Why is a “quantitative” approach to differentiation unlikely to work for advanced learners? For learners who struggle?
Quantitative approaches to differentiation for advanced learners tend to turn off the excitement in education for the students. The reason is because the students are receiving more work in which they are accounted for instead of more instruction. Would a teacher teach a student content the student has mastered or move onto another skill and perhaps build on the skill mastered? In the end the push for advanced learners to do more is ineffective. What we as educators must do is find a different means to connect the content the student has learned without monotonous assignments.
For students who are struggling learners, quantitative approaches seems like punishment as the text explains, for not knowing the proper way to solve problems or complete assignments. There is more than one way to skin a cat is the approach teachers must take in the classroom in order to find ways that target the creativity in students so they will be willing to display their areas of growth in the knowledge we provide.
Approaching instruction from a quantitative standpoint may be easy, but it certainly does not get at the heart of differentiated instruction! After all, it's not about how much work the students are doing, but how much they are learning. Thank you for sharing your insights. Lee Ann
ReplyDeleteWhy is a quantitative approach to differentiation unlikely to work for advanced learners/ For learners who struggle?
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is the quality not the quantity that we should be focusing on with our students. It seems like such a punishment as the book suggests to our high ability students, giving them twice as much work to do when in effect, they already know the "answers". I think the key is engagement, which is stated numerous times in the reading. Are we engaging our students, and if so, is it catered to what they need. Are they being encouraged to find out things on their own and able to express what they are learning in various ways that reflect what kind of learner that they are? I think this applies to your struggling student as well. The difference is knowing the needs of your students and where they are in the learning process.