Teaching Portfolio: Differentiation Philosophy

This semester, I have used differentiation many times this mainly because we are
working with three different levels of English 11: academic, general, and honors. Let me start by
saying what differentiation is not. Differentiation does not mean lowering your expectations. For
example, each of our classes still has homework due every Friday with their vocabulary quizzes.
And each class still receives high quality instruction. Differentiation is not about making passing
easier. It is often necessary to build students up to meet the required, standard understanding.
For example, some students are so stressed about taking an assessment that they cannot
actually learn and recall the material. In contrast, differentiation can be used to challenge more
advanced students. With our honors class, we can often skip the lecture and jump right into the
activity. While I have seen and used differentiation mainly regarding assessments, it can be
used throughout instruction and the curriculum. Teachers should differentiate as often as
possible. Lastly, differentiation should be subtle. Students can tell which class they have been
placed in, and differentiation should not be used to highlight differences or deficiencies in a
students knowledge or abilities. Differentiation is about ensuring each student masters the
material and can then be challenged by it as well.