mixitupdifferentiation

Making It Doable

From studying the national and international experts (especially Dr. Carol Tomlinson), there seem to be two overall goals of differentiation: maximizing student learning and achievement and increasing student engagement. Hmmm, aren't those two overarching goals that every educator has? Within those two goals, I've separated out three main themes for differentiation, those being:

Providing choice
Pushing students academically a little farther than they're comfortable going
Getting students to think, not just regurgitate information - use those brain cells for all levels of whatever taxonomy of thinking skills you want to embrace (click here to see a differentiation diagram)

Dr. Tomlinson's information in her 1999 book, The Differentiated Classroom - Responding to the Needs of All Learners, talks about "respectful tasks" and differentiating content (the knowledge a student explores and gathers), process (the ways students gather and learn from that knowledge) and product (the way the new learning is assessed) according to learners' readiness, interests, and learner profile." The three bulleted themes above addresses this flowchart in a practical, easy to understand. manner. There is a space for each theme here on the Mixitup website with ideas, links and suggestions for resources.

Hoopeston, Illinois Differentiation Powerpoint