Статья по английскому языку "Дифференциация на уроках английского языка" (Профессиональная подготовка, английский язык)

Differentiation No two students are alike. Students demonstrate varying learning abilities, academic levels, learning styles, and learning preferences and need tailored instruction to meet their unique needs (Bender, 2012). Differentiation may mean teaching the same material to all students using a variety of instructional strategies, or it may require the teacher to deliver lessons at varying levels   of   difficulty   based   on   the   ability   of   each   student.   On   the   basis   of   this   principle differentiation allow students with diverse abilities demonstrate what they know, understand, and are capable of doing. In this respect according to the Updated Programme for English it means that teachers should do what is fair for students. Thereby three questions are useful for analysis: What is differentiation? How to differentiate? Why should teachers use differentiation?  2.1 What is differentiation? Carol Ann Tomlinson, an educator who has done some of the most innovative work in this area, says there are four areas where teachers can differentiate. Content: Figuring out what a student needs to learn and which resources will help him do so Process: Activities that help students make sense of what they learn Projects: A way for students to “show what they know” Learning environment: How the classroom “feels” and how the class works together Content Some students in a class may be completely unfamiliar with the concepts in a lesson, some students may have partial mastery, and some students may already be familiar with the content before the lesson begins. The teacher may differentiate the content by designing activities for groups of students that cover various levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (a classification of levels of intellectual behavior going from   lower­order   thinking   skills   to   higher­order   thinking   skills).   The   six   levels   are: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. Students who are unfamiliar with a lesson may be required to complete tasks on the lower levels: remembering and understanding. Students with some mastery may be asked to apply and analyze the content, and students who have high levels of mastery may be asked to complete tasks in the areas of evaluating and creating. Examples of differentiating activities:  Match vocabulary words to definitions.  Read a passage of text and answer related questions.  Think of a situation that happened to a character in the story and a different outcome.  Differentiate fact from opinion in the story.   Create a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the topic. Identify an author’s position and provide evidence to support this viewpoint. Process Each student has a preferred learning style, and successful differentiation includes delivering the material to each style: visual, auditory and kinesthetic and through words. Not all students require the same amount of support from the teacher, and students could choose to work in pairs, small groups or individually. While some students may benefit from one­on­one interaction with a teacher or classroom aide, others may be able to progress by themselves. Teachers can enhance student learning by offering support based on individual needs. Examples of differentiating the process:  Use   tiered   activities   through   which   all   learners   work   with   the   same   important understandings and skills, but proceed with different levels of support, challenge, or complexity.  Providing interest centers that encourage students to explore subsets of the class topic of particular interest to them.  Varying the length of time a student may take to complete a task in order to provide  additional support for a struggling learner or to encourage an advanced learner to pursue  a topic in greater depth. Product The product is what the student creates at the end of the lesson to demonstrate the mastery of the content. This can be in the form of tests, projects, reports or other activities. Teachers may assign students to complete activities that show mastery of an educational concept in a way the student prefers, based on learning style. Examples of differentiating the end product:  Read and write a book report.  Visual learners create a graphic organizer of the story.  Auditory learners give an oral report.  Kinesthetic learners build a diorama illustrating the story. Learning environment The learning environment refers to both the physical setup of the classroom and the atmosphere permeating the room, including the rules, routines and procedures that support the flow and functioning   of   the   classroom.   Overall,   the   differentiated   learning   environment   supports   its members, respects all students equally, and creates appropriate spaces for students to learn alone, in pairs or small groups, and meet as a whole class. As the teacher differentiates the content and process, the learning environment is changed to support the learning activities. Examples of differentiating the environment:  Making sure there are places in the room to work quietly and without distraction, as well as places that invite student collaboration.  Providing materials that reflect a variety of cultures and home settings.  Setting out clear guidelines for independent work that matches individual needs.  Developing routines that allow students to get help when teachers are busy with other students and cannot help them immediately.  Helping students understand that some learners need to move around to learn, while others do better sitting quietly. 2.2 How differentiate? It is obvious that students learn better if tasks are a close match for their skills and understanding of a topic (readiness), if tasks ignite curiosity or passion in a student (interest), and if the assignment encourages students to work in a preferred manner (learning profile). Again, any learning experience can be modified to respond to one or more of these traits.  Readiness refers to the skill level and background knowledge of the child. Teachers use  diagnostic assessments to determine students’ readiness.  Interest  refers to topics that the student may want to explore or that will motivate the student. Teachers can ask students about their outside interests and even include students in the unit­planning process.   Learning profile includes learning style (for example, is the student a visual, auditory, tactile, or kinesthetic learner), grouping preferences (for example, does the student work best individually, with a partner, or in a large group), and environmental preferences (for example, does the student need lots of space or a quiet area to work).  When a teacher differentiates, all of these factors can be taken into account individually or in combination. 2.3 Why differentiate learning? Differentiation “shakes up” the traditional classroom, says Tomlinson. Students have “multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and expressing what they learn,” she explains. Differentiation is effective for high­ability students as well as students with mild to severe disabilities. When students are given more options on how they can learn material, they take on more responsibility for their own learning. Differentiation allows all students to access the same classroom curriculum by providing entry points, learning tasks, and outcomes that are tailored to students’ needs. Differentiated lessons allow the struggling learner, advanced learner and on the on­grade­level learner to experience appropriate levels of challenge as they work to master essential information, ideas, and skills. Differentiation strategies for reading and writing  Teachers   use   a   variety   of   strategies   to   create   an   instructionally   responsive   classroom   for advanced learners. These strategies involve modifying the content of what is being taught, the process used for learning, and the products students are expected to create. These strategies also involve   adaptations   for   individual   student   readiness,   student   interest,   and   student   learning profiles. They are meant to work with, not in isolation from, core curriculum. A teacher selects a strategy   or   combination   of   strategies   based   on   student   needs,   teacher   style   and   expertise, curricular content, and available resources. Here are some Differentiation strategies for reading and writing. Focus of Differenti ation Readiness Strategy Tiered Assignment s Compacting Readiness Readiness Interest Interest Centers or Interest Groups Definition Reading (Example) Writing (Example)   Tiered assignments are designed   to   instruct students   on   essential skills that are provided at   different   levels   of complexity, abstractness, and open­endedness.   The curricular   content   and objective(s)   are   the same,   but   the  process and/or   product   are varied according to the student's     of readiness. level   prior Compacting   is   the process   of   adjusting instruction   to   account for   student mastery   of   learning objectives. Compacting involves a three­step process: (1) assess   the   student   to determine his/her level of   knowledge   on   the material to be studied and   determine   what he/she   still   needs   to master;   (2)   create plans   for   what   the student needs to know, and excuse the student from   studying   what he/she already knows; and (3) create plans for freed­up   time   to   be spent   in   enriched   or accelerated study. Interest centers (usually   used   with younger  students)   and interest groups (usually   used   with older students) are set up   so   that   learning     Students  with   moderate comprehension skills are asked to create a story­ web.   Students   with advanced comprehension skills are asked   to   re­tell   a   story from  the point   of   view of the main character. A   student   who   can decode words with short vowel sounds would not participate   in   a   direct instruction   lesson   for that skill,  but  might be provided   with   small group   or   individualized instruction   on   a   new phonics skill.   Students with moderate writing skills are asked to   write   a   four­ paragraph   persuasive essay   in   which   they provide   a   thesis statement and use their own ideas to support it. Students   with   more advanced   skills   are asked   to   research   the topic in more depth and use substantive arguments   from   their research to support their thesis. Rather   than   receiving additional direct instruction on writing a five­sentence paragraph,   a   student who   already   has   that skill is asked to apply it to   a   variety   of   topics and is given instruction on   writing   a   five­ paragraph essay.   Interest Centers: Centers can   focus   on   specific reading   skills,   such   as phonics   or   vocabulary, and   provide   examples and activities that center on   a   theme   of   interest,   Centers   Interest ­ Centers   can   focus   on specific   writing   skills, such   as   steps   in   the writing   process,   and provide   examples   and activities that center on are experiences toward   a directed     learner specific interest.   Allowing students   to   choose   a topic be motivating to them. can     Flexible Grouping Readiness Interest Learning Profile Students work as part of   many   different groups   depending   on task   and/or the   content.   Sometimes students are placed in groups   based   on readiness,   other   times they  are  placed  based on     and/or learning profile. interest       Groups   can   either   be assigned   by   the teacher   or   chosen   by the   students.   Students can   be   assigned purposefully   to   a group   or   assigned This randomly. strategy allows students to work with a wide variety of peers and   keeps   them   from labeled   as being   advanced or struggling. contracts Learning   begin   with   an agreement between the teacher the student.   The   teacher specifies the necessary skills   expected   to   be learned by the student and   required components   of   the assignment,   while   the identifies student methods   for completing   the   tasks. This   strategy   (1) allows   students   to work at an appropriate   and   the     Learning Contracts Readiness Learning Profile such   as   outer   space   or students' favorite cartoon characters.   Interest   Groups:   For   a book   report,   students can   work   in   interest groups   with   other students   who   want   to read the same book. The teacher may assign groups   based   on readiness   for   phonics instruction, while allowing   other   students to   choose   their   own groups for book reports, based on the book topic.   a theme of interest, such as sports or movies.   Interest   Groups   — When writing persuasive essays, students   can   work   in pairs   on   topics   of interest.   The teacher may assign groups   based   on readiness   for   direct instruction   on   the writing   process,   and allow students to choose their   own   groups   and methods   for   acquiring background information on a writing topic (i.e., watching   a   video   or reading an article). A student indicates that he   or   she   wants   to research   a   particular author.   With   support from   the   teacher,   the student determines how the   research   will   be conducted  and  how the information   will   be presented to the class. For example, the student might decide to write a paper   and   present   a poster to the class. The learning contract indicates   the   dates   by   the   A   student   indicates   an interest   in   writing   a newspaper   article.   The student,   with   support from   teacher, specifies the process by which   he   or   she   will research   newspaper writing and decides how to   present   the   final product.   For   example, the   article   could   be published in the school newspaper   or   shared during   a   writer's workshop. Choice Boards Readiness Interest Learning Profile   pace;   (2)   can   target learning styles; and (3) helps   students   work independently, learn planning   skills,   and eliminate   unnecessary skill practice. Choice   boards   are organizers that contain a variety of activities. Students   can   choose one several activities   to   complete as they learn a skill or develop a product.   or   Choice  boards  can  be organized   so   that students   are   required to choose options that focus   on   several different skills. which  each   step   of   the project be completed.   will   After   students   read Romeo  and  Juliet,   they are given a choice board that   contains   a   list   of possible   activities   for each   of   the   following learning   styles:   visual, auditory,   kinesthetic, and   tactile.   Students must two activities from the board and   must   choose   these activities   from   two different learning styles.   complete         in Students an elementary school class are given a choice board that   contains   a   list   of possible   poetry   writing activities   based   on   the following learning styles:   visual,   auditory, kinesthetic,   and   tactile. Examples   of   activities   cutting   out include, magazine   to create   poems,   using   a word   processor,   or dictating a poem into a tape     and transcribing it. Students must   complete   two activities from the board and   must   choose   these activities   from   two different learning styles. recorder letters   Conclusion With all the diverse learners in the classrooms, there is a strong need for teachers to learn and experiment with new strategies. The following practical tasks are designed to help teachers extend understanding of differentiated instruction  and  learn how to implement differentiated instruction in the classroom. This manual will support teachers in developing and expanding their own capacities. References Tomlinson, C. (1998). How can gifted students’ needs be met in mixed­ability classrooms? Washington DC: National Association for Gifted Children. Tomlinson,   C.   (2001).   How   to   differentiate   instruction   in   mixed   ability   classrooms.   VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Tomlinson, C. (1999). The differentiated classroom: responding to the needs of all learners. VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Access Center. (2004). Differentiated Instruction for Reading. Washington D.C.: Author. Access Center. (2004). Differentiated Instruction for Writing. Washington D.C.: Author. http://education.cu­portland.edu/blog/teaching­strategies/examples­of­differentiated­instruction/ http://my­ecoach.com/modules/custombuilder/popup_printable.php?id=19554 http://www.readingrockets.org/article/what­differentiated­instruction http://www.readingrockets.org/article/differentiated­instruction­writing https://www.understood.org/en/learning­attention­issues/treatments­approaches/educational­ strategies/differentiated­instruction­what­you­need­to­know http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy http://www.ldonline.org/article/22263/