To Differentiate or not to Differentiate: A discussion on the importance of differentiated learning

The dynamic trio of digital natives, culture, and post-pandemic life is reshaping the education world. As we welcome newer perspectives from students, it is also an excellent reminder for educators to investigate differentiating learning to cater to diverse learning styles. A culmination of changing tech-based education tools and pedagogy will provide students with a holistic learning experience. 

While differentiation has been an established concept in the education system, it has a vague definition among the education system, pedagogy, and users. Differentiation can also occur at a class level, and this can involve splitting the class into small groups, giving individual learning activities, or modifying curriculum materials based on perceived abilities. Yet differentiation can also entail a recognition of the different levels of knowledge that various students bring to the classroom, their differing skills, and their diverse interests and circumstances, and responding in ways that value these differences and use them to engage students in the work of the classroom (Mills, M, et al., 2014).

Differentiated instruction promotes engagement ii classroom instruction. Dr. Howard Gardner founded the model with the concept of multiple intelligences. The model has four categories, namely, (1) Content, (2) Process, (3) Product, and (4) Effect.  The session will provide educators with various techniques to differentiate their instruction in the classroom to effectively increase student learning and engagement. 

A student in today’s classroom has a unique lifestyle compared to the pre-digital natives’ era. Students now have access to smartphones enabling them to swipe their fingers to enter the world of news and social media. Schools also provide students with iPad to digitalize their textbooks and transform their note-taking ability. For an educator, it is crucial to change the bemusement into amusement and provide students with learning skills that can help progress their academic/work life. 

A traditional approach to teaching involves lecturing and (primarily) written assignments. Differentiation instruction and learning change students' perspectives and make them the 'drivers' of learning. A few examples in which differentiated learning has helped in student engagement are:

1. Roadmap: At the beginning of each course, the instructor with the students creates a map. A starting point for the first day of class. As key concepts are taught, students continue to build the map benchmarking every milestone. This helps students visualize their progress in learning. 
2. Informative summary: Through the semester, each student selects a topic of their choice (from the list of topics provided by the instructor about the course) and provides an informative summary through a digital poster. Students love to channel their artsy side through the poster-making process. The informative summary requirement is for the student to bring a real-life example to explain the topic.
3. Podcast: In class that focuses on belief, reasoning, ethics, and morals (leadership, management, organizational behavior) creating a podcast assignment is a great way to promote communication with peers and showcase the importance of respecting opinions. There are free apps for students and instructors to use for the course.
4. Slide deck format: Instead of the student having to write a 5-page paper, changing the submission format to a slide deck does wonders to students’ critical thinking and information processing. The assignment requirement is to think as a leader and prepare the slide deck keeping team-members in mind to pitch a new project. This format of submission also helps students practice their presentation skills. 

For instructors, giving feedback also becomes very interactive. Instructors can appreciate the varying levels of creativity and learning modalities. Today’s dynamic and changing world is a great platform for educators to implement differentiated instruction in classrooms. An educator can absorb all the chaos around the world and project calm and hope to students through educating them with the correct values of concepts. A few examples in which differentiated instruction has helped in classrooms are: 

1. Pathfinder: At the beginning of each course, the instructor provides a  pathfinder to the class. A pathfinder is an editable framework that outlines the learning outcomes of the course to a column that asks students ‘what is your key takeaway?’. This is a helpful task to revisit and complete the pathfinder after the completion of a particular learning outcome. At the end of the course, students can look at the pathfinder and appreciate the skills they have learnt. 
2. Videos: Instructor can create a five-minute video for students to review before or after class. The video touches upon the key concepts of the module and will help student connect the concept after the class if needed. 
3. Notes and Slide deck: For each module, instructor should create differentiated learning materials such a hand-written note and a slide deck. Students can select their choice of learning method and take notes accordingly (mentioned earlier under student section as well).
4. Roses and Thorns: At the end of each chapter, using Roses and Thorns will improve communication between the student(s) and instructor. Roses and Thorns is a list of all the good vs the not so liked concepts in that module or chapter. 

Reference: Martin Mills, Sue Monk, Amanda Keddie, Peter Renshaw, Pam Christie, David Geelan & Christina Gowlett (2014) Differentiated learning: from policy to classroom, Oxford Review of Education, 40:3, 331-348, DOI: 10.1080/03054985.2014.911725