The Common Sense of Differentiation: Meeting Specific Learner Needs in the Regular Classroom Video

with Carol Ann Tomlinson

In just about every classroom, teachers find students with a wide range of exceptionalities—students with one or more learning problems, students with various degrees of English language proficiency, students with different interests, students who are very advanced, and students without a "label" but whose learning needs are just as unique. How can teachers face this challenge and meet such a variety of student learning needs? Help teachers answer that question and maximize learning for all students with the commonsense approach featured in this new ASCD video. Use the video with the workshops in the accompanying Facilitator's Guide to take teachers inside elementary, middle, and high school classes to show how a differentiated approach helps teachers

• Identify the diverse learning needs of their students.
• Understand learner needs that impact students' achievement of learning goals.
• Adapt instructional plans to maximize success for each learner.
• Create classroom routines that support differentiation.

Program 1, Discovering Learner Needs, examines how teachers identify and understand learner needs that can affect students' performance. Classroom scenes show how teachers can determine their students' learning needs. Program 2, Techniques for Adjusting Instruction, to help teachers explore techniques for addressing students' diverse learning needs. Program 3, Classroom Routines, explores routines that help teachers address learner needs in ways that are comfortable and predictable for both teachers and students.

Related Book

Good teaching begins with good relationships and a passion for students and content that students can see, says differentiation pioneer Carol Ann Tomlinson, in her book, Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom: Strategies and Tools for Responsive Teaching.

Browse the book  |  Buy the book

About the Consultant

Carol Ann Tomlinson is William Clay Parrish, Jr. Professor and Chair of Educational Leadership, Foundations, and Policy and co-director of the Institutes on Academic Diversity at the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia. She works throughout the United States and internationally with educators who want to create classrooms that are more responsive to a broad range of learners.

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