Differentiation in Mathematics Lessons - Essay Example

Therefore we say that differentiation is the respect for individual differences among learners. There are certain ways how I implement proper differentiation techniques.

At the onset, I set very clear learning goals.  I explain the subject syllabi; the topics to be explained for the entire school year, the requirements for the class and expected students’ learning outputs, the timetable for every topic, and discuss my expectations from the class. Upon the start of every lesson, I lay down specific objectives. For instance, if I start the topic on Measurements I inform the class of the objectives which is after studying the lesson, they should be able to illustrate the development of measurement from primitive to the present international systems of units and be familiar with the standards of measure. In this manner, the class is well informed of what to expect and enables them to prepare themselves for the tasks to come.

I pre-assess students; who are those lacking some precursor skills, who among those already know some or a great deal about the topic ahead, what are the student’s interests and how it can help them deal with the topics to be learned, and finally how students learn best. I use various pre-assessment tools, from written tests, to board work, and workbooks. Knowing where areas they are good at and the way they absorb the lesson will help me as a teacher to prepare instructional materials suited to their level of understanding. It is expected that an effectively differentiated class, should include whole class and small group instructional time since with that I can target students’ particular interests and needs in the context of helping all my students achieve their desired goals.

Throughout this time, I continuously monitor student progress to better understand who might need more complex materials, additional teacher support and intervention to master key concepts, and additional time on a topic either because of a deeper liking to the subject matter or because of a need for more support. In the latter case, I also encourage paired activities where I pair up one that I identified to be good at the topic and one who is quite poor. That way, peer learning is encouraged and they solve mathematical problems together. The better ones would explain the solutions in their own words and ways and somehow it makes understanding easier for the other students. This is enlisting the help of students to make the class work as smoothly as it can in ways that allow consideration of individual needs. It is also beneficial that students would use different materials, work with different tasks, work in different student groupings, or even have special homework. A similar activity about fractions happened in my class where I assigned various activities for the different groups. I gave one group to answer verbal problems; another is to create a model that would show the divisions of the parts and represent them in fraction forms, and the last is drawing the diagram of real numbers and giving as many examples of fractions. It is however a fact that no classroom can be a perfect fit for every student every minute of every day, but it should at least be the case where students generally feel both challenged and supported in achieving the tests.

In my classroom students are made to focus on essential facts, understandings, and skills rather than on superficial explorations of topics. They discover and apply the key concepts of the subject through varied learning opportunities that enable my students to understand and show evidence of the essential ideas within the subject matter. There is an ongoing pre-assessment and assessment that guides me to address the learning differences among students. I make sure that they have access to an array of instructional materials and resources to facilitate and support their learning. They should also make connections of ideas at a personal level as well as a universal to be able to apply what they learned to their personal lives and the lives of others. I encourage my students to set goals for their learning and self-assess their progress and be able to apply what they learned in interesting and important ways. My classroom projects an atmosphere of safety and a friendly setting to be a venue for expressing ideas, making suggestions, and seeking needed assistance to promote their learning. Finally, students work within a variety of group settings throughout the period to make sense of the subject matter. Groups are formed to address student eagerness, learning profile, and interest.