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9. First,
No two children are alike.
The childhood pastime of cutting look alike paper dolls connected to one another in
a row is a skill that is easily acquired. A pair of scissors, properly folded paper and the
small motor skills is all that are necessary. Given time, even a beginner can produce an
assembly line of look-alike figures. If people were like paper dolls, schooling would be
simple, and the results could be absolutely guaranteed. In the real classroom situation,
the teacher meets students who, like the dolls in the row, are connected because of age
and years in school. But when students interact, their individuality comes through. No two
exactly are alike even twins. There is variability found in learners emotional, social, and
physical as well as their intellectual readiness to learn specific concepts or skills. It is very
wrong to expect uniformity in gaining proficiency or success from a group of students.
10.Second,
No two children learn in identical ways.
Always remember that same objectives and activities may appeal to different
students therefore produce different outcomes when used with different students.
In any classroom, there will be students performing below average, there will be
performing above average and exceptional. There will also be students performing
exceptional in one subject but may be performing below average in another.
There will always be students who lag behind in one or the other area of
achievement.
11.Third,
An enriched environment for one student is not necessarily enriched for
another.
Each child is born in a unique life space. His/her potential for development is
influenced not only by his/her potential but of course by the total environment (parents, siblings,
friends, physical environment and social conditions). The hungry child of poverty views the world
with a different set of eyes than the child of wealth. Each is vulnerable to surrounding
opportunities. Book smart and Street smart are not synonyms. One does not prepare a
person for the other.
12.Since we already know these facts, that learners have individual differences, we teachers
must find a way to deal with this. Actually the concept of individual differences calls for an
individualized instruction simply because if you have 50 students, you are dealing with 50
different individuals but of course it is somewhat idealistic for the Philippine educational
system so I rather consider a second option and that is DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION.
We should provide a different instruction; therefore we should differentiate the instruction.
13.How do we differentiate the Instruction?
14.There are 3 ways:
Ways to Differentiate the Instruction:
a. Differentiating the Content/Topic
Content can be described as knowledge, skills and attitudes we want our
students to learn.
-Differentiating content requires that students are pre-tested so the teacher can identify
the students who do not require direct instruction. (This strategy is called compacting the
curriculum).
What does it mean?
It means students who already know the basic can skip the instruction and proceed to
apply the concepts to the task of solving a problem.
They can also work ahead independently some projects (when they cover the content
faster than their peers.)
Students who have some misconceptions, will need more guidance.
THEREFORE AS TEACHERS, WE HAVE TO FIND OUT FIRST WHAT THEY KNOW!
b. Differentiating the Process/Activities
- Differentiating the processes means varying learning activities or strategies to provide
appropriate methods for students to explore the concepts.
Just like in getting to places, it is important to give students alternative or multiple paths
to manipulate the ideas embedded within the concept.
Example:
Students may use graphic organizers, maps, diagrams or charts to display their
comprehension of concepts covered. Varying the complexity of graphic organizer can be
done to cater the different cognitive levels of students.
c. Differentiating the Product
-Differentiating the product means varying the complexity of the product that students
create to demonstrate mastery of the concepts.
Example:
Students with below average level may have reduced performance expectations, while
students above average may be asked to produce work that requires more complex or
more advanced thinking.
Students can also choose what product/output to produce based from their interest (ex.
Kinesthetic, visual, music etc.)
There are many alternative ideas for teachers.
15.Now that you already know the ways that you can differentiate the instruction, let us talk
about how to plan.
Planning is very important since this is somewhat challenging for us especially with the
educational system that we have right now.
Planning for Differentiated Instruction
1. Know your students. The first step in making provisions for individual differences is
knowing your students. Every teacher should try to have the desired knowledge of the
abilities, capacities, interests, attitudes, aptitudes and other personality traits of his pupils
and this knowledge should serve as guidance for the maximum utilization of childrens
potentials.
a. ALL differentiation of learning begins with student assessment.
You can:
Look at student records
Do a pre-test
Survey student interests in topics
Survey student learning styles (ways they prefer to learn) and multiple
intelligences (ways in which they are smart).
In the light of the results derived from various assessments for knowing individual
differences, the students in a class can be divided into groupings such as:
Interest grouping
special needs grouping
team grouping
tutorial grouping
research grouping
full class grouping
Such division can prove beneficial in adjusting instruction.
b. Clarify the concept of fairness with them.
When we say fairness, first, we are talking about a humane environment. We should
provide an atmosphere wherein each learner is accepted and valued as an individual.
Second, Students often get hung up on the idea that it isnt fair for the teacher to have
different expectations for different students. They often feel that all students should be
doing the same thing or else it isnt fair. It is important for the teacher to establish
the fact that each student is a unique individual and has different learning needs. So
therefore, they will be working at different tasks much of the time.
2. Have a repertoire of teaching strategies.
When we say repertoire, it means range/collection. Because students have diverse
learning styles, consider using variety of instructional approaches.
Use teaching strategies that connect with the students learning strategies.
Teachers are like doctors. Teachers must be very good in addressing the needs/interests of
the students.
Match teaching and learning strategies with varied materials. grouping in a class
is usually not effective unless it is accompanied by the use of varied materials suited to
the needs and interests of different groups.
Be flexible. learn to adjust
Take risks. Experience is the best teacher.
Challenge, motivate, and make it meaningful!
Teach this requires the teacher to be consistent in applying the principles of learning,
diagnosis, prescription, and evaluation.
Teach
with a