The Differentiation Jigsaw

'No, no that's definitely not differentiation'
'I disagree, I think that when a teacher........'

I look around the room and there are 6 teachers huddled over desks on a hot Thursday lunchtime. The activity revolves around sentences which have to be placed in Yes/No columns, divided by whether the meaning reflects differentiation or not. The conversation is constant as the teachers challenge themselves and each other as they make the decisions.

As facilitator, I pick out some of the more contentious of the statements and when each group has finished we pick them to pieces. Not all we agree with, some are open to interpretation, but the teacher talk is vibrant and energetic. The sentences are currently up in the staffroom.

3 weeks ago when I started preparing for the first differentiation session I thought it was going to be a breeze. 'I'll do a bit of this and a bit of that and we'll all be happy and ready to move onto something else.' I was terribly wrong. From my own teaching perspective, I thought that I pretty much had differentiation down pat - and I am happy to wear on my sleeve that I don't even know the half of it. I have spent hours reading and researching different theories, techniques and descriptions of the 'D' word and I am just beginning to put a logical picture together in my mind of the entire spectrum that differentiation embraces.

The flow chart that the group were working on and discussing is embedded below:

This provided the framework for us to look in  more detail at what the term 'differentiation' actually means to us as teachers.

In Session 2 we looked specifically at breaking down the flow chart. What does the terminology actually mean? Do we use any of it? There were a few that had us stumped - 'RAFT', complex instruction, 4MAT to name the key ones. We were also unsure of the difference between Affect and Learning Environment. If anyone can shed light, please share! 

The group ended by beginning to develop a flow chart to use as a practical guide for teachers. Where do we begin in the process of differentiation? In the classroom? At the planning stage? If at the planning stage, which planning stage? How can we use assessment as a guide to differentiation?

We shall work on this chart over the next few weeks to attempt to simplify and provide a simple structure for teachers to be able to use as planning/assessment (and therefore) differentiation tool.

During the intervening week teachers are looking at how they are currently using differentiation techniques in their classroom/lessons - feedback on Thursday lunchtime, March 8th. As facilitator, I shall also be coming around and asking how and if the team are managing to incorporate differentiation into their daily lessons.

I have also had a request to share some of the websites that I have been using as a basis for these training sessions. Can I encourage you all to open a Diigo account, if you do not already have one: www.diigo.com 

This site offers an easy method of bookmarking and sharing sites - I will help anyone on Thursday and then shall show you how to join my group which has all of the sites that I visit in terms of this professional development.

Thanks everyone for your continued enthusiasm,

Helena