Theory to Practice

Differentiation for Preservice Teachers

By Melissa Parks

P
reservice teachers learn how Over the course of three semesters, integration; assorted instructional
to connect educational theory a pattern of evidence began to emerge. strategies; and lessons differentiated
to practice as they try to find Preservice teachers could discuss the to meet students’ needs and abilities.
pedagogical approaches that not benefits of differentiated instruction Of all the components in the required
only blend their personal styles but while in the college classroom. They unit, the differentiation piece was the
also create meaningful learning op- could articulate the importance of pro- most troublesome (see Table 3, p. 92).
portunities for students. Within field viding differentiated lessons so that Initial student attempts to differ-
experiences, preservice teachers try students have a positive learning expe- entiate within the unit were vague and
to develop lessons that focus con- rience as part of the progression of aca- confused activities as differentiation.
ceptual understanding on students’ demic growth (Tomlinson and Moon
individual learning needs to help 2013). However, they struggled with Student 1: The different back-
keep students engaged and motivated identifying differentiation in action grounds of the students include
(Aschbacher and Ing 2017). This ar- in their field placements and had dif- Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian,
ticle shares the experiences, struggles, ficulty creating lessons that provided African American, white, and
and solutions encountered by a small meaningful and appropriately chal- Hispanic. I adapted for the ESE
group of preservice teachers who cre- lenging learning experiences for their (exceptional student education)
ated and delivered differentiated el- elementary students. students within the lesson plans
ementary science lessons. The ideas by providing tangible copies of
shared reflect multiple semesters of PowerPoints, a guide, extra time,
THE ORIGINAL CONCERN:
student work and instructor revisions and a quiet work space.
on assignments. The differentiated STARTING TOO FAST
instructional learning opportunities Student 2: Within every lesson
currently span multiple weeks of the The Unit Assignment throughout the unit, I made sure
semester (see Table 1 and Table 2). As a course requirement, each pre- to think about every student as an
service teacher enrolled in this sci- individual, not just on the basis of
BACKGROUND ence methods course must complete ethnic background but also their
The semester before the student a 10-consecutive-day science unit personal interests. Throughout
teaching practicum, students are during the field experience. The the unit students had the op-
placed in the field two days a week for students have never had an experi- portunity to do “show-and-tell”
nine consecutive weeks to complete ence like this before: The drafting, with different types of rocks or
an extended field experience. During planning, and delivery of this unit is minerals that they had discov-
the field experience, students are in brand new. Students regularly report ered outside of the classroom. By
their placements all day, each Monday feeling extremely overwhelmed with doing this, students were able to
and Tuesday, for seven weeks and all the unit and unsure of how to take share with other classmates and
day, every day for two weeks. During their previous learning of planning were learning the content through
the field experience, each student will single-subject lessons and extend hands-on experience.
compose and teach a two-week science that knowledge to create a standards-
unit that includes differentiated les- based instructional unit, complete Thus, the planning for and imple-
sons as part of their culminating activ- with pre/post, formative, and sum- mentation of differentiation during the
ity for the course. mative assessments; cross-curricular science unit was insufficient.

90 • • SEPTEMBER 2019
 TA BL E 1

Evolution of learning experiences.

SEMESTER CONCERN LEARNING EXPERIENCES CREATED

1 Differentiation
within capstone
assignment, the
science unit,
was inadequate.
2 Differentiation Review Assignment
2 Share and justify Differentiation Review student-made products
2 Use shared Differentiation Review products as foundation for creating an
outline of differentiated assignments for the unit
2 Whole-group sharing of intended unit lesson and differentiation strategy
Redesign unit differentiation guidelines
3 Review selected video vignettes to identity differentiation in practice and
as platform to offer alternative differentiation strategies
3 Receive focused feedback on one differentiated lesson taught in the field
3 Redesign unit differentiation guidelines

Taking a Step Back

Bearing in mind the backward design TA B LE 2
principle (Wiggins and McTighe
2005) and knowing the quality of les- Children’s written explanation texts.
son I wanted to empower the students
to create required reexamining and
WEEK LEARNING EXPERIENCES
rethinking the process of supporting
the preservice teachers enrolled in this 1 Preview Unit Guidelines
course. How could students be bet-
ter supported to develop and deliver 2 Differentiation Review Assignment completed outside of
meaningful differentiated lessons? class

3 In-class whole-group sharing and justification of

The Solution: Redesigned Differentiation Review student made products
Learning Experiences
The broad solution was to give stu- 4 In-class whole-group sharing and justification of intended
dents more practice with differentia- unit lesson and differentiation strategy
tion and actionable feedback within
5 Video Vignettes serve as tools to identify differentiation in
their coursework in the field place-
practice
ment classroom. The broad idea was
reimagined around four pieces: 6 Delivery of science unit
1. Synthesize differentiation
literature and resources.
2. Share interpretation and

www.nsta.org/elementaryschool • 91
 application of literature and Synthesize Differentiation and videos on differentiation for stu-
resources. Literature and Resources dents to independently read or watch.
To deepen students’ understanding A menu of choices from which the
3. Identify and evaluate
of differentiation (a tiered, three-part students could select the media for
differentiation in the field.
assignment), we created a Differ- demonstrating and applying their
4. Deliver lesson and receive focused entiation Review (see NSTA Con- understanding of differentiation was
feedback on differentiated science nection). The assignment provided provided.
lesson. a list of literature sources, websites, Depth of students’ work varied
(see NSTA Connection for samples of
student work). Some students became
TABL E 3 occupied with the activity portion of
the assignment, rather than focusing
Differentiation task within science unit. on the content. Others produced the
bare minimum requirement for ac-
Initial Differentiation Assignment ceptable work, and some exceeded
The candidate will describe how the unit and lessons incorporate teachers’ expectations. All submitted
the ethnic/cultural/socioeconomic backgrounds of the students work was used as an opportunity to
into lessons. The candidate should show awareness of how the review the understanding and appli-
backgrounds of the children are integrated into class learning and cation of differentiation, as presented
explain how he/she educated himself/herself to teach this group of by the student, to the class.
students.
Discuss Interpretation and
Current Differentiation Assignment Application of Literature and
A. The candidate will describe how the unit and lessons incorporate Resources
the ethnic/cultural/socioeconomic backgrounds of the students After the completion of the Differ-
into lessons in a brief narrative. The candidate should show entiation Review outside of class,
awareness of how the backgrounds of the children are integrated students shared their finished prod-
into class learning and explain how he/she educated himself/herself ucts with the class and demonstrated
to teach this group of students. how their work exemplified their un-
B. In addition to discussing how the students’ personal background derstanding of differentiation and
may impact instruction, discuss several (2-3) ways you will alter how the applied ideas would meet
your instruction throughout the unit based on the needs of the the needs of the elementary students
students. For example, if a child is excelling in a particular lesson, in the field. This discussion laid the
how will you provide an enrichment activity? Conversely, if a child foundation for the more intensive
is struggling to understand, how will you remediate? To adequately brainstorming, planning, and deliv-
show this, you must anticipate students’ needs and be prepared to ering of differentiation lessons as part
act on them during the course of the lesson. Remember that you of the science unit.
can differentiate instruction through content, process, product, and Following the sharing of the Dif-
learning environment. ferentiation Review, students out-
C. Identify how you will differentiate in each lesson and complete the lined their unit and developed lesson
chart below. plans. Prior to the delivery of their
science unit, a portion of the once-
Table 1: Lesson Differentiation Chart per-week class meeting was devoted
Lesson Type of Differentiation Brief Description of Strategy
to a review and justification of dif-
ferentiation strategies planned for
Lesson 1 Product Students will select an end- the unit. Individually, students vol-
of-lesson activity—make a unteered to share a planned lesson
movie, create a commercial with the group. The lesson plan was
or write an expository essay. displayed for the class and the student
Lesson 2 presented an overview of the intend-
ed lesson and differentiation. During

92 • • SEPTEMBER 2019
presentations, students articulated Student 1: My process for differ- or ESE students. Right now, I am
which form of differentiation they entiation will be to group students trying to find ways to help my
were intending to try (labeled pro- and have some read the teacher advanced learners. I’m struggling
cess/content/product/environment) packet on climate while others to find ways to keep them engaged
and explained why this option was se- watch a video on climate. when they already know some-
lected and how they believed it would thing I am teaching.
impact their students’ learning expe- Student 2: I’m doing climate too.
riences. Table 4 gives a brief explana- My cooperating teacher shared During these presentations and
tion of ways in which differentiation an idea about how to demonstrate discussions, it became apparent that
can be used in the classroom. the role oceans play in absorbing students were describing “micro-dif-
This sharing and naming of prac- heat from the atmosphere. After ferentiation”; they were aware of stu-
tice allowed reserved or introverted we talk about the hydrosphere, we dents’ needs, yet the attempted modi-
students to benefit from observing are going to use two balloons: one fications were not enough to support
the process because, due to close ad- filled with air and the other with students’ learning (Tomlinson 2017,
herence to county curriculum maps water to demonstrate how the at- p. 4). Students struggled with the
and instructional planning guides, mosphere absorbs heat compared fluid and proactive nature of differen-
students assigned to the same grade to the hydrosphere. Then, I’m tiation. Consequently, another layer
level regularly had the same stan- going to ask students what would of exposure and practice was added to
dards on which they must base their happen without the hydrosphere the course.
unit. By having the opportunity to (NGSS-5-ESS2-1).
observe and internalize suggestions Identify and Evaluate
classmates shared, introverted stu- Student 1: That sounds cool. I Differentiation in the Field
dents may connect those ideas to their may borrow that. Concurrent to the sharing of unit out-
field experience and be able to apply lines and differentiated lesson plans,
them in their practice. Student 3: My discovery during students were asked to identify and
From this individually focused ses- my unit planning dealt with my evaluate samples of differentiation in
sion, a larger whole-group discussion advanced learners. All of my dif- action by viewing instructor-selected
emerged as students offered ideas and ferentiation was focused on lower- video vignettes featuring different
suggestions. In a snowball-like effect, performing students or sometimes teachers and teaching styles. While
practical and effective differentiation only on English language learners watching the vignettes, students were
strategies were shared. asked to identify the differentiation
strategy and how it was used. Then,
they were challenged to create anoth-
TA BL E 4
er way to differentiate the presented
content in either process, content, or
Elements of Differentiation
product. The environment was inten-
tionally omitted because these stu-
Types of Differentiation Explanation dents have a clear understanding of it
Content Knowledge, understanding, and skills and tend to overuse it. After multiple
students learn weeks of preparations, students were
Process How students understand and make ready to teach the science unit.
sense of presented content
FINALLY IN THE FIELD:
Product Evidence of student understanding and
learning.
FOCUSED FEEDBACK ON
DIFFERENTIATED SCIENCE
Environment The atmosphere in which students learn
LESSON
best. Examples may include bright or
dim classroom, music or silence, etc.
Focused Observation of
Note: Table information compiled from Tomlinson and Imbeau 2010, Teaching
p.15 and ASCD 2011.) During the 10-day science unit, the
preservice teachers asked the cooper-

www.nsta.org/elementaryschool • 93
ating teachers to formally observe at differentiating in the middle of REFERENCES
least one lesson. Using a course pro- instruction. ASCD. 2011. Differentiated Instruction:
vided documentation form (see NSTA An Introduction. Retrieved from
Connection), the cooperating teacher Student 2: I struggle with adjust- https://pdo.ascd.org/LMSCourses/
observed the lesson, made observa- ing on the spot when students do PD11OC115M/media/DI-Intro_M4_
tional notes, and shared feedback with not understand. Sometimes I try Reading_Key_Elements.pdf
the student at the end of the day. At to restate, but other times I tell Aschbacher, P., and M. Ing. 2017. Who
the conclusion of the conference, stu- them we will come back to it. wants to learn more science? The
dents could immediately implement role of elementary school science
the cooperating teacher’s suggestions There are several ongoing revisions experiences and science self-
because they were provided in small, to differentiation tasks offered within Perceptions. Teachers College
manageable chunks that were specific the course. The first involves includ- Record 119 (9): 735–743.
and concrete. ing more transparency into instruc- NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next
tion. Frequently, preservice teachers Generation Science Standards: For
Revising the Unit told students to work anywhere in the states, by states. Washington, DC:
Differentiation Requirement room, intending to differentiate en- National Academies Press.
Along with the new differentiation vironment, or they allowed students Parker, F., J. Novak, and T. Bartell.
course and fieldwork, the unit dif- to work alone or in partners, to dif- 2017. To engage students, give
ferentiation component has been re- ferentiate process. Moving forward, them meaningful choices in the
designed to more accurately focus I’d like to provide preservice teachers classroom. Phi Delta Kappan 99
preservice teachers’ attention on the more avenues to give their students a 37–41.
importance of intentionally designing greater explanation of why choices are Tomlinson, C.A., and M.B. Imbeau.
and delivering lessons (Table 3). offered. Understanding that students 2010. Leading and managing
are more likely to succeed and be en- a differentiated classroom.
Moving Forward gaged in what they are doing if they Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Guiding preservice teachers to in- get to choose it remains an important Tomlinson, C.A., and T. Moon. 2013.
corporate differentiation is an on- factor of differentiation (Parker, No- Assessment and student success
going task. After completing a round vak, and Bartell 2017), but encourag- in a differentiated classroom.
of observations, I compile my notes ing preservice teachers to share the Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
and look for similarities and discrep- benefits of students working in a par- Tomlinson, C.A. 2017. How to
ancies. From that list, I rethink and ticular way may also be beneficial. differentiate instruction in
rework the differentiation review More course discussion and prac- academically diverse classrooms
assignment and the differentiation tice with differentiation on the spot (3rd ed). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
portion of the unit, and speak can- and for higher achieving students is Wiggins, G., and J. McTighe. 2005.
didly with both preservice teachers needed. Role playing, for example, can Understanding by design,
and classroom cooperating teachers. help students think and practice differ- expanded 2nd edition. Alexandria,
Commonalities emerge from those entiation strategies to help them meet VA: ASCD.
conversations that can help preservice the needs of all students. As I continue
teachers effectively design and imple- to examine and reinvent learning op-
ment differentiated lessons. portunities for the preservice teachers,
they will hopefully be encouraged to NSTA Connection
Student: Differentiating on the do the same for their students in the Download the Differentiation
spot is hard. My lesson plans field as they strive to build and deliver Review, student work samples, and
prepare me for how a lesson effective lessons that promote well- documentation form at www.nsta.org/
should go, but I need to practice rounded conceptual understanding. ● sc1909.

Melissa Parks ([email protected]) is an assistant professor at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida.

94 • • SEPTEMBER 2019