EDUC4720 Kieran Wandel 2168789

Assignment 3
Diversity and Inclusion Portfolio

EDUC4720 Differentiation for Diverse Learners

Kieran Wandel
2168789
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Differentiation and Inclusion:

Differentiation and inclusion in education are critical for the successful future of Australian schools. There
are differing opinions on what differentiated and inclusive education is depending on the school or
educator’s approach to learning, and this has led to debate on what differentiation truly is in the classroom
(Ainscow, 2013; Tomlinson, 2017). Differentiation is the philosophy and process of thinking about teaching
and learning, and incorporating a means of learner-focused instruction that is designed to meet the
individual needs of students (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2018). These needs can include, but are not limited to,
students with physical or mental disabilities, gifted or talented students, EALD students, or students with a
diagnosed learning difficulty. Differentiation is designed to incorporate student interests, readiness, and
learning profiles as a means to meet individual student’s needs while still considering the content,
processes, products and learning environment required
within the context of the classroom. While differentiation
is often targeted at these students it can also assist
mainstream students to achieve greater results in their
learning (Hattie, 2012). Inclusion in education is often
associated with including students with disabilities into
mainstream classrooms, but it extends further than this
and involves the inclusivity of all students into the
learning process, regardless of their learning profiles or
backgrounds (Jarvis, 2015). Differentiation and inclusion
within education are designed to achieve the same result,
Tomlinson, C. (1999)
an education that brings all students into the learning process.

As professional educators it is necessary to consider the implementation of differentiation into an inclusive

classroom setting. Through the implementation of the Australian Curriculum teachers are able to provide
for student diversity by developing teaching and learning programs that take into account student
interests, readiness, goals, and learning needs, as well as cognitive, social, emotional and physical needs
(ACARA, 2019). Educators need to be aware of legislative requirements put in place regarding the inclusion
of various learners such as those found in the Disability
Discrimination Act (1992), Disability Standards for Education (2005),
and the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Education
Strategy (2015). While it can seem like an overwhelming task to
incorporate the needs of numerous students, differentiation
provides a useful way of thinking about student learning to meet
both the personal needs, and rights to education for all students.
Educators are provided with a number of resources for
differentiation depending on the context of their school or classroom. By examining resources such as
those by Tomlinson (2001, 2002), Hattie (2014) and Blackburn (2017) educators are able to develop and
implement differentiated instructional strategies, tasks and assessment like RAFTs, graphic organisers,
scaffolded reading, tiered lesson plans, think-tac-toe, choice boards, grouped tasks and inquiry based
learning tasks to engage student learning at many different levels. Through combining the educators own
teaching pedagogy with the philosophy of differentiation a greater level of educational success can be
accomplished leading to greater results for the students, schools and the nation.
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School Diversity and Inclusion Profile:

The types of student differences teachers commonly address in the classroom.
South Australian public schools can be extremely diverse in nature and have a complex demographic
depending on their location and programs offered for students (Reid, 2017). Aberfoyle Park High School is
one such school, with just over one thousand students of mixed backgrounds including Non-English
Speaking Backgrounds (NESB), Indigenous Australian background students, and a range of low to medium
socioeconomic background students with mixed learning abilities. The 2019 context for the school included
15.77% of students on the School Card scheme for financial assistance towards schooling, 14.62% of
students from a NESB background and 17 Indigenous Australian students enrolled. The school also runs the
IGNITE program for gifted students which makes up nearly 25% of the school’s student cohort. Through
observations of the school and its teachers it is apparent that there are many programs running
simultaneously in any given day. This requires the school to consider a variety of strategies to engage all
students and provide a successful educational environment.

How common student differences in this setting might impact on learning and the classroom
environment.
The differences in this school setting are broad and it is evident
that there was a variety of student backgrounds present within
the average classroom. One year nine classes in particular was
very mixed with a number of EALD students, students of both
lower and higher learning abilities and needs, and a number of
disengaged students. While all the students were wonderful to
work with individually the class culture resulted in negative
impacts on the learning overall and it was generally due to the
range of differences in learning abilities that resulted in some
students opting out of their education, causing disruptions or not challenging themselves. One year ten
classes observed and taught on this placement had a very high level of engagement and had a culture of
success. The students in the class were similarly matched with their abilities; however there were still
students who required support for various barriers like ASD, and reading and writing difficulties. While the
year ten class was different to the year nine cohort, it was apparent over all the classes that the
implementation of a variety of strategies for learning and engagement were required due to the
differences of student backgrounds.

How teachers and other staff typically respond to these differences

Through my observations it was obvious that the teachers had varying ideas on how to manage the student
differences within their classrooms. The school also had a number of strategies that it had in place for
students with learning difficulties. For individual classrooms some of the strategies used included
scaffolded worksheets, tiered assessments, inquiry-based
research tasks focusing on students’ interests, sentence
starters and a variety of multimodal resources for students.
Teachers also utilised the apple products that students had,
uploading resources and information to the school’s
Daymap system for students to access in class and at
home. With regards to the school approach the differences
there were multiple support options for students
depending on their learning difficulties. EALD students
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were often taken out of certain classes to work with the EALD support teacher who provided support to
their learning with the topics being taught. The classes also received a variety of well-structured
differentiation integrated into their assessments which were put in place by the teaching faculty, and
supported by their class teacher. Students also have the ability to engage with a student wellbeing officer
or school councillor if they are having issues with learning, or
social emotional difficulties. The councillor can also provide a
student with a take-5 card which allows them to leave the class
for a ‘cool down’ time. There is also a large emphasis on the
IGNITE program for gifted students and the dedicated
performing arts program for talented students. The
combination of these programs allows for a differentiated
learning approach which meets students’ differences at varying
levels. To support a whole school approach to learning
difficulties the school utilises the Daymap alert system which indicates to staff which students have IEPs or
NEPs and strategies of how to differentiate for, or support that student in their classes. If a teacher
required additional support then they could approach the school learning support officer for assistance on
how to differentiate for a student in their class.

What philosophy and approach to student diversity and inclusion is reflected in the school’s mission or
vision statement, policies, or other published information.
The school’s vision statement found in the 2019 context statement indicates that the school wants to foster
a “Collective commitment to the learning, achievement and well-being of every student to enable them to
develop, acquire and enhance their capabilities for lifelong learning including creative and critical thinking,
independence and effective citizenship”. This demonstrates its commitment to the inclusive education of
every student that is at the school. As part of the school values it indicates that teachers and student
should work collaboratively in safe, supportive, engaging and constructive environments which are
provided by teachers through a differentiated curriculum designed to meet the needs of all students.
Teachers are also required to create flexible learning spaces which facilitate a differentiated learning
environment.

How the philosophy embodied in the mission and vision statement is specifically enacted in practice at
this school
The school enacts its vision statement by encouraging teachers to come together and discuss
differentiation and how they can improve the students. Teachers are provided opportunities for
professional development so that they can better improve their understandings of how their students can
learn. Teachers are also provided with support staff that are able to assist them with implementing
differentiation within the classroom. Every week the faculties come together to continue developing
differentiated unit plans, lesson resources and unit assignments so that teachers are able to get new ideas
on how to assist their students. This continual development amongst the staff is strong in most faculties,
but it is extremely successful amongst the English faculty who are always looking for ways to improve each
time they teach a topic.

To what extent do the classroom and other school practices you observed throughout your professional
experience align with the philosophy, principles and practices of differentiation and inclusion we have
studied this semester.
The alignment of philosophy, principles and practices of differentiation and inclusion are varied between
school and the university teachings. At the school there are a number of different interpretations of what
differentiation is and how it should be implemented. There are a number of teachers under the impression
that it’s about making the learning easier for a student so that they are able to achieve. Some also believe
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that students need individual or modified tasks that end up differing from the original task or assessment to
a moderate extent. I feel as though the school can improve further with differentiation over all faculties
because while the English faculty were developing differentiated learning material, the HaSS faculty were
very behind in its thinking of differentiation as a teaching philosophy. I believe this will change in the near
future though as a new faculty coordinator comes in.

Professional Reflections:
What differentiated strategies did you try to implement during your professional teaching experience?
Did you have a chance to implement one or more of your assignments?
Throughout the placement I implemented a variety of differentiated teaching strategies within all the
classes that I taught. Some of the differentiated strategies that I utilised were:

Entry and Exits Cards Think-Pair-Shares

Scaffolds for higher learning “Teaching Up” Inquiry learning task based on interests and
readiness
Differentiated rubrics Scaffolded assignment templates

Tiered assessments Multimodal resources

Vocabulary and metalanguage lists Interest based assessment task

Ultimately I had intentions of trying a larger variety of differentiation but time proved to be the factor with
placement as I could not get resources prepared in time for certain tasks to really be implemented to a high
degree. The differentiated strategies that were implemented worked very well and the students really
enjoyed them. I did not get to implement assignments that were designed by me but I did get to implement
differentiated assignments that had been designed by the English faculty to be used for each English topic. I
did however get to implement various levels of scaffolding to assist student learning where the
differentiated assignment still did not assist the needs of all students. Further to this I also helped develop
the next assignment which will be implemented later in term 3 of this year.

What worked well? What factors (personal or environmental) helped you to differentiate effectively?
All of the differentiated strategies worked well as I chose not to implement half planned strategies. The one
that I received the most direct positive comments about from student was the entry and exit cards. The
feedback from students was almost immediate after implemented in class and most students in this class
commented that it allowed them to ask questions that they were not otherwise confident to ask in front of
their peers and to give feedback on their learning and readiness to proceed. The exit cards were
established in a way that allowed them to ask questions regarding the tasks, the content, and give feedback
on the way thing were being taught to them at that point in the topic. It also allowed students to give a
rating from 1 to 10 of how confident they were with the task and their understanding. These exit cards
were then followed up ready for the next lessons and questions would be answered as a class to clear up
confusion or determine how to proceed. The biggest factor that helped me differentiate for the students
was that I constantly checked up on their progress, and built a relationship for learning and taking on their
interests. By constantly talking to students 1 on 1 I was able to learn their strengths, weaknesses and
interests. I was also able to better tailor my teaching methodology based on the student’s immediate
feedback. One of my classes was already used to in-depth differentiation and knew the benefits of
interacting with the tasks, and how to seek assistance if they needed it.

What factors (personal or environmental) made it challenging to differentiate?

One of the key factors that made it challenging to differentiate was the lack of time available for planning
as there were a number of tasks to complete each teaching day and limited time outside of school. Some
students also refused to engage with any learning material, even material specifically tailored to them,
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their needs and interests. These students saw education as a waste of their time and took no interest in
even attempting the tasks and preferred to be disruptive towards the class environment or their immediate
peers. These students often drew in students who were engaged or those that had learning difficulties. The
classrooms were also very restrictive in terms of layout and it was often very difficult to change basic things
such as positioning of tables, and getting students to engage with a television that is positioned poorly in
the classroom.

Thinking critically, how can you improve your teaching practice with diverse learners for your next
experience? What goals do you still have for yourself?
The biggest area for improvement for my teaching practice with diverse learners is to broaden my
understanding of specific differentiation strategies so that I can differentiate more efficiently for students.
While I possess an detailed understanding of differentiation as a teaching philosophy, and have knowledge
of teaching strategies which assist with differentiation, I feel as though I still have much more to learn.
Ultimately my goals for my early teaching career would be to learn more strategies and keep practicing
these skills. My major goal would be to lead a successfully differentiated and inclusive classroom from
beginning to end in a school year and be able to achieve high results for my students.
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References:

Aberfoyle Park High School (2019) School Context Statement. Available from:
http://intra.aphs.sa.edu.au/web/sites/default/files/2019%20School%20Context%20Statement.pdf

ACARA. (2019). Student diversity. Retrieved from

https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/resources/student-diversity/. Date accessed 29 June 2019.

Ainscow, M. (2013). Making sense of inclusive education. Trinity Education Papers, 2(2), 2–11

Australian Government (1992). Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

Australian Government (2005). Disability Standards for Education 2005.

Australian Government (2015). National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Education Strategy 2015

Barbara R. Blackburn author. (2017). Rigor and Differentiation in the Classroom : Tools and Strategies. New
York : Routledge.

Carol A. Tomlinson. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria:

Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. Oxon: Routledge.

Hattie, J., & Hattie, J. (2014). Analysing your students’ style of learning. In Visible learning and the science of
how we learn (pp. 176–186). Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge

Jarvis, J. (2015) Inclusive classrooms and differentiation in learning to teach in the secondary school.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 154-172

Reid, A (2017) Public Education in South Australia. Adelaide: Public Education Advisory Committee.

Sousa, D. A., & Tomlinson, C. A. (2018). Differentiation and the brain : How neuroscience supports the
learner-friendly classroom (use brain-based learning and neuroeducation to differentiate instruction).
Bloomington: ASCD, pp.7-18.

Tomlinson, C. (2017). How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms. 3rd ed.
Alexandria: ASCD, pp.1-12.

Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Tomlinson, C. A., & Eidson, C. C. (2002). Differentiation in Practice : A Resource Guide for Differentiating
Curriculum, Grades 5-9. Alexandria: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.