Using taxonomies to think about challenge
When students work in classrooms where collaborative learning is encouraged then differentiation becomes easier. All students in the class will be working on the same topic area, but by providing …
Course: Differentiation for Learning
Mihály Csíkszentmihályi and ‘Flow’
Csíkszentmihályi’s concept of ‘flow’ presents a way of thinking about how students react to challenge, or the lack of it. Csíkszentmihályi’s theory states that people are happiest when they are …
Planning for stumbling blocks
Learners easily recognise activities and exercises that they can and cannot do; what they need help with is attempting those they see as difficult. In the video on the previous …
Developing learning behaviours
Boyle et al (2001), defined good learning behaviours as those which students display when they are using metacognitive strategies in their learning. In their study, teachers decided to observe each …
Common pitfalls of Growth Mindsets
Carol Dweck’s work on how students beliefs about their abilities, and the subsequent impact this mindset has on their motivation and achievement, has been around now for some time. We …
Welcome to the course
Welcome to Differentiation for Learning, from the National STEM Learning Centre. On this course you will: Examine the key principles of effective differentiated learning. Explore the links between Assessment for …
Reflecting on your professional development
Well done for reaching the final part of the course, where you’ll review your learning and record your professional development. Your course mentors will record their reflections of the course …
The learning journey
Differentiation allows students to take different pathways through the learning. Sometimes they may be faced with a steep uphill climb, while on other parts of their learning journey the path …
Increasing challenge and ownership of learning: Learning pyramids
In this video, Andrea suggests a strategy to increase student ownership, motivation and learning by allowing the students to move forward in their learning from the point they are at. …
An invitation
We hope you’ve enjoyed the last five weeks. Further Study We’d like to invite you to pursue further CPD with us. Why not consider the activities run by the National …
Continuing your professional development
Thank you for joining us on this course. We hope you have found it interesting and it has given you information and ideas that will help you in your own …
Reflecting on your learning and capturing your professional development
In this short video Chris and Dylan bid farewell and encourage you to persist in developing your use of assessment in order to differentiate and support all learners. As Dylan …
Growth mindsets
In this video, Chris explains that when students believe that they can learn, they will be motivated to try harder when learning gets tough. Chris introduces Carol Dweck’s seminal work …
Providing support and drive
Over the next few steps you are going to build on the ideas in Step 1.9 around the importance of the relationship between the teacher and the students in establishing …
Increasing challenge and ownership of learning: Quadrants
Chris discusses how teachers can use assessment to identify students’ starting points and plan to increase the cognitive complexity or demand of the learning. Chris also discusses how teachers can …
How to write a cover letter
We take a look at everything you need to know about cover letters and how …
Everything you need to know about blended learning
We take a closer look at blended learning, exploring what it is, the different models, …
What is imposter syndrome, and how can you deal with it?
Most people have experienced feeling like an imposter at some point in their lives, so …
Gratitude and happiness: the importance of being grateful
Discover how the simple practise of gratitude can bring a host of different benefits to …