Research Essay:

As a developing teacher much of what we study, experience and value influences our
educational philosophy and how we want to approach teaching. Your educational
philosophy is important as it lays the foundation for development into an effective
teacher. It is essential that teachers reflect, research and review their personal teaching
philosophy regularly, as it will grow and continue to develop. Educational needs,
beliefs and strategies are always changing and developing, and it is important that
your teaching philosophy reflects this. In allowing for this teachers will ultimately
move to towards being a more effective educator. This essay aims to investigate two
important notions within education- differentiated instruction and partnerships with
families. These notions could influence and contribute to a teachers educational
philosophy, subsequently informing their teaching practice.

Children, though they share many similarities, have many important differences that
make them unique individuals (Tomlinson, 2001). In the classroom, it is important to
understand this and implement teaching and learning strategies that cater for the wide
range of interests, styles, experiences, strengths and needs. Differentiating instruction
is a way of achieving this. Differentiating instruction provides different avenues to
acquiring content, to processing or making sense of ideas, and to developing products
so that each student can learn effectively (Tomlinson, 2001, p. 1). Constructivism,
scaffolding and the zone of proximal development are all hallmarks of differentiation
(Pool, 2000). The use of differentiated instruction moves from the traditional to a
more student-centred approach of teaching and learning, hence teachers are no longer
seen as keepers of knowledge, but are seen as guides, facilitators and organisers of
learning opportunities (Tomlinson, 2001).

While the concept of differentiation is not a new one, it has become increasing more
important as we learn to appreciate diversity and strive for more inclusive education.
The movement towards inclusive education, though established in the 1970s, was
particularly reinforced and put into motion by The Salamanca Statement (1994).
Regular schools with this inclusive orientation are the most effective means of
combating discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities, building an
inclusive society and achieving education for all (UNESCO, 1994, p. 4).
Differentiation aligns with one of the principles of inclusion- all students can learn
(Foreman & Arthur-Kelly, 2014). There are many forms of diversity that impact the
child and how they learn, these include gender, ethnicity, language, race, religion,
socio-economic status and disability. According to Tatum (2011), differentiated
instruction is an important way of recognising and honouring student diversity.
Inclusivity and equality is now a basic right and forms the foundation of most policies
and frameworks in the education system (UNICEF, 2014; Department of Education
and Training, 2016). Teachers are now expected to be able to provide appropriate
learning experiences for all students. Hence, differentiated instruction has become an
essential aspect of classrooms.

Tomlinson (2001) states that there is four dimensions of differentiation that need to be
focused on in order for it to be effective. Differentiating instruction can occur by
focusing on the process by which students learn, the products or demonstrations of
their learning, the environment in which they learn, or the content they are learning
(Tomlinson, 2001 via Watts-Taffe et al., 2012, p. 304). It is important to recognise that
at the centre of effective differentiation instruction is in- depth knowledge of your
students needs, including their strengths and interests (Watts-Taffe et al., 2012).
Consistent and reliable assessments into students learning is needed in order to truly
understand students specific strengths and needs as they continually change in
response to instruction (Watts-Taffe et al., 2012). Research has shown that students
improve academically through the use of effective differentiated instruction.
According to Watts-Taffe et al. (2012), studies have shown that from kindergarten to
grade three, students made greater advances in reading and comprehension when their
teachers used the differentiation approach to their literacy instruction.

Learning experiences are more successful when they are engaging, relevant, and
interesting. However, students will not always find the same things engaging, relevant
and interesting (Tomlinson, 2001). According to Piaget (1978), student engagement
and motivation increases when students feel a connection to, are interested in and/or
are passionate about what they are learning (via Tomlinson, 2001). This is a key goal
to using differentiated instruction in the classroom. It is through the flexibility,
support and personalisation of a differentiated classroom, that learner engagement is
heightened and motivation is fostered (D2L, 2014).
Though the goals of differentiation are seen as credible, many raise questions about its
practicality and efficiency (Marshall, 2016). Schmoker (2010) asserts that with so
many groups to teach, instructors found it almost impossible to provide sustained,
properly executed lessons for every child or group (via Marshall, 2016, p. 9). It is
acknowledged that the notion of differentiation confuses some teachers and ultimately
leads them to using it incorrectly. Tomlinson (2001) states that a common
misconception with differentiation is that it is the same as individualised instruction-
an approach where teachers do something different for each of the students, hence
differentiate too much. While it is true that differentiated instruction offers several
avenues to learning, it does not assume a separate level for each learner (Tomlinson,
2001, p. 2). Despite its misconceptions and misuse, evidence still emphasizes that
differentiated instruction is important and effective (Marshall, 2016).