Differentiation vs Individualization by Tomlinson 2017
Classrooms, 3rd Edition by Carol Ann Tomlinson
Direct Quote Excerpts: Chapter 1. What Differentiated Instruction Is—and Isn’t
Kids of the same age aren’t all alike when it comes to learning any more than they are alike in terms of size, hobbies, personality, or food preferences. Kids do have many things in common, because they are human beings and because they are all young people, but they also have important differences. What we share makes us human, but how we differ makes us individuals. In a classroom with little or no differentiated instruction, only student similarities seem to take center stage. In a differentiated classroom, commonalities are acknowledged and built upon, and student differences also become important elements in teaching and learning.
At its most basic level, differentiating instruction means “shaking up” what goes on in the classroom so that students have multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and expressing what they learn. In other words, a differentiated classroom provides different avenues to acquiring content, to processing or making sense of ideas, and to developing products so that each student can learn effectively……
Differentiated instruction IS proactive
Differentiated instruction IS more qualitative than quantitative. Many teachers incorrectly assume that differentiating instruction means giving some students more work to do, and others less. …
Differentiated instruction IS rooted in assessment. Teachers who understand that teaching and learning approaches must be a good match for students look for every opportunity to know their students better. They see conversations with individuals, classroom discussions, student work, observation, and formal assessment as ways to keep gaining insight into what works for each learner. What they learn becomes a catalyst for crafting instruction in ways that help every student make the most of his or her potential and talents.
Differentiated instruction IS taking multiple approaches to content, process, and product. In all classrooms, teachers deal with at least three curricular elements: (1) content—input, what students learn; (2) process—how students go about making sense of ideas and information; and (3) product—output, or how students demonstrate what they have learned. These elements are dealt with in depth in Chapters 12, 13, and 14.
By differentiating these three elements, teachers offer different approaches to what students learn, how they learn it, and how they demonstrate what they’ve learned. What the different approaches have in common is that they are crafted to encourage all students’ growth with established learning goals and to attend to pacing and other supports necessary to advance the learning of both the class as a whole and individual learners.
Differentiated instruction IS student centered
Differentiated instruction IS a blend of whole-class, group, and individual instruction.
What Differentiated Instruction Is NOT
Differentiated instruction is NOT “individualized instruction.”
Differentiated instruction is NOT chaotic
Differentiated instruction is NOT just another way to provide homogeneous grouping.
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From another sources–Differentiated Instruction from anotehr source
By Tracey Hall, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, NCAC, Figure Page 2 Adapted from Oaksford, L. & Jones, L. 2001 Differentiated Instruction via CAST-19matek