A review of my current differentiation practices

Differentiation!

Is there a bigger buzz word in education now? I think not. However, the thought remains valid. Different students have different needs and should be served differently. It is clear that when it comes to education one size does not in fact fit all.

Recently, I was challenged to examine my current differentiation practices in the classroom. While there are certainly areas for improvement, this activity has reassured me that my classroom practices are geared toward serving students rather than progressing through a curriculum blindly.

Teaching English lends itself to differentiation, as we are given the freedom of pacing instruction in order to achieve fluency in various skills, mostly reading comprehension and writing. Also, one of my colleagues once said, "Teaching writing is really all about teaching how to think logically, and then put those thoughts on paper." With that in mind really whatever we do, as long as it is promoting logical thinking, and getting that on paper, we are achieving our curricular goals. With this in mind I am always willing to diverge into areas of student interest so long as it promotes deeper critical thinking and sharing of those thoughts.

One area that I still see room for improvement would be that often when considering the concept of differentiation, particularly as I see it presented by other teachers, is that it sometimes looks to me, from an outsider's perspective, as a generalized "dumbing down" of the curriculum. I know that this sounds horrible, but there are certain requirements that must be met. We live in a time of standardized measurements of students. These measurements reflect not only on the students, but the teacher, and the department, and the school, and the county, and the state, and the country. If my kids are granted a constant ability to express themselves through an alternate medium, then how will they perform on the 10th Grade Writing Test?

Clearly, I have much to wrestle with over differentiation, but hopefully I will find a way to embrace its many benefits to my students, while maintaining a meaningful balance for skills needed to succeed beyond the classroom walls.