“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
There are many, many different (and very long definitions) for the term Differentiating Instruction. The simplest one I’ve ever used is:
“Differentiating instruction means regularly “shaking up” what’s going on in your classroom.”
There are several ways to base the differentiating of instruction in a classroom. It can be based on the learner’s interests, learning style, readiness level, or a combination. Stewart and Felicetti (1992) define learning styles as those “educational conditions under which a student is most likely to learn.” Theories of learning styles are not really concerned with “what” learners learn, but rather “how” they prefer to learn. Research also shows that it is more important to match the presentation of information with the subject matter and then provide opportunities for various learning styles to understand the content.
That means “shaking up” how you present information, how the students process the information being learned, and how the students demonstrate their understanding of the concepts.
What made me think about learning styles today? Well, my husband started reading me something he had written this morning. About half-way through the first paragraph his voice started to sound like Charlie Brown’s parents, “WA, WA, WA.”
It’s not that I wasn’t interested (I really was, Honey!) but I am a visual learner and he was reading it to me while he was looking at it. Because I know I’m a visual learner, I asked if I could look at it, too, while he read it. Immediately, he had much more of my brain attending to what he was trying to say.
Let me give you another example of my need to visualize. One of my friends left the room when I was talking to her. I stopped talking.
She immediately shouted back, “I can still hear you. Keep talking!”
I replied, “I know you can hear me, but I want to be able to see you hearing me!”
She came back in the room and the conversation continued-with both of us laughing about my need to “see” a person when I was talking to them.
Ok, here’s my last example of being a visual, tactile learner. I bought a new digital camera a few years ago. My best friend learned how to use it first. She was very nice. She put in the batteries, set up the memory card, and took everything out of the box. She even took pictures with it to make sure it worked and could be downloaded to the computer.
But…I hadn’t had a tactile experience with the new camera. Her giving me a verbal explanation of my new camera and how to use it should have been helpful, but it wasn’t! I thanked her many times, then took the
Do you know your own learning style? You might want to find out, because the way you teach is usually the way you learn. Knowing your own learning style will help you recognize pedagogical tendencies and make you more aware of the need to differentiate activities based upon all the learning styles that are represented in your classroom.
Helping your students discover their individual learning styles will help them develop strategies for areas in which they might need help and capitalize in ways they are strong. Here are just a few resources available online. LdPride.net has some good explanations for learning styles. They also offer a free learning styles test.
<a href=”ldpride.net”>Free Learning Styles Test</a>
Learning-styles-online.com offers a free online learning styles inventory that could also be taken by your and your students. The results are shown in graphic form—great for a visual learner like me!
http://www.learning-styles-online.com/inventory/
I wish more of my teachers had known my learning style. I really didn’t understand the information that was shared about mathematics when the teacher was writing on the board and explaining it with her back to me. I have never developed a deep understanding of the concepts I explore until I Have a concrete, meaningful, tactile experience with them!
Maybe this blog will spur you to think about the instruction in your room and encourage you to “shake it up” some!
“Everyone who enjoys thinks that the principal thing to the tree is the fruit, but in point of fact the principal thing to it is the seed. Herein lies the difference between them that create and them that enjoy.” -Friedrich Nietzsche