CAMBRIDGE O LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE: TEACHER’S RESOURCE
Differentiation
What is differentiation?
Differentiation is usually presented as a pedagogical practice where teachers think of students as individuals and
learning as a personalised process. Although precise definitions can vary, typically the core aim of differentiation
is viewed as ensuring that all students, no matter their ability, interest or context, make progress towards their
learning intentions.
It is about using different approaches and appreciating the differences in students to help them make progress.
Teachers therefore need to be responsive, and willing and able, to adapt their teaching to meet the needs of their
students.
There is no one style teachers should adopt. Teachers do not need to differentiate everything for everyone every
day; instead, they should select appropriate moments in the instructional sequence to differentiate. In other
words, effective differentiation is part of an experienced teacher’s daily lesson plan. It is important that teachers
are able to respond to the needs of their students and use the techniques they deem to be most suitable.
It can be difficult to fit in all the syllabus content and support all students, keeping them engaged in their
learning. This is a challenge for teachers the world over.
Although there is no single formula that creates a differentiated classroom, when differentiation is in place
opportunities for innovation and ongoing reflection are created that boost teaching and learning in a way which
would not be possible in a one size fits all lesson.
It is clear how much overlap there is between differentiation and Assessment for Learning methodology. Both
aim to support all students to improve their learning, using similar techniques such as questioning, providing
feedback and a student-centred approach. Ongoing assessment in class is fundamental to differentiation;
teachers need to see what the student currently knows or can do, and then work out what the student needs
to know or do next. It is an approach that incorporates a variety of strategies and depends very much on the
individual teacher’s school and classroom culture to guide practical implementation and outcomes.
Effective differentiation is heavily reliant on teachers being able to respond to each individual and fully
understand their needs to best support their next steps. The viability of this will depend on each teacher’s specific
context, motivation, obstacles to overcome and training.
Role of the student
Understanding individual students is vital for successful differentiation. In order to be effective, figuring out
what the individual already knows or can do is a vital step in the process.
Getting to know students is, however, more than just finding out what they know. It is also about a broader
understanding of student difference. Students and their learning can be different for a number of reasons: they
may have different levels of interest in the topic; they may have differences in their levels of motivation, their
ability to remember information, their confidence, the accuracy of their handwriting, their levels of vocabulary
acquisition.
Having knowledge of the individual helps teachers to plan for learning rather than teaching, and ensures that
they are always supporting progress. In a differentiated classroom, teachers and students collaborate in learning
and students have ownership and responsibility. Offering choice can encourage ownership of individual work
and learning, creating a learning environment in which students have no fear and apply effort.
xviii
CAMBRIDGE O LEVEL ENGLISH LANGUAGE: TEACHER’S RESOURCE
Techniques
Learning outcomes
Since differentiation aims to support all students in working towards particular outcomes, it is important to
carefully consider what those outcomes are and maintain focus on the overarching learning intention and
success criteria. Teachers can then formatively assess against these and gauge student needs.
A shared concept of quality between the student and teacher is vital for student progress. This includes both
clarity of learning outcome and the use of examples of good work. If students are aware of what good work
looks like, they are better able to both self- and peer-assess.
Scaffolding
Scaffolding, a metaphor to describe the process of learning support that enables students to go beyond what
they are initially able to do, can be a key component of successful differentiation.
These suggestions include the modelling of work and tasks, use of listening and writing frames, provision of sentence
starters and structure guidelines, scaffolded use of questioning and the encouragement of group and pair work.
Feedback
Feedback is a key tool in helping all students to make progress in their learning. Good feedback can help move
students towards their learning outcomes, provided that students understand, act upon and learn from it.
Feedback should address any misconceptions that are exposed during student activities.
Group work
Teachers should employ variety in their classrooms, using a mixture of whole-class instruction, one-to-one work,
small group work and peer tutoring. Group work is suggested by many as a good way to differentiate as students
working in groups are able to create knowledge with their peers, help each other to learn, use discussion and
apportion tasks based on the relative strengths of the group.
A balance needs to be met between the use of group work and teacher instruction. As John Hattie (2008)
argues, direct instruction done properly has a greater impact on learning than group work done incorrectly
or inappropriately.
Differentiation support in our materials
Our materials contain frequent opportunities for ongoing assessment in class to help teachers see what the
student currently knows or can do and then work out what the student needs to know or do next. This will
help to identify misconceptions or misunderstandings and guide actions.
Through the course of the activities in the resources, we will support differentiation predominantly in the
following ways:
• differentiation by questioning (embedding questioning strategies to inform better next steps)
• differentiation by grouping (using mixed ability groups)
• differentiation by outcomes (multiple modes of student output or how students demonstrate/show
their learning)
• differentiation by task.
There is no single, optimum way to conduct differentiated teaching. However, we can provide a selection
of strategies to help teachers to become more confident in their teaching practice.
Adapted from the Approaches to learning and teaching series, courtesy of Cambridge University Press and
Cambridge Assessment International Education: cambridge.org/approachestolearning
xix
