Principle #4 Differentiation
Instruction moves ELLs forward by taking into account their English proficiency level(s) and prior schooling experiences. ELLs within a single classroom can be heterogeneous in terms of home language(s) proficiency, proficiency in English, literacy levels in English and student's home language(s), previous experiences in schools, and time in the U.S. Teachers must be attentive to these differences and design instruction accordingly.
What Teachers Do
- Teachers are highly skilled and intentional about the use of differentiated instruction so that students experience rigor and struggle productively.
-Students participate in differentiated lessons implemented in conjunction with explicit academic language progression in order to contextualize their English language acquisition (note: differentiation should be used to progress ELs and not to 'meet their needs at their current level of proficiency')
-Students use different materials to access the same content (e.g. primary language materials, leveled texts, resource materials, media, instructional interactives, jigsaw groups with distributed accountability, literature circles, reading guides, advance organizers, etc.)
-Students have a choice of different tasks mindful of progressing English language proficiency levels (e.g. alternative assignments, tiered problems, learning menus, TIC TAC TOE, Choice Boards, RAFT, investigations, etc.)
-Students experience different ways of learning to ensure multiple paths to learning content as well as language proficiency progression (e.g. centers, workshop model, direct instruction, peer interaction, increased or decreased scaffolding appropriate to English proficiency level, technology, etc.)
-Students work in different & flexible groupings (e.g. alone, pairs, small-group, whole class), sometimes with same primary-language peers and English proficiency levels and other times with different primary- language peers and different English proficiency levels
Areas of Concern
-Overreliance on 'one size fits all' lessons
-Confusion regarding the distinction between differentiation, scaffolding, accommodation, & modification as instructional concepts (i.e. what they mean and who they are intended for)
-Differentiation is not 'dummying down' nor is it thinking that all ELs can draw pictures or posters in lieu of focusing on 'extending or progressing language output'
-Differentiation is not an event, but a way of thinking about daily classroom life (i.e. a mindset)