Differentiation in Practice

Tomlinson, C. (2003) Differentiation in practice, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development


Summary:
Carol Anne Tomlinson’s Differentiation in Practice is a resource guide for differentiating curriculum for grades 5 through 9. This book consists of a “brief primer” offering an explanation of differentiated instruction via content, process, products, affect and learning environment. Students’ readiness, interest and learning profile must also be taken into account when designing curriculum. The strength of this guide lies in the models, or differentiated units of study, that comprise the majority of the book. In depth lessons written and implemented by teachers in science, social studies, language arts, pre-algebra and French are provided. Each lesson contains an introduction giving background information on the unit, teacher reflection, a list of addressed standards and objectives, instructional strategies, and support materials. The lesson is then presented via graphic organizer illustrating whole class components and differentiated components. There is enough detailed information on the lesson, including teacher commentary, to enable a teacher to implement it in their own classroom.

Reflection:
I found this book tremendously helpful because of the units provided. It allowed me to see differentiation on a large scale and it seemed less daunting than I previously believed. I realized that I do differentiate my curriculum, but I don’t plan for it as these teachers had done, I do it on a by needs basis.