Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
learning. Post this study, it would have been ideal to have three classes involved, however
two teacher/class in year nine consented to participate in the study because it was reaching
the end of term. Two teachers (science and English) agreed to participate in this study and an
overall six students, three from each class. The first stage of this study, teachers and students
activities/learning. Post differentiated activities in class, teachers and students were asked to
Prior to setting the differentiated activities in class, both teachers and myself gathered
and researched through differentiated learning and activities. They chose to create their own
way of implementing the activities used in class. Teacher A (English teacher) decided to
create progressive activities, a number of small activities ranging from low order to higher
order thinking skills, and allowed students to progress at their own pace. Students were
encouraged to ask questions throughout while she went around the class helping students that
Teacher B decided to split her students into groups depending on the level of learning
they are on and created multiple tasks on the board and gave students the option to choose 2
of 5 of those activities to complete as a group. Once the tasks were completed there would be
significantly increased the student’s engagement overall and minimised the disruption to
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 3
learning. Both teachers recognised that students were developing at a higher rate in just a few
lessons. Although teacher A and B noticed the vast improvements in their students learning,
they communicated that differentiated activities have their limitations. Teacher A outlined
that there would need to be more time and effort placed into creating the lessons, and due to
the lack of time she believes she has, this would be an added task. Teacher B outlined that it
is difficult to use differentiated activities in her practical classes due to safety issues with her
students. She also outlined that her concern about covering the syllabus efficiently to prepare
Although they outlined the limitations to differentiated activities, both teachers stated
they will use the time in their end of year holidays to implement this strategy to better support
The results for students post differentiated activities was unanimous, this was very
interesting as the students ranged in cultural and academic diversity. All six students enjoyed
the varying tasks and stated they were able to complete more work than usual due to multiple
tasks. Students in class A outlined that they enjoyed being able to have progressive tasks and
used this a competition between their peers. They found this allowed them to focus more on
the work and minimised the disruption from other students in class. Students from class B
satiated that the choice to choose an activity is what they enjoyed the most, they also outlined
that the benefits of group work helped them understand elements from their peers that they
There were a few limitations to this study, firstly the number of participants that
agreed to be part of this study were eight in total, two teachers and six students. Second
limitation was the amount of time to conduct this study, as there were school holidays
approaching and this limited the time and frequency of the activities. Overall each class had a
total of eight lessons with differentiated activities. Additionally, both teachers did not
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 4
consent, for the privacy of the students, to allow the results of their activities to be viewed by
myself, rather they would give me an overall of their progress prior and post of the
differentiated activities.
In conclusion this study has shown that differentiated activities have a positive impact
on students learning. Students showed higher levels of engagement, lower disruptions in class
and higher academic progress. Although both teachers outlined that there are limitations to
implementing differentiated activities in their lessons, they are now encouraged to implement
Participants
The option to complete the survey was offered to teachers across three schools with
whom I had a working relationship previously. It was asked that the survey be distributed
amongst the three schools to whomever would be willing to participate. A summary of the
respondents can be found in Table 1. Of these participants (𝑁𝑁 = 9), one was a pre-service
teacher completing their second practicum, one participant was a head teacher with 10-20
years’ experience, and seven were classroom teachers with experience ranging from two
The participants of the study were asked to state their beliefs of the effectiveness of
differentiation on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = Not at all to 4 = Essential for learning), and
Always). The participants were also asked about their strategies for modifying assessments
for students that struggle to read or understand the questions being asked of them, and
whether it is fair to write assessments that vary in difficulty despite assessing the same
outcomes, for students that may not be able to demonstrate their understanding of concepts at
Table 1
Key Learning Areas of teacher participants, 𝑁𝑁 = 9
English/ Science/
English History Mathematics Mathematics
Male 1 0 1 0
Female 1 1 4 1
Note. 𝑁𝑁 = number of participants
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 6
Results
All participants were in agreeance that differentiation was exceptional for increasing
students’ academic achievement (𝑀𝑀 = 3.67, 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 = 0.5), with 67% of participants believing
that differentiation is essential for students to learn. When asked whether modifications are
provided for students with learning difficulties to complete their assessments, all participants
needs. One participant claimed to never give the same assessment to all students participating
in the same course, however 44% of the participants reported often giving the same test to all
A main theme that emerged from this study was providing students with a scaffold, or
exemplar responses for assignment type tasks to assist them in their answers was beneficial,
but only if they are within the conditions of the assessment, as set out by the school policies,
or by the NSW Education Standards Authority [NESA]. Further to providing scaffolds, many
responses discussed the teacher providing additional support to the students with specific
learning needs, especially students who may have an Individualised Education Program (IEP)
that may require them to receive additional explanation to understand questions or concepts.
The opinions regarding the fairness of writing multiple assessments were mixed,
however the majority of participants advocated for at least some minor changes to
assessments in order to be equitable for all students. One respondent was completely against
No. If you're teaching a GAT class they need the motivation to work harder. If you're
teaching a mixed ability class which is what happens in most cases, of course some
students are going to achieve higher based on their ability to understand content.
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 7
When making that claim however, the participant also noted that having the same
assessment will help to differentiate a classroom based on student results from each
assessment given to the class. Many of the teachers, however, noted that although it would be
equitable to modify the assessments for the majority of students, that the logistics of that
the appropriate outcomes of assessments included providing additional time and assistance
with a teacher for students that may be struggling to demonstrate their work to an acceptable
standard. Other responses suggested developing questions of varying difficulty that can be
achieved by students at various academic abilities, and a marking rubric that doesn’t over-
reward high achieving students, in order for all students show their understanding of the
Participants
There were four participants to this study. All four of them are teachers with at least
three years of experience from four different subject areas; History, Mathematics, Science
perspectives as possible. All teachers teach in the same boys’ high school in a multicultural
suburb in Western Sydney. 99% of the population of this school is LBOTE (Language
Background Other Than English) because of which the teachers were able to share their
Method
The four teachers were interviewed, after they had signed the consent forms. All
interviews lasted between 12 to 15 minutes. There were five research questions set against 10
interview questions. As the interviews were semi-structured ones, some questions required
further probing (as they elaborated on their opinions with examples), while some questions
Findings
All four teachers felt that only knowing your students as a teacher and understanding
what they need is the right way to approach differentiation in a very diverse school and
teaching context. The Science teacher shared his experience by explaining his pedagogy. He
said that he tries to look up contributions of people of all ethnicities, cultures and religions
when teaching a concept and not just Western scientists. The Mathematics teacher said that
he understands that some students with Chinese backgrounds struggle with certain concepts
because of how numeracy operates in the Chinese culture and being mindful of that helps him
decode certain concepts for them. Similarly, the PDHPE teacher quoted an example where he
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 9
taught about nutrition keeping in mind the religious background of his students; intermittent
pedagogy and an environment for students which is effective. The History teacher
particularly felt that the Department of Education policies were merely tick boxes and rarely
got implemented practically in the classroom. He also felt that all teachers also needed
awareness trainings or workshops as well. The Science and Mathematics teachers, however,
also felt that at the end of the day it was their job to teach the content, regardless of a
student’s ethnic background. While all teachers could benefit from such trainings, ultimately
hard concepts do not change and need to be taught to all students. The teachers also felt that
implemented rigorously.
Not a single teacher, out of the four that were interviewed took into account students’
view on what should be taught. All teachers felt that whatever the content was had to be
taught in all cases (also in consideration with the Department’s policies). However, students’
responses, their interest in a topic was quoted as a driving force behind designing teaching
and learning activities for them, particularly in the case of History and PDHPE.
Category 4: Challenges.
One of the biggest challenges, as quoted by the Science teacher, was that students’
religious backgrounds sometimes came in the way of him teaching certain scientific concepts.
He said that the topics of reproduction and evolution were the biggest challenge for him in
the Year 10 classroom as the Muslim students would feel uncomfortable or even argue at
times. He said that their certain “indoctrinated” ideas in students’ minds that they bring from
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 10
Another challenge for all teachers was student motivation. They felt that
differentiation sometimes becomes irrelevant because students are not motivated to put an
effort in. They quoted the low SES of the school and students’ backgrounds as possible
Lack of time was quoted as he biggest challenge all teachers faced when planning a
differentiated lesson or unit of work. With students from a wide range of learning abilities
and backgrounds, specifically devising culturally and linguistically inclusive teaching and
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Signed Consent Forms - The Importance of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Learners
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 30
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 31
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 32
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 33
Appendix D
Fill out the following rubric for each of your group members:
5 4 3 2 1
Took leadership
role when needed
Contributed ideas
and knowledge
Polite and
respectful to all
members
Completed
individual tasks
Completed tasks
on time
Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.
5 4 3 2 1
Took leadership
role when needed
Contributed ideas
and knowledge
Polite and
respectful to all
members
Completed
individual tasks
Completed tasks
on time
Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 35
Appendix E
Fill out the following rubric for each of your group members:
5 4 3 2 1
Took leadership
role when
needed
Contributed
ideas and
knowledge
Polite and
respectful to all
members
Completed
individual tasks
Completed tasks
on time
Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.
5 4 3 2 1
Took leadership
role when
needed
Contributed
ideas and
knowledge
Polite and
respectful to all
members
Completed
individual tasks
Completed tasks
on time
Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 37
Appendix F
After discussing our findings, I (along with the other group members) planned an intervention
which would not only work for linguistically and culturally diverse learners, students with
varied learning abilities or differentiation within assessment, but also how it could be
practically employed in an Australian school, preferably in Western Sydney.
I conducted my interviews and then analyzed it accordingly. I discussed the findings with my
group members to find out overlapping ideas and opinions, while also pinpointing the areas
where we differed due to the difference in our methodologies.
We worked collaboratively. After we had discussed the findings, we divided the tasks among
us. I synthesized all the literature reviews and provided an overview of my data and findings.
I also commented on what should be mentioned in the findings durin the presentation.
I interacted with them through a whatsapp group, zoom meetings and email.
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 38
Fill out the following rubric for each of your group members:
5 4 3 2 1
Took
leadership
role when
needed
Contributed
ideas and
knowledge
Polite and
respectful to
all members
Completed
individual
tasks
Completed
tasks on time
Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.
5 4 3 2 1
Took
leadership
role when
needed
Contributed
ideas and
knowledge
Polite and
respectful to
all members
Completed
individual
tasks
Completed
tasks on time
Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.