Differentiated Instruction is a Social Justice Issue - Not Simply a Cliche...

As a Catholic Educator, I have a hard time understanding how D.I. could be viewed as anything but a social justice issue. For that matter, despite being a Catholic educator, I truly believe that any educator who sees him or herself as the caring adult in the classroom would regard differentiation as not only the "right" thing to to do, but the ONLY thing to do.

Differentiation also supports the teaching of 21st century skills:

*Students need to learn by doing – more authentic; encourages life-long learning (Dewey)

*Learning through problem-solving and critical thinking (i.e. we don’t want to teach our students science; we want them to become scientists)

*Problem-solving and curiosity expand understanding

*Collaborative technologies prepare them for work outside the classroom

*Students are increasingly expected to express their work in multimedia formats; teachers need to incorporate these formats in the day-to-day routine of the classroom

The world is a different place. Our teaching methodologies and strategies need to reflect our acceptance that we are preparing students for jobs that don't even exist yet. Our students are engaging in reading and writing in ways that we never have. Instead of being afraid and holding on to age-old practices, I think it's time to involve our students in the planning of their own learning. It might inspire them to care more. This goes back to a previous posting about making learning relevant. When students can see how they fit into what they are learning, then they will learn it. They will WANT to be in school. They would want to be there because they are participating in learning activities that honour where they are and what they like. They will want to be there because they get to demonstrate what they know in a way that best suits their learning preferences. They will have a new-found respect for their teachers as people who genuinely understand who they are and what they are capable. If students learned in an environment where they were constantly set up to succeed, I don't know that there would be as much talk around the need to get graduation rates up in the province. It would be a non-issue.