While I have always used different types of differentiation in classroom engagements including grouping, modified/extended assignments, etc. I have really focused on assessment this year and have been working on a method of differentiation in assessment that I have come to find really successful for a number of reasons. I decided to experiment with creating leveled assessments for my 6th grade class which involves splitting the year into 20 key concepts and creating a smaller more concise assessment on each topic. Each of these assessments contains 3 levels of questions beginning at the most basic understanding of the concept to a more advanced, abstract understanding. Students all take the same tests but begin with level 1 and work as far as they can through level 2 and 3.
I have found that this allows students to have an improved meta-cognition of their strengths and weaknesses and also provides opportunities for struggling and advanced students to have access to problems that are developmentally appropriate. This has been a very successful differentiation strategy as well as providing more accurate and meaningful assessments. (It has also resulted in my favorite student quote from my teacher feedback survey, "He
gives us really fun tests!". This is the first time I have ever had students excited about doing tests)
I have also used some ability grouping and pre-assessments to provide more direct and focused instruction to students in key units such as our first semester review of fractions and proportions. Below is a sample problem set we worked on as a class, divided into 3 groups to provide different types of problems for different students according to their previous background in the topic.
From the student point of view, I think my students recognize my ability to see their strengths and weaknesses and provide the appropriate support to help either revise topics or extend their understanding to new and interesting areas. Below are some more sample student responses from my anonymous teacher feedback data:
"I think that Mr. Roberts is a really great teacher. I think that he gives every student enough time to work on what they need to improve on and always wants his students to do well."
"He also makes sure that we all understand a topic before moving on, and if this means spending a week on one area, then we will spend a week in one area, perfecting it."
"Mr. Roberts teaches us with many kinds of tools and it makes class interesting."
"He gives us projects which helps us learn in ways other than taking tests and quizzes."
"Mr. Roberts usually tells us why we need to know whatever we are about to learn before we learn it. That is really helpful, because in a lot of other classes we never know why we're going to learn about something, we just have to learn it."
"I like how he constantly incorporates technology in his class and how we don't ALWAYS have the same method of learning (white-boards, textbooks, DyKnow, games, projects, etc)"
"In area, when I didn't understand a few sums he actually showed it to me on paper by folding it and stuff like that. that was really helpful as that helped me to understand a bit better. It was also easier to learn that way.
"Mr. Roberts is a great teacher. He simultaneously encourages discussion and teaches new concepts and ideas to the class. He allows me to ask questions that go beyond what we learn and allows me to ask questions about concepts I had no idea existed such as imaginary numbers and what 4- Dimensional figures might look like."