Excuse me, I beg to differentiate
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Differentiation is one of those areas of education that can provoke strong reactions in people. It can be poorly defined and even more poorly applied. It’s sometimes seen as overly burdensome, having little meaningful impact and based on poor evidence.
Yet in many special schools, with their broader developmental range, differentiation is integral to effective practice; how the sector approaches this area of teaching can help better inform the wider debate.
It is important to acknowledge the different operational structures found in special schools that can have a material impact on the ability to meet individual needs successfully. They often have much smaller classes, with a higher staff-to-pupil ratio than is found in mainstream settings. They are also less tied to predetermined levels of ability based on the age of the pupils, although this does not mean that they aren’t held accountable for their pupils’ attainment (they are and robustly so). And they generally have the freedom to work at the rate of learning evidenced by the child, moving on when they are ready to do so, not because other factors, such as internal or external accountability structures, require them to.
There are likely to be pupils in all schools who could benefit from a more refined approach
But while it may be unrealistic and undesirable to advocate specific differentiation for each child within mainstream, there are likely to be pupils in all schools who could benefit from a more refined approach. The following are some of the ways I achieved this in a special school.
Outcome
We sometimes changed what the pupil was expected to do. An example of this is a writing session where one pupil is producing three sentences using four information-carrying words; another is producing two sentences at a three information-carrying word level. This is not about low expectations, but appropriately challenging ones, informed by professional honesty and effective assessment evidence.
Input
This changes the level of support that a pupil requires to complete the task. Examples could be “unaided” (completing the task when all resources have been provided, but without direct adult support); “independently” (completing the task without having resources provided, but having been asked to do so); and “spontaneously” (completing the task without the resources having been provided or having been asked to do so, such as getting a drink just because you feel thirsty).
Resourcing
Here, we change the tools that you may make available to enable the work to be completed. An example of this is one person completing addition calculations using a pen-and-paper method, while someone else may still be supported by real objects.
Response
We vary how we respond to the work or actions of a child in relation to their peers. For example, if a child finds it challenging to attend to a task for more than five minutes and they manage to stay focused for seven minutes, then this should be acknowledged. Another child may need to sustain attention for the whole lesson to get similar acknowledgement. This can lead to some complex discussions around fairness with those children who are aware of the difference, but shouldn’t be avoided.
Stimulus
This changes the way in which an objective is delivered. By that I don’t mean the visual, auditory or kinaesthetic approaches associated with debunked learning styles, but rather the use of particular multisensory information; for example, the development of visual memory with one child while another is focusing on auditory memory, or the recollection of tactile stimuli.
Task
This changes the very nature of what the learner is expected to do; for example, a group writing descriptive sentences in response to a target image could have an alternative outcome of selecting symbols reflecting the content of the image from within a choice array.
Downward
This would be done in order to make a more complex learning objective accessible to those who are at a lower level of development. But the danger of relying on this approach all of the time is that it can place the lower-attaining pupil in a position where their needs are less likely to be central to what is being offered. There is also a risk of tokenistic practice, where lower-attaining pupils are doing while their more able peers are learning.
Upward
This starts with a lower-level learning objective and is then extended upwards to make it more complex. It is vitally important that this approach plays a part in ensuring that all pupils’ needs are valued and considered when constructing lessons.
This is not an exhaustive list and shouldn’t be seen as a collection of single approaches to be used in isolation. Instead, it is a selection of strategies that can support effective practice when working with complex and diverse groups of children.
Differentiation can underpin high expectations and make learning challenging but achievable
When done well, differentiation can underpin high expectations and make learning challenging but achievable, impacting directly on both the rate and nature of progress. It can maximise the impact of education, but only if it is implemented with honesty and integrity.
But let’s not stop the debate. In having the discussion about the definition, purpose and effectiveness of differentiation, we may well move our collective practice forward and, in doing so, better serve the needs of all pupils.
Simon Knight is director of education for the National Education Trust
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