"Teaching is Differentiated", rather differently!

I am a mathematics lead learner more popularly known as a mathematics teacher. I started learning French and passed my A1 French Test recently. But while learning French in a diverse classroom, I learned a valuable lesson on 'teaching'. This article is not about me learning French, but rather how my professor in my French class differentiated his teaching for diverse learners. I have been teaching in International schools for more than two decades but haven't seen this amount of diversity!

We were 17 adult students aged between 24 years and 57 years, from 13 different countries, varied genders, and some could read, some could listen and speak, very few could write and some were just learning to read and write French!

After two weeks of my lessons and observing his approach to differentiation, I asked him " Do you find differentiation difficult? He looked at me, didn't answer my question but smiled. That day and the rest of the week I kept thinking about why my teacher didn't answer and just smiled!

What kind of questions you wouldn't answer and just smile?

I realised that when someone asks me a question to which I don't answer and just smile, when the answer is either an 'obvious no' or 'if it has become a second nature and I never thought about it". For example when students ask me "Do you find mathematics difficult?", I do not answer but smile to say "obviously not". What if someone asks " Do you find algebra difficult" and I would turn and just smile because I haven't thought about it solving algebraic problems is like my second nature now.

So, I think my French professor didn't answer and smiled because 'differentiated teaching' has become his second nature and it's so natural to him that he hasn't really thought about it!

For any new teacher reading my article, here is a quick definition of differentiation: Teaching is differentiated when teachers tailor their instruction to meet the diverse needs of their students. This means recognizing that students have different learning styles, abilities, and interests, and adjusting teaching methods, materials, and assessments accordingly to support their individual growth and success.

So there are five different types of differentiation that teachers can adopt. Differentiation by content( the materials and resources), by process(or instructions), by product(how student demonstrate their learning), by assessment(assessment access) and by environment(classroom adapted to the needs of the learners). But these are interconnected and teachers are the best judge to decide the intensity of one over the others. The scope of this article prevents detailed discussion on it but there are plenty of free resources online. In this article, I share how and why 'differentiation' is not just about understanding the five approaches to differentiation and applying them in class.

"Teaching is differentiated" is one of the six approaches to teaching explained in the ATL Guide, published in 2015. Like many IBDP teachers, I have been using different approaches to differentiation for several years. I was also fortunate to observe many of my colleague's lessons and improve my approach to differentiation. Having done this for several years and watching my colleagues do it, I developed a notion/hypothesis/belief on 'differentiation'.

I started believing that for student success, it is not important to focus on the five approaches or techniques of differentiation. What is important is for the teacher to be patient and genuinely interested in students' success.

After watching my teacher in my French class, I am convinced about my belief but I have discovered that it is not patience, it is kindness that matters the most.

" Kindness and genuine interest in students are the two most important qualities that make differentiation effective in class".

I saw him as extremely kindhearted as he cared about each of us, our strengths & weaknesses, our backgrounds and our identities. He didn't create fancy teaching resources but he was kind enough to scaffold for each of us based on our levels. Oh, it takes time, but who cares about time if the learning experience is so personal and enjoyable? Imagine he created fancy worksheets for all of us based on our levels but didn't care if we were enjoying and learning!

I often wonder whether the teachers should focus on teaching or learning! What about the learner? Learning is important but the learner is most important. For my French professor, the priority was the learner, then learning and then teaching.

He genuinely loved the French language and I felt he was genuinely interested in students learning the language. Every time we demonstrated our learnings, I could see his smiles getting bigger and his eyes brighter. He often took time to explain the intricacies of grammar and words in different ways such as acting, demonstrating, drawing, sketching, dialoguing, writing and mostly smiling away our mistakes.

He was kind enough to make everyone believe that our mistakes are the greatest resources for learning. He made everyone comfortable with their mistakes. As a result, I am comfortable in speaking imperfect French.

Such a feat is impossible if we approach 'differentiated teaching' methodically and theoretically. Fancy worksheets, the use of technology to differentiate instructions, seating arrangements, and access to assessments, will perhaps improve teaching but what about learning and the learner?

For learning to happen, two qualities, kindness and genuine interest in the learner can not be replaced by strategy, method or approach. Kindness allows one to be patient, which is at the core of any differentiation. Genuine interest in the learner means we consider the diversity a learner brings to the class and build on it.

I would love to hear from new and seasoned teachers on how they approach differentiation and their beliefs. Please leave your comments and I would love to start a dialogue and refine my beliefs on differentiated teaching.

Thank you for reading.