Tomlinson Case Analysis

Differentiation is an essential aspect of an effective classroom. In order to allow all students to learn effectively and to be the best learner they can be, the various differences in students must be taken in account. As Tomlinson states in On Excellence in Teaching “a goal of differentiation is to respond to student readiness, interest, and mode of learning often enough and in enough ways to support each students’ engagement with and understanding of essential goals” (Marzano et al, 2010, p257). Differentiating a lesson can range from adapting to differences in readiness level, student interest, or learning styles. This lesson’s differentiation will focus on the readiness level of a group of students. The specific set of students I will be focusing on are students at the higher grade levels in the class. In this case, this will be the 5th grade students. In differentiating this lesson I will take in account the content, process and product of the lesson. For this group of students, who are at a higher readiness level than the younger students, I will focus on differentiating the content by adding additional requirements and higher order questioning. Tomlinson refers to readiness as “a student’s current knowledge, understanding and skills as they relate to specified content goals” (Marzano et.al. 2010, 257). The reasoning for …show more content…
Allowing students the chance to learn in a way in which they are challenged, but not struggling, keeps learning approachable and activities more engaging and meaningful. Rebecca Alber, the author of the blog Defining Differentiating Instruction, brings up the important idea that “equal education is not all students getting the same, but all students getting what they need” (Alber, 2010). This is why differentiation is so important, by offering a variance in instruction, students are given the tools and resources needed to each be