Differentiation in diverse settings: a consultants experiences in two similar school districts

School Administrator, August, 2004 by Carol Ann Tomlinson

Several recent studies of a model of differentiation that employs attention to readiness, interest and learning profile also point to positive achievement results for students taught with the model when compared to students not taught by the model.

In the end, however, it is always critical to note there is little magic in a word, including "differentiation." It is the quality of the approach teachers implement that ultimately will tell the tale of student impact, not simply that we can say we do differentiation.

Accessible Resources

To read more about theory and research that support differentiation, consider the following:

* Qualities of Effective Teachers by James Stronge (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) provides a digest of studies that point to promising practices for strong student outcomes. Principles of differentiation are evident throughout the book.

* Chapter 2 in Leadership for Differentiating Schools and Classrooms by Carol Tomlinson and Susan Allan (ASCD) contains a literature review for educators of theory and research that support differentiation as a way of thinking about teaching and learning.

--Carol Ann Tomlinson

RELATED ARTICLE: One district's differentiated horizon.

BY KELLY A. HEDRICK

What if someone proposed a comprehensive definition for differentiation, one that provided a more sophisticated view of curriculum and instruction than most teachers or administrators were aware existed? What if someone suggested a way to align best practices across disciplines to ensure success for all learners beyond the state-mandated minimum standards?

You might think this philosophy would be readily accepted and easily mastered.

Think again.

New Ventures

The first critical step in adopting differentiation as a philosophy of teaching and learning in a K-12 school system is to clearly define it and provide a defensible model for all educators. The Virginia Beach, Va., school district uses Carol Ann Tomlinson's definition and model for differentiation. Tomlinson defines differentiation in the context of education as a teacher reacting responsively to a learner's needs. This definition provides the necessary foundation for establishing a common and purposeful goal, but the shift to differentiation is not so easy.

Defining differentiation in the context of education means that the school district aligns the fields of education (regular, gifted, special, career and technical) with a common purpose and pathway for achievement. With a consistent definition for differentiation, the next step is the selection of a model for translating the philosophy into practice.

Virginia Beach, with its 75,125 students uses Tomlinson's model of adapting content, process, product and learning environment based on student readiness, interest and learning profile. The model is comprehensive in design and complex in implementation.

So what if we adopt a more simplistic definition and a less-sophisticated model and hire one of the hundreds of consultants who claim they can make differentiation "easy." The question becomes, will the simplistic definition or consultant's interpretation make high-quality differentiation accessible to teachers and administrators, or will such watered-down approaches simply enable teachers to use the rhetoric and check the box?