In the first classroom we see Mr. Appleton doing a very straight forward lesson with reading out of the book, answering questions and then lecturing over the material. This will be repetitive and cause the students to hear the same things numerous times as well as remembering it more easily.
In Mrs. Baker’s classroom there involves much more engagement with both the teachers as well as with fellow students, whether it is the activities or studying for the exams there seems to be constant engagement. However, it is hard to see what information they are learning is critical and what needs to be known. there seems to be little structure.
Ms. Cassel is used to show an alternative approach to teaching. She forms her lessons around essential questions and a theme to give structure of what needs to be learned in her lesson. From their she creates activities around these themes that are very engaging for the students. The students compare their own lives to the romans, they dress up like the romans to show their culture, and work together to develop important fact sheets.
Going from these three examples we learn from the first two teachers were examples of what non differentiated teaching is. It is not the lesson that was only teaching goals and what they need to know by reading and lecturing all the time as well as it is not changing up the lesson plans constantly to show the students are engaging. What it is, is the combination of the two. Ms. Cassel shows us that differential instruction is a combination of structure and questions at the same time as engaging the students with what they find is fun and intriguing. Mashing these two principles together creates a very productive and overall better for the students education.
Reginald Koprowski 