Reflection on differentiation and accommodation

When it comes to differentiation I have discovered I have much still to learn. I thought it was as simple as modifying expectations for an assignment or evaluation. For example if the class has to do ten math questions you modify it so that if a student requires differentiation they only have to do five. It turns out that there is a student in my grade six class who is being modified “down to a grade three level” as my AT phrased it. I found this confusing at first because I thought it meant that while the mainstream students were working on multiplication he was working on addition and subtraction. If I am being honest, I still do not fully understand what she means by “down to a grade three level” but I do see some of the supports in place. He’s allowed to type or have someone scribe his work for him, when he is assessed on a rubric the expectations are lighter than the mainstream class and he gets frequent one-on-one attention from the AT and year one student teacher.

Additionally I see differentiation for the mainstream class as well. For example, they are currently doing an assignment for a novel they read and they have been given choice about how to show their learning. They can write an epilogue for the book, a chapter focusing on a side character’s perspective, creating a soundtrack for the book, creating a board game, and if they had any ideas not listed they were welcome to pitch it to the teacher and she would try and find a way to make it work for the assessment. By using this approach she is differentiating for everyone, not just those who need accommodation and thus making the learning and assessment accessible to everyone in a way that is most palatable to them.

In terms of my practice I am a big believer in options. Different ways for students to demonstrate their learning is always my number one goal. For example last year in my second grade placement I gave my students the freedom to demonstrate their writing ability in many different ways. They could write a journal, a story of their choosing, a poem (no one took that one but I thought I would try), a letter and like my AT from this year, I allowed them to pitch any ideas they thought of that were not listed. In this way if I continue to offer options in assessments then the students will have differentiated means of showing their learning.

I am not perfect, and as I said my understanding of differentiation, accommodation and modification is not complete. There are several things I plan to do to rectify this gap in my knowledge. The first is to browse websites and reading material such as this: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-differentiated-instruction. The second is to use my AT’s knowledge base as a former special education teacher who has helped full time and experienced teachers with these areas. The third is to use professional development workshops to enhance my understanding of these concepts. Finally I plan to continue listening to feedback from my students, if anyone knows how to best demonstrate what they know it is them. I am finding, more so with my grade sixes this year than my grade twos last year, that the students are able to vocalize their wants and needs. If they find that a project is not working for them and can suggest a different way, all I have to do is listen to them and find a way to fit their ideas into the assessment and the differentiation will have been done for me.