Differentiation in the Classroom
Differentiation
In this short essay I intend to explain the meaning of differentiation....
In order to fully explain differentiation it is important to turn to The National Curriculum and look at what has become known as the ‘general inclusion statement’. This statement contains a statement that defines inclusion as “a demand on teachers not to ignore the three principles of inclusion (below) in their planning” Session 1 / Inclusion, the individual and the environment. In short, these three principals are: To set suitable learning challenges, to respond to pupil’s diverse learning needs, and overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups. In other words teachers are expected to develop lessons that are flexible enough to engage the entire classroom, regardless of special educational needs, behavioural problems, physical conditions or the fact that a class may have a wide range of abilities. In order to overcome any of these potential issues it is therefore important for teachers to “differentiate” their lessons.
As mentioned above, one group of pupils that may need to be taken into account when differentiating a lesson might be those pupils with special educational needs, or SEN. There is not the scope to go further into these acts in this short essay, but I should mention that pupils with SEN are empowered by both the SEN Code of Practice 1996 (revised 2002) and the Disability Discrimination Act latest amendment 2004 and as such can expect to be given the same opportunities as every other pupil in the country. Some common conditions that are classed as SEN include: ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), Autism, a neural disorder characterised by impaired social interaction and communication, dyslexia (a learning disability that impairs a pupil’s ability to read) and various others such as Tourette’s Syndrome, Down’s Syndrome, sight impairment, hearing impairment etc. In order to meet the requirements of these
In this short essay I intend to explain the meaning of differentiation....
In order to fully explain differentiation it is important to turn to The National Curriculum and look at what has become known as the ‘general inclusion statement’. This statement contains a statement that defines inclusion as “a demand on teachers not to ignore the three principles of inclusion (below) in their planning” Session 1 / Inclusion, the individual and the environment. In short, these three principals are: To set suitable learning challenges, to respond to pupil’s diverse learning needs, and overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups. In other words teachers are expected to develop lessons that are flexible enough to engage the entire classroom, regardless of special educational needs, behavioural problems, physical conditions or the fact that a class may have a wide range of abilities. In order to overcome any of these potential issues it is therefore important for teachers to “differentiate” their lessons.
As mentioned above, one group of pupils that may need to be taken into account when differentiating a lesson might be those pupils with special educational needs, or SEN. There is not the scope to go further into these acts in this short essay, but I should mention that pupils with SEN are empowered by both the SEN Code of Practice 1996 (revised 2002) and the Disability Discrimination Act latest amendment 2004 and as such can expect to be given the same opportunities as every other pupil in the country. Some common conditions that are classed as SEN include: ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), Autism, a neural disorder characterised by impaired social interaction and communication, dyslexia (a learning disability that impairs a pupil’s ability to read) and various others such as Tourette’s Syndrome, Down’s Syndrome, sight impairment, hearing impairment etc. In order to meet the requirements of these