Differentiation and Inclusion Portfolio

Section One:

What does DIFFERENTIATION and INCLUSION 

mean within the classroom?

 Differentiation is a philosophy which provides a framework for how we choose to teach our students. Through the framework of differentiation, we are able to adjust classroom content, process, products and environment (Jarvis, 2014a) to enable students to engage with meaningful learning. The curriculum is enriched by allowing students multiple ways to engage based on their interest, their readiness and their motivation. Differentiation successfully occurs when a student is presented with an appropriate level of challenge, as identified as the Zone of Proximal Development  (Vygotskii, Hanfmann, Vakar & Kozulin, 2012),  to enable them to experience success and growth. Through ongoing assessment, teachers are able to actively respond to the different paths students require, to enable them all to reach the same destination (Jarvis, 2014a).
For those wanting further information, the following graph by Carol Tomlinson and Jane Jarvis (2009) provides the perfect breakdown of differentiation:

Classroom inclusion is the valuing of diversity through the identification and removal of barriers (Ainscow, 2009) to allow equality in learning experiences and outcomes.
An inclusive classroom requires each student to have the opportunity of:
Presence within the classroom.
Participation within activities.
Progress within achievements and learning.
A sense of belonging through an inclusive classroom community.
Within my classroom, I practice inclusion through the equal provision of challenges to students, with the belief that each has the ability (and right) to have opportunities to work their way through these situations. Classroom culture begins with the teacher, and if I can provide a sense of belonging through belief in each students capability to grow and achieve, I expect this will develop an atmosphere of respect and inclusion.

Section Two:

Let me put this information into CONTEXT using a local school's

mission statement as a basis.

The following motto and statements come from a local school within my area.

Motto: "Knowledge is Power"

Vision Statement: All graduates will be lifelong learners with the skills necessary to be successful citizens in a global society.

Mission Statement: To provide our students with quality educational experiences in an environment where they are inspired and skilled to achieve their personal best.

Using only this school's motto and statements, what can we divulge regarding their philosophy in regards to diversity?

I would begin with the mission statement, which focuses on students achieving their personal best. This approach would be valuing diversity by an individualised approach to success, rather than a generic achievement level which every student is expected to attain. 

With global society being the focal point for the vision statement, this demonstrates the value the school places on diversity of people and roles within society and the far-reaching implications of these across the globe. 

Finally, to provide quality educational experiences within an inspiring environment requires the school to offer diverse experiences and approaches to ensure their diverse learners are all inspired and engaged.

Personally reflecting on these statements as a parent, I cannot imagine a situation where I would feel my child could not be included within that which was on offer, no matter my child's diversity. 

Let me get specific! If this school is true to their values,

 what practices might we observe?

In the classroom
Successful citizens	Quality educational experiences	Inspired and skilled	Achieve personal best
Unit focuses on one ‘big idea’, which allows learning to be transferred across contexts.	Variety of fair and appropriate assessment tools used (Tomlinson 2006).	Various opportunities for students to work in their zone of readiness, their interests and their preferred learning style.	Pre-assessment is used to determine students’ current level of knowledge and skills.
Creating a positive learning environment (Jarvis, 2013), where students feel capable of grappling with challenges (Tomlinson, 2003).	Designing clear learning objectives to provide focus (Wiggins & McTighe, 2006).	Providing authentic experiences that students can relate to, connect with prior knowledge and learn from.	Ongoing assessment to determine the pace of development and to inform planning (Jarvis, 2013).
Creating an inclusive classroom through appropriate language and expression, and by encouraging honesty and respectfulness.	Levels of readiness are addressed through a variety of methods (eg: small group instruction, variety of reading materials, summary of materials content provided, adjust lesson pace, equipment, graphic organisers or materials modified) (Jarvis, 2014b)	Building strong teacher-student relationships.	Pushing student a bit beyond their current knowledge to provide achievable challenges (Tomlinson, 2004).
Creating a set of classroom behaviour standards in conjunction with the students.	Flexible grouping.

Beyond the classroom

The school provides adequate SSO support. Organised events to celebrate and experience diverse lifestyles. Continual professional development for staff regarding diversity and inclusion. Creating a community atmosphere by actively involving parents, carers and community members within the school. Providing students with the opportunity for voice and responsibility through student   councils.

Section Three:

A Class In Action!

For this assignment, I was required to watch a video of a real class and observe evidence of differentiation in action. In addition to commenting on the specific principles observed, I will be required to infer on practices not observed and make possible recommendations to enhance the differentiation effectiveness.

The video I selected was a Year 2 class engaged in reading activities. There were numerous aspects of differentiation occurring but for the purpose of clarity and precision, I will focus on two which stood out to me and which I wish to extend with my own ideas.

High Expectations: 

Within the video, the classroom teacher explains that throughout each lesson there are basic expectations for the level of work, that each student is expected to adhere. Although the particular lesson is phonics, all students are still expected to follow grammatical rules such as capital letters and full stops. This idea may not be apparently related to differentiation but I believe it extends to various other principles and ideas which, in turn, directly impact the classroom and how the students participate within that class.
Having higher expectations of the students relates back to my comments regarding inclusion, and the importance of challenging students and having belief in their capabilities to grapple with these challenges.

Not viewed within this video, but practices which would be required for these principles to be applied successfully, would be consistency and clarity within these expectations. This would be developed through prior lessons explicitly teaching and discussing expectations and through teacher knowledge that the expectations were achievable by all students.

Expectations can provide consistency throughout a classroom. Consistency within this video was displayed by utilising the same (or similar) materials throughout the lesson (this idea could be extended throughout the unit). Similar materials were used as teaching tools, prompting tools, within class activities and within group work. Providing consistency in this sense, allows students an opportunity to become acquainted with the materials and feel safer in extending their ideas through these foundational tools. Consistency within the classroom is vital throughout multiple levels, including behaviour and classroom management and building classroom relationships. Practices such as this, which provide consistency, can assist in developing students feelings of safety. Following Maslow's (1954) Hierarchy of Needs theory, feelings of safety is a pre-requisite to achievement and developing a sense of belonging.

Consistency can be extended to practices such as routines in beginning and ending each day, each lesson and each unit. These practices assist in managing time and provides security for students. Consistency in behavioural expectations allows students to take responsibility for their actions and develop their internal locus of control. Relationships can be developed when students feel safe and they receive consistent support.

Finally, consistent expectations require clarity, an important aspect to my developing pedagogy. Within school, there are multiple expectations placed upon students and if we require students to follow and accomplish these expectations, we need to be explicit. This could be practiced through developing the expectation in conjunction with the students, having visual prompts throughout the classroom as reminders and explicitly discussing the expectations and why they have been put in place.
Clarity involves explaining what will happen when expectations are met, or not met. As teachers, we can verbally lay the paths for student to visualize which direction they wish to take. This provides students with a feeling of empowerment and choice when they make the decision regarding which route they wish to take. Again, this builds upon opportunities in developing students' locus of control.

Finally, there will be expectations upon the teacher which must be clearly explained and consistently met to develop trust and model appropriate behaviour.

Student Grouping:

Within the video viewed, the teacher has chosen to seat her student’s at what is termed “mixed ability tables”. This is justified through two different ideas. One idea being that the students still grasping the topic matter will be exposed to a higher level of conversation, and the second idea being that students who have moved beyond will be able to consolidate their ideas as they assist other students.

The seating of students is a significant concept within differentiated classrooms. Every teacher will have various opinions on how this will be decided. Not viewed within this video, but obviously required would be a form of pre-assessment to determine the readiness levels of students. Pre-assessments will reveal those students still grasping the subject matter (lower level of readiness for this topic), and those who are ready to move beyond (higher level of readiness). This information can then be used to determine the seating plan and how the grouping will best support all students.

The teacher within the video seems to focus much of her attention upon the students at lower levels of readiness, students at higher levels of readiness are considered but there is no discussion regarding how these students can be extended, or further challenged.  It can be difficult to give specific examples without knowledge of the precise lesson, but students may be further challenged simply through the use of a question which requires them to think slightly beyond the topic and possibly connecting their ideas within other contexts. Sorting students according to readiness also allows specific support planning for each group. The teacher within this video expects students at a higher level of readiness to ‘choose’ to stop using the supports which are offered to other students at the same table, but this then requires strategies and continual observations to ensure this is occurring.

Differentiation is all about flexibility and this needs to include flexibility within seating. In my opinion, there are times when students need to work alone, in teams and in groups. There are also situations when students’ need to work alongside someone at the same level of readiness, and times when learning can be enhanced through working alongside varied readiness. It is vital to have a reason for this decision, and not merely just to ‘change up’ the class. Considerations have to be made regarding how learning can be supported. What will assist students at lower levels of readiness feel they are equal contributors within this class and how can we avoid simply creating ‘little helpers’ out of students at a higher level of readiness?

The various activities we see within the class are all working within “mixed ability” groups or teams. In some situations, such as a picture and word match up game, this can work well for students to practice their varied skills in an interactive environment. I would suggest one activity within this lesson should be partitioned according to readiness. This allows students at a lower level of readiness to practice their skills together, and receive explicit instruction from the teacher when required. While students at a higher level of readiness will have the opportunity to challenge each other within their strengths and have the activity extended to promote further development.

Finally, let’s recall that differentiation is not only about readiness, but there are multiple ways we can consider grouping students. This may include according to their interests, their learning profiles or by random. What is essential is to consider what we are trying to teach, and how we can group students for each activity in a way which will best support them to learn.

Section Four:

Self Reflection

The topic of differentiation has been a large learning curve, and I understand I am still only here in my understandings.....

I have been able to gain a lot of insight into useful strategies, and this has allowed me to begin a collection of future resources (such as anchor activities, learning menus, rafts, front loading, various exit card ideas and multiple classroom management strategies). This topic has allowed me to see the multiple ways we can differentiate, not only through readiness, but how aspects such as interest and learning profiles play an important role in student engagement, motivation and creating deeper understanding through contextual learning.

The challenges have been precisely that mountain, coming to grips with the large learning curve that differentiation offers as opposed to the generic form of education many have received in the past.

What I have learnt, is that I am not alone in the process, there are support systems and people in place that I can utilise.

Through the examination of a schools mission statement I have been able to consolidate my understanding of the importance in teaching transferable skills. Within a statement, a school is making a promise regarding the life skills they aim to instill. These statements can only be realistically successfully applied through classroom differentiation. A schools aim is to teach students a set of skills which can be transferred into the wider world to allow them to be successful citizens. This requires the foundation of a quality curriculum and clarity within what skills and knowledge we want students to acquire.

I hope through further experience, I will be able to gain further insight into my own individual teaching techniques. I have been able to learn, that my personal key to unlocking differentiation is clarity. Clarity refers to every aspect of the classroom, including clear learning objectives (why we have these objectives and what students need to achieve them) and clarity regarding students’ readiness levels to allow appropriate support levels.  Through some intellectual struggling, I have been able to recognise and accept that differentiation is not the ‘be all and end all’. Some students will require additional support, and this may include new arrivals or students with learning disabilities. Further support may be provided by additional professionals and school-based modifications.

Future professional goals:

1.       Further experience (to practice newly acquired knowledge and skills)

2.       Further experience (to consolidate strategies)

3.       Further experience (to develop new strategies)

4.       Further experience: working with diverse students, such as new arrivals and students with learning disabilities, to enable me to develop the skills required to create future heterogeneous classrooms which attend to diversity within students.

5.       Further experience: Assessing students. The importance of assessment has been realised, as opposed to my previous belief of assessment occurring after learning. My goal is to develop strategies for implementing continual meaningful feedback, guided by formative assessment. As I believe this will enable students’ clarity in understanding their progress in attaining their individual goals. I endeavour to gain experience in developing strategies for students to utilise transferable self assessment skills, as the significance of this skill is a strong belief. 

My personal pedagogy has been developing and I have been able to recognise through this topic, that the pillars of my pedagogy are closely interrelated to the philosophy of differentiation. I am excited to put some of my new found strategies into practice, and continue my learning regarding how to best implement differentiation within diverse classrooms, which will allow all students to access the curriculum and develop their individual passions.

References