Great teaching techniques: Differentiation
Written By: Author(s): Tom Sherrington and Sara Stafford
1 min read
What’s the idea?
It’s a common misconception that differentiation is about personalising learning at all times. Rather, it’s a pragmatic process that enables teachers to maximise each student's learning in the long-term.
What does it mean?
Any group of students is ‘mixed ability’ – each learner will progress at different rates with different concepts. This doesn’t mean teachers should reinforce differences by lowering expectations for some students, setting them easier work or giving them more scaffolding support than they need.
As much as possible, learning aims should be the same for all. Day-to-day differentiation is then a process of giving students appropriate levels of feedback, scaffolding and targeted practice to support them in achieving these common learning goals. It’s not about giving different work to each student.
What are the implications for teachers?
Over time, we need to ensure each student is making good progress: some days the higher attainers will need a strong
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This article was published in May 2019 and reflects the terminology and understanding of research and evidence in use at the time. Some terms and conclusions may no longer align with current standards. We encourage readers to approach the content with an understanding of this context.
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