Who, What, Where, How.

In order to be able to understand and incorporate differentiated instruction in a classroom, you have to have a firm foundation of what needs to be happening.

How do you get that firm foundation?
Focus on these four elements.
Why?
Because if any one of these elements is diminished, learning is diminished as well.

1. WHO we teach
2. WHAT we teach
3. WHERE we teach
4. HOW we teach

Those are the four elements that are essential. The way that these really click for me is with my reference to sports' teams. Hopefully my reflection/references help to make a connection for you too.


WHO do we teach? 
We teach children, obviously.
Yet, we have to realize that no two of these children are the same.
Every single one of them has home lives, different strengths, weaknesses, interests, etc.

Cue the sports' team reference.

Imagine you coach a soccer team.
You aren't coaching a team of clone players.  No two of those players are the same.
Each of the players has different home lives, some of their parents are more supportive than others; some of the players are good at kicking, others are better at passing the ball, while some may struggle with running constantly.
As the coach, it is essential to know all you can about each of these players. Because then you know WHAT to teach them to help make them their best at playing, which helps the team win as a whole.

Back to the classroom. This same concept applies.
It's your role as the teacher to get to know each student, so that you are best prepared to help them individually.


WHAT do we teach?

Obviously you have to teach the curriculum.
However, once you know the students individually, you know what you need to teach more in depth or in different ways to students to ensure they all get an understanding of the curriculum.

With a soccer team, you have to teach them the basics.
However, each player will have different things they need to specifically know for their positions and to ensure that they are successful.

Help your students to reach that same type of individual success. Realize what the students need to succeed and that is what you teach them. 


WHERE do we teach?

We teach in our classroom, yet we need to ensure that we have created a positive and encouraging environment.

Students need to feel comfortable enough to take risks and make mistakes. This is essential for them to get the most of their instruction. Everyone stumbles and falls, especially when learning something new. Students have to know that it is okay and feel comfortable enough to go through this learning process.


HOW do we teach?

The "how we teach" is the element that we call differentiated instruction.

The soccer coach will assign specific drills, have groups working on passing, others on kicking; every player constantly being taught new things and working to perfect these skills.

The same goes for a class. Whether the students are working together as a class, in small groups, or on their own. We are individualizing the instruction to them or adjusting the way that the information is presented, because we are teaching to help them personally grow and learn the information.

These elements seem obvious. At least they did to me.
Every student is different. Every student needs different instruction. Every student can succeed.

Until next time,
- Mallory