The Do's and Don'ts of High School Science Differentiation
When creating a differentiated classroom:
Don’t...
Create an individualized learning plan for each student, you will burn yourself out within a week!
Give students who are having trouble less work, you’re only reaffirming to that student that they aren’t able to keep up with the rest of the class.
Give extra work to advanced students, they may see this as a punishment and put less work in next time so they don’t finish quickly.
Advertise that particular students are struggling/excelling, this can embarrass students and cause their work and/or attendance to deteriorate.
Do…
Make time to speak to students individually and check in on their progress, the individual attention will make them feel important and included and it allows you to check in on their progress and attitude towards the class.
Create options for projects and assignments, if students are allowed to choose their assignment they feel a greater sense of responsibility and are more likely to engage with the assignment. This also allows students to choose projects that utilize their strengths.
Create different test versions, if you individually hand out tests you can make sure certain students are writing certain versions of a test that will allow them to better explore their potential.
Use a variety of question types on tests/quizzes/assignments, if a student has a hard time with a particular type of questioning this gives them the opportunity to excel with the other questions and not be discouraged.
Write all instructions clearly and go over them verbally, students can’t do well if they don’t know what is expected of them.
Ask you students, what type of questions they prefer, what type of assignments they think are most enjoyable and most importantly ask them how they are doing in and out of class. Differentiation only works if you know who you are differentiating for.