Fulfilling the Promise chapters 1&2

1) Carol Tomlinson mentions "definitions" or partial definitions of differentiation in chapter one. What makes sense to you, in attempting to define differentiation?

To me differentiation means adapting all aspects of the classroom to fit each individual student's needs. Not just lesson plans, but my attitude, interactions with my students, my rules and expectations, my letters home, the environment I create for my classroom, the way I discipline my students, and how I reward and praise them.

In order to adapt in a way that my students need, I will have to do my own research on my students and go beyond the classroom. I need to find out about their families, traditions, cultures, lifestyle, learning strategies, interests, goals, and personalities.

It can be very overwhelming thinking about how to do all that for each individual student when I know they will all be very different. I think that it will take practice and I will need to find a good balance so that I will not be stretched so thin that it puts all my efforts in vain.

In my ESL class we've been discussing this topic. We watched a news segment done on The Freedom Writers. I believe that teacher performed differentiation beautifully with her students. During our discussion someone in our class shared the realization that the teacher was able to find a common starting point where they all could relate. That made it a lot easier for the teacher. Perhaps, I can find something that relates to all the students to start off with and so they all have a common ground. Then I can focus on the individuals within that topic. (I hope that makes sense! )

2b) There are two powerful insights on page 12 of Fulfilling the Promise -- powerful to me, anyway. Are there any statements, quotes or insights that "speak" to YOU, from chapter one and/or chapter two? Explain.

Chapter 2, page 15: "until a human has basic human needs attended to, until that human feels safe, until that human feels a sense of belonging, energies cannot go to learning." I really liked this passage. The first concern a teacher should have for their students is making sure their basic needs are met. If one of those areas is lacking their bodies and minds cannot focus on anything other than that basic need. I also feel very strongly that a classroom should be a safe, friendly environment for everyone. As a teacher I will need to look beyond the surface to make sure I know if one of my students is lacking a basic need.

I also really liked in Chapter 2 how Tomlinson talked about purpose. So many times in school I have wondered, "why are we doing this?". I think that it is important to make the purpose of each assignment clear for the students. If I know I have to report to my class why I am having them do a particular assignment, it will be a good check for me to make sure that there is a clear and good purpose for having them do that activity or assignment. This will get rid of busy work and meaningless activities. Really, I will have very little time for everything that needs to be taught, so I need to make the most of it. If students understand why assignments are given to them, and if it is a legitimate reason, then they will generally put more sincere effort into their work.

And finally, the very end of Chapter 2 gave several scenarios of students whose teacher thinks they are being accommodating, but are not seeing the whole picture. This was an eye opener to me. When the teacher is just looking at the group as a whole, or at the individuals on the surface, they are missing what really may be going on. Sometimes the teacher just does what they think should be done without following up and seeing if it really is working. That was the case for Lee. His teacher put him in groups because she thought it would benefit him and make him feel included, when really it made him very uncomfortable and feel alone. It's not that the teacher wanted him to suffer, it's just she didn't take the time to see if her plan was really working. I need to make sure I am aware of what is really going on and always follow up with my students to see what is working and what is not.