Teachers Develop Strategies for Diverse Learning Needs

	Teachers Elizabeth Bird, Kim Rilatt and Debra Hatfield review materials at this summer's workshop on differentiated instruction.

The eighth grade class is about to begin its study of the Civil War, which is part of the U.S. history curriculum for that grade level in the West Chester Area School District. But Johnny, a member of the class, already knows most of what is about to be taught, and probably more.

With a father who is a Civil War buff, Johnny has been attending re-enactment encampments since he was a toddler. He’s had many conversations with his father about the history of the period, and he has delighted in his father’s collection of artifacts. He’s read numerous fiction and non-fiction books and has examined old photographs. In fact, before the teacher even begins talking about the Civil War, Johnny can pass the unit test.

What can be done to keep him from being bored and “tuning out” of the classroom discussion? The answer lies in differentiated instruction.

Differentiated instruction isn’t accelerated learning. It doesn’t mean a student skips a lesson or a unit of study. It doesn’t apply to only the gifted child or to children with special needs. It isn’t individualized instruction in the sense of writing a separate, individualized lesson plan for every child.

Rather, differentiated instruction is an approach to teaching that addresses the diverse learning needs of children in a classroom. It enables a teacher to use flexible classroom groupings based on different readiness levels, interests, and learning styles. It changes every day, depending upon the class and lesson being taught: Over a nine-week marking period, a teacher may have the classroom working together the majority of the time but will differentiate some activities and learning strategies depending upon the unique characteristics of students in the class.

In the case of Johnny, differentiated instruction might mean that he and other students who tested out of the unit would be given a project related to researching and learning about the Civil War. That project would enhance and expand upon their knowledge base while keeping them interested and involved in the subject being taught. As an added bonus, they could report back to the class as a whole, so everyone would benefit from what they learned.

"Why should a student have to experience things he already knows and has already mastered, when he could explore something he doesn’t know?” is how Dr. Deborah Sahijwani, supervisor of assessment for the school district puts it.

Dr. Sahijwani has been arranging workshops for teachers on differentiated instruction for the past several years, including two this past summer. So far, approximately 100 teachers have attended the workshops, and far more have been exposed to differentiated instruction through half-day workshops in the schools and through interaction with those who have attended the workshops.

"Differentiated instruction is not a new initiative, because teachers have always been aware their students have different needs. And to some extent, teachers in our district have always practiced differentiated instruction,” Dr. Sahijwani stresses. “But these workshops give teachers a structure whereby they can organize their teaching practice.

"Unless we use differentiated instruction, we will not meet the goals of No Child Left Behind,” she adds. “In differentiated instruction, you are looking at all levels of achievement in your class and moving children along the learning continuum. The teacher who practices this has to analyze the tasks they are asking children to do in the classroom, analyze what each child brings to the tasks, and provide learning opportunities that match.”

"It used to be that you had to do the same thing for every child in every classroom for it to be considered fair,” she also pointed out. “But in differentiated instruction, fair means providing for the diverse learning needs of every child. Fair may be asking a group of children to do one thing in one area and another group to do another thing in another area.”

For teachers who attended this summer’s August workshop, the teaching practices covered were exciting, but challenging as well. Workshop participants peppered Pam Schoessler, presenter from the Intermediate Unit, with questions about classroom time constraints and communicating the concept to students and parents.

"I understand teacher demands,” Dr. Sahijwani said. “It’s a lot more work than what they are already doing. I say that upfront. I suggest that teachers who are new to the process start with one small piece of instruction and build on that. I also tell them to work with other teachers, to find a colleague so they don’t have to do it all by themselves.

"Given the end result, I believe that the benefits far outweigh the work involved.”

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