One size does not fit all!

Кон Македонската верзија

I think that everyone now agrees that teaching in an ex-cathedra manner, pitching the lesson at the ‘average’ student is inefficient and frustrating for many teachers and many students. Different approaches and materials motivate different students; each student wants to accomplish different goals; some have different styles of learning. Despite this, many teachers continue to spend much of their time teaching whole classes in an undifferentiated manner – perhaps because they don’t feel able to change or they don’t know how to or they feel it would involve too much extra work.

Luckily, there is an increasing body of research to help teachers to adapt their teaching, to make incremental changes which do not require them to learn their craft all over again. Tomlinson, a leading expert in differentiated learning, makes a useful distinction. Differentiated instruction is teaching that takes into account students’ learning styles and levels of readiness first, before designing a lesson plan, which typically will then provide diverse approaches for different groups of learners. Personalized learning, on the other hand, implies that the goals, needs and interests of each individual help to shape the manner in which they are taught and they learn.

Both these approaches require teachers to have an up-to-date knowledge of their students – what they do or do not understand already, what they value, how they learn. If classes are big and if there is a wide range of abilities and experiences amongst the students, it is difficult for the teacher to know his/her students well enough and to keep this knowledge up to date. Teachers may need tools or processes to help them get this knowledge. Teachers can be assisted by individual learning plans, where students are invited to specify their interests and preferred styles of learning. Every teacher knows how much can be learned about students from extra-curricular activities such as clubs and sport and informal conversations. However, all these require preparation and time.

Differentiated instruction can be achieved in one or more different ways:

• Differentiated learning objectives – Given that different groups of students have different prior levels of knowledge and understanding, they agree appropriate and differentiated learning objectives and carry out corresponding learning tasks.
• Differentiated process – students share the same goals, but according to their preferred learning styles or situations, they are assigned different materials or learning methods. Differentiated process can also include differential support for groups of students based on their needs – peer support, group work, possibility for individual work, or more or less support from the teacher.
• Differentiated outcomes – different groups of students are set different targets or outcomes according to their learning needs and capabilities. More advanced students can be set more challenging or complex goals. The character of the output – whether a report, a presentation or a model – can be tailored. Students can be assigned to group outputs or can choose their own product.
• Differentiated learning environment – The conditions for optimal learning vary from person to person. Some require quiet and privacy, others work better in a group; some are more productive listening to music, some like sitting in a desk, the others think better while pacing. A teacher should be able to provide flexible classroom with possibility for different arrangements to support as many different learning environments as possible.

While teaching in a VET school some years ago, my most successful approach was combination of differentiated outcomes with personalized learning. I was giving the students the outcome that was appropriate for them, given their existing capability, and guidelines and materials to achieve it. Then I asked them to decide on the personal product that would embody this outcome and their path to reach it. I discussed with them their learning paths and choice of product and then they started to work independently under my supervision. Students liked the freedom of choice, autonomy of work and responsibility for final product/achievement.

Many teachers make regular use of group work in order to get away from an ex-cathedra approach. Students can be grouped together to support one or more of the forms of differentiated instruction listed above. If students with common needs and objectives work together then they can be given the same tasks and materials. On the other hand, if student with different needs and tasks work together then there are opportunities for peer tutoring and for students to acquire a range of key skills. Teachers need to be versatile, re-grouping students in line with learning objectives and experiences.

Project based learning is particularly well suited for group learning. In this case the students have a shared goal but different tasks, so it is natural for them to support one another. In this way, particular students may obtain sustained personalised teaching from group members – something which is virtually impossible for a solitary teacher supporting a class of 25 or more. Project work often makes it possible for groups to take ownership for their learning tasks, making them more responsible, collectively for the learning of all members of the group.

Please share some of your views and experiences in a comment below or in a separate blog post. It is very interesting to read your inputs.

1. How do you get to know your students better so you can tailor your instructions accordingly?
2. Have you tried to differentiate instruction in any of the above ways? Which one was the most successful?
3. What is your experience with using project-based learning with your students?

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