FiAE Chapter 1

“When we differentiate, we give students the tools to handle whatever comes their way”

In this chapter it gave an intro to what differentiated instruction is, and what a differentiated classroom may look like. Afterwards it talks about some of the problems around differentiated instruction, firstly, that a lot of science moves towards differentiated instruction as a strong form of teaching, except that the area of neuroscience is an area that has moved fast, and may be subject to quick change, and second is how exactly do we get the research done into the classroom? The chapter goes on to discuss how to strategically apply differentiated instruction in order to get the best classroom atmosphere as possible. It goes on to stress the importance that what may seem fair, isn’t always equal. All practices of differentiation must be available to all the classroom, but their need to be alternatives for those who may not excel in that area of intelligence.
This chapter gave me further insight on what some good practices may be in my future classroom just as UbD and MI did. What particularly caught my eye was when it was talking about the difference between fair and equal, and the importance of giving everyone in the class equal-opportunity of developmental skills. No one area of intelligence should seem prevalent in a class, as all of the students are likely to learn differently and the students who aren’t strong in that area are likely to suffer developmentally, because nothing is nurturing the other areas of their intelligence. It is easier for students to grasp the “Big ideas” of a unit when it is presented in a way that they are best fit for learning.