in the classroom or the after school program environment, we help each child capitalize on strengths (Sternberg & Li-Fang, 2005). I have chosen this topic as I believe it is vital for students to be directly involved in their own learning, and when we differentiate our instruction students are more motivated and successful. Additional knowledge on this topic will provide me more with more expertise, and allow me to be more effective when I coach and mentor professionals in the field.

Key Points of Learning about differentiated instruction Know your students! Take the time to understand their learning profile- strengths, interests, challenges, and preferred learning styles. Have a toolkit of differentiation strategies to use in your classroom/program (Tomlinson, 2001): Flexible grouping Jigsaw Choice boards Tiered activities Be open and prepared to adjust your content, process and products for children in your program based on their readiness and interest. Ask many open-ended questions to invite the students to think creatively and critically. Use various approaches to reach all of your students!

The Learning Journey Learning is a life long journey. Through professional experiences, research, readings and discussions with peers I have learned the following about differentiated instruction: Differentiated instruction is a method of designing and delivering instruction to best reach each student. Teachers who practice differentiation in the classroom/after school program: Design lessons based on students’ learning styles. Group students by shared interest, topic or ability for assignments. Assess students’ learning using formative assessment. Manage the classroom to create a safe and supportive environment. Continually assess and adjust lesson content to meet students’ needs (Weselby, 2017)

Differentiating through Content, Process and Product Content: Differentiating content includes using various delivery formats such as video, readings, lectures, or audio. Students may have opportunities to choose their content focus based on interests (McCarthy, 2015). Process: Each student has a preferred learning style, and successful differentiation includes delivering the material to each style: visual, auditory and kinesthetic and through words (Weselby, 2017). Product: Product differentiation is probably the most common form of differentiation. Teachers give choices where students pick from formats. Students propose their own designs. (McCarthy, 2015) Staff may assign students to complete activities that show mastery of concept in a way the student prefers, based on learning style.

Final Thoughts Differentiation is a teacher reacting responsively to a learner’s needs (Tomlinson and Allen, 2000). When we are able to give students choices about how they learn and who they learn with, they are more motivated and engaged.   As Tomlinson and Moon (2013) state, "in a differentiated classroom, the teacher’s aim is to make the classroom work for each student.  Thus the teacher is attuned to the students’ various needs and responds to ensure that the needs are met” (p. 4).   All children have the capacity to learn! Educators need to find the best method that works for each individual child, and rely on the student to give you the road map!

Evaluation and Self-Reflection As I reflect on this class so far, and this presentation, I am struck by how much I have learned in this class. I felt I had a strong base of knowledge for differentiated instruction, but there really is so much to learn around this topic. My strengths were around using learning profiles, giving children choices, and asking open ended questions to spark student’s critical thinking. I have gained more knowledge around various concrete strategies and identifying means to differentiate lessons by readiness.  What I would do differently, and begin doing, is putting this knowledge into practice immediately. I would like to start using some of the strategies I have learned, specifically with my adult learners in my workshops and trainings. Self-reflection is so important for teachers (as well as students), as it gives us a chance to rethink our approaches and make changes that will benefit our students.

References: McCarthy, J. (2015). 3 Ways to Plan for Diverse Learners: What Teachers Do. Differentiated Instruction. Edutopia. Retrieved from: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-ways-to-plan-john- mccarthy Rock, M., Gregg, M., Ellis, E., & Gable, R. A. (2008). REACH: A framework for differentiating classroom instruction. Preventing School Failure, 52(2), 31–47. Sternberg, R. J., & Li-Fang, Z. (2005). Styles of thinking as a basis of differentiated instruction. Theory Into Practice, 44(3), 245–253.  Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-ability Classrooms. Alexandria, Va: Assoc. for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Tomlinson, C. A., & Allan, S. D. (2000). Leadership for Differentiating Schools & Classrooms. Alexandria, Va: Assoc. for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Weselby, C. (2017). What is Differentiated Instruction? Examples of How to Differentiate Instruction in the Classroom. Concordia University. Retrieved from: http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching- strategies/examples-of- differentiated-instruction/