Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that I am a big supporter of differentiated instruction. The Learning A-Z family of websites provides differentiated materials for students, as well as lesson plans and assessments that teachers can use to help differentiate instruction in their classrooms. In fact, the motivation for creating our websites was the need to address the diverse learning styles and levels of students in the typical classroom. Teachers need lots of choices if they are going to meet the individual needs of their students--we all know that one size does not fit all.

Teacher Magazine recently hosted an online discussion with Carol Tomlinson, noted authority on differentiated learning. Professor Tomlinson addressed a number of issues, including steps teachers can take with small-group instruction, professional development to properly prepare teachers for the challenges of differentiating instruction, differentiated assessment, roadblocks to differentiation, and differentiation with ELL students. I particularly liked her "big look fors" in a differentiated classroom. Some of the "big look fors" that I found particularly important were: a teacher who clearly values and relates to the kids as individuals and as a group; a class that functions as a team; the use of frequent assessment to monitor student learning; and teaching up--a high ceiling of expectations in the classroom.

I know many teachers who have successfully incorporated differentiated instruction on their own, but I also know that proper training can help flatten the learning curve and mitigate some of the challenges faced with differentiated instruction. So I implore administrators: support your teachers' professional development. Differentiated instruction is hard work, but the gains in student learning are worth it. I hope our resources are helping, and I hope you will let me know if there are other resources we can and should provide.