Differentiation

How it is used

A key expectation in lesson observations and job interviews. Teachers differentiate by task, by support or by outcome. People say a lesson had good differentiation or that a worksheet is differentiated into three levels.

Example sentences

1. The observer praised the differentiation: every group had a task at the right level.

2. Differentiation doesn't mean writing thirty different lesson plans.

Common collocations

• differentiation by task
• differentiation by outcome
• effective differentiation
• differentiated instruction

Related terms

• scaffoldingTemporary support that a teacher gives to help students complete a task they could not yet do alone, removed step by step as they become more independent.
• extension activityAn extra, more challenging task for students who finish early or need to go deeper, so that they keep learning instead of waiting.
• inclusive educationAn approach in which all children, including those with disabilities or other barriers to learning, learn together in ordinary schools and classes with the support they need.
• student-centered learningAn approach in which students take an active role in their learning, for example by discussing, investigating and making choices, while the teacher guides rather than lectures.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• differentiation · Marketing

More terms: Teaching Methods and Approaches

• pedagogy
• pair work
• group work
• active learning
• critical thinking
• cooperative learning
• project-based learning
• inquiry-based learning
• rote learning