There are 22 students in your class.
Some sit still and listen. Others doodle, tap their desktops, or talk to their neighbors. One boy is in and out of his seat, looking out the window, checking out something on a bookshelf, or simply changing positions. Some students pay more attention when you write and draw on the whiteboard; others when you talk, move around the room and use gestures. Some learn more by reading, but they read at different levels. 一个小女孩很聪明，但似乎只有在一对一的情况下才能吸收知识.
All these children need to learn the same material. What’s a teacher to do?
This is Differentiation:
你班上的每个人都有不同的学习方式. It makes sense in a vast, we-are-all-individuals way, 但当你想把一个概念一次性传达给全班学生时，它通常会成为一种障碍. 再加上你可能有患有ADHD或有特殊需求的学生, that some students may not be English-proficient, and that others may come from a difficult home situation, and you have a classroom filled with challenges. Daily.
“Teachers in differentiated classes use time flexibly, call upon a range of instructional strategies, 并与学生成为伙伴，这样学习内容和学习环境都能形成，以支持学习者和学习,” writes Carol Ann Tomlinson, professor and author of 差异化课堂:回应所有学习者的需求(监督及课程发展协会，第二版). “They do not force-fit learners into a standard mold; these teachers are students of their students. They are diagnosticians, 根据他们的内容知识和他们对学生在掌握关键内容方面进展的新理解，规定最好的指导.” Tomlinson’s career includes 21 years as a public school teacher; she was Virginia’s Teacher of the Year in 1974.
Everyone Learns in Unique Ways
理解学生有不同的学习方式是科学的一部分, part common sense; the term simply means that each student approaches, 以对他或她的大脑最有意义的方式接收和分类信息. Among the most prominent documented learning styles are:
- Visual (spatial): A student most responds to pictures or visual images
- Aural (auditory-musical): A student most responds to sound and music
- Verbal (语言学):学生对文字(包括书面和口头)反应最大
- Physical (动觉):学生通过身体、手和触摸做出最大的反应
- Logical (数学):学生通常通过推理和系统来做出反应
- Social (interpersonal): A student most responds to learning in groups
- Solitary (内在):学生对学习的反应大多是自己的.
大多数教育者都认为，差异化教学可以极大地帮助学生取得成功,” writes Lina Raffaelli for Edutopia, “但好的差异化需要仔细的计划，以确保所有能力的学生都参与进来。, 当老师们的时间已经很紧张时，这可能是一个挑战.”
What Do I Do In the Classroom?
所以这是否意味着一个教学计划必须以几种不同的方式呈现? Yes, and no. 这意味着一个成功的老师会注意到学生的不同学习风格，并将有助于不同学生获得材料的各个方面结合起来. 不同的阅读理解问题可以涵盖一本书的不同方面. 作业可以根据学生的表现进行调整，变得更难或更容易. 学生可以根据优点和缺点分组，一起学习材料.
Teachers offered the following strategies:
- Use student surveys: Survey students on their interests and hobbies. 你可以把主题和一些主题联系起来——数学和体育统计, history with food and culture. 有了正确的问题，你的学生的答案可以帮助你把他们分成学习小组.
- Create project-based learning: 当成功是基于结果而不是基于过程时, students can move at their own pace.
- Stimulate the senses: 一门学科是否可以同时包含多种意义? Can it be visual, auditory and kinesthetic?
- Use time in your favor: By adding “extension” tasks onto an assignment for quicker students, those who complete work more slowly will have the time they need.
- Give students a choice: 如果有多种方法来完成任务和达到目标, students will respond by picking the paths that most appeal to them.
- Pick your priorities: Focus. 老师斯科特·甘德森说:“我的答案是，不要试图涵盖所有内容。. “选择你的课程的基本标准，从多个角度，通过引人入胜的活动和适当的实践，狠狠地打击他们. 期望所有学生掌握核心材料，但要合理. 这对我来说是差异化的核心:适当地、吸引人地挑战每一个学生.”
“Differentiation” has only been a formal education term for a couple of decades; teachers have naturally looked for ways to teach students of varying skill levels and aptitudes since schools first began. 但在一个标准化测试和核心概念学习至关重要的时代, 吸引不同学生最有效的学习方法是有意义的.
“There is no single “right way” to create an effectively differentiated classroom; teachers craft responsive learning places in ways that match their own personality and approach to teaching,” Tomlinson writes.
Dominican University understands this.
“课堂管理是教师面临的最大挑战之一. Teachers enrolled in our classroom management courses 能期望对他们的教学风格有更深入的了解，这是迈向成功的一步吗. 教师将探讨不同的领导风格及其有效性.
“Since everybody perceives the world differently, information has to be presented in a variety of ways. Numerous methods should be used to process and present information, 因为每个人都有自己独特的方式将新信息与他们已经知道的信息联系起来.”
