Option 2: Choose 2 (two) of the hallmarks of differentiation (from the golden ticket) to discuss on your blog. Be certain to choose ONE from hallmarks 1 - 6 and ONE from hallmarks 7 - 12. Explain what you now understand about differentiation because of these two hallmarks. Also explain how differentiation is different from just very, very good teaching where you might find elements of these hallmarks, but where there is no differentiation occurring.
#1 A strong link between assessment and instruction. Assessment and instruction are inseparably connected. The teacher continually assesses student knowledge, understanding and skill in both formal and informal ways, making ongoing adjustments to instructional plans to ensure progression toward individual and group goals. I love this! I think it is so important that teachers plan their instruction with the assessment in mind. It is a waist of time to teach students without knowing where you want to take them. It is so true that assessment and instruction are connected. Without assessing students ongoing understanding of the material being taught teachers would not know where to make adjustments in the lesson for higher student understanding. I think this is where diferentiation comes into play because if teachers are continually assessing their students progress they will know what areas each student may need extra help in.
#2 Respectful and engaging work for all students. Each student is assigned work that looks as inviting and important as the work of his or her classmates. Each student focuses on the essential knowledge, understanding, and skill as determined from the core, by the teacher. Each student is required to think at his or her own highest level in order to complete the work. Drill and wrote repetition do not habitually mark struggling student, and advanced learners are not indicated by habitually reciving all of the engaging tasks, nor do they get "tangential" tasks because of fast finishing or not needing what is being taught. I think there is a lot of information in this one that is important to diferentiated instruction. If a student feels like he is being given work that is "dumbed down" he or she is not going to be motivated to work hard at that assignment. It is so important to treat each student with respect and give them the most essential learning possible. The other day I read in my mathematics book that numbers are really useful in diferentiation. If you are teaching your class about fractions you can simply give each student the appropriate numbers for their skill set. If a student is having a difficult time understanding the concept of fractions, let them work with smaller easier to work with numbers and the students that are grasping the concepts faster, give them numbers that are challenging to them.
Excellent insights on WHY to differentiate, and why to be thoughtful about it. Using different number sets in math is an excellent way to differentiate content for readiness. Just be aware that sometimes it's the process you would want to differentiate... so you would look for different WAYS to use numbers in that case -- maybe the same numbers, and maybe different ones again. 4 points
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