At LREI, lessons and classrooms are differentiated as the norm rather than the exception. We understand it is our responsibility as teachers to design environments and experiences that are accessible and challenging to the variety of learners in our room.

Agnes de Lima observes in “The Little Red School House” that “we take the child as he is and where he is [and] try to understand him, and then seek to help him understand the kind of world in which he lives and the part he is to play in it.”

This represents a core value at LREI and one that hinges on our ability to “fit the school to the child.” This is certainly hard work and while no school can be all things to all children, it does create for us a moral imperative to try our best to meet the learning needs of our students. Through thoughtful inquiry and reflective practice, teachers can and must come to know their students. This then allows them to structure the learning experience to meet the varied needs and approaches to learning that are present in the classroom. So from a historical perspective, differentiating instruction is nothing new at LREI.

If we accept as true the notions that

  • no two children are alike,
  • no two children learn in the identical way,
  • an enriched environment for one student is not necessarily enriched for another,
  • we should teach children to think for themselves,

then it necessarily follows that although essential curricula goals may be similar for all students, methodologies employed in a classroom must be varied to suit to the individual needs of all children. Therefore, learning must be differentiated to be effective.

Differentiating instruction calls on us to create multiple paths so that students of different abilities, interest or learning needs experience equally appropriate ways to absorb, use, develop and present concepts as a part of the daily learning process. It also allows students to take greater responsibility and ownership for their own learning, and provides opportunities for peer teaching and cooperative learning. Given the significance of this perspective, learning to differentiate instruction will be an ongoing focus of our professional development efforts.