EDU 605: Blog 6 - Differentiation in Content, Process, and Product

As we discussed in last week’s blog, there are many different theories hoping to fully explain the intricacies of learning and education. Last week we discussed Bloom's Taxonomy and Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. In Bloom’s Taxonomy, knowledge is divided into a hierarchical scale. The scale goes from bottom to top indicating the cognitive levels of learners. The taxonomy begins with remember and moves up to understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences ”advocated that students could learn and display knowledge in multiple ways, according to their developed strengths.” Gray, K. C., & Waggoner, J. E. (2002).

Teaching can be divided into different steps or stages: content, process, and product. Throughout all of these steps, educators should be differentiating in order to meet all students at their education level and interests. When it comes to the content being taught, many educators in my early learning experience stuck to “the book”. “Content is the “input” of teaching and learning. It’s what we teach or what we want students to learn.” (Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Pg. 72) When providing differentiated instruction and content, educators can adjust what they teach as well as how the students are provided with the content. In my teaching experience, I try to provide differentiated content and instruction so that all of my students understand and are engaged. One way I do this is by providing a variety of different introduction methods with each lesson. I usually start by introducing the material with a basic introduction. After that, I use other methods such as playing videos, playing an art game, turn-and-talk, doing a movement activity, or a hands-on exploration. I tend to use 2-3 of these techniques per art lesson. I want to be able to capture the attention of all of my students, and provide them with meaningful experiences that will help them to understand and retain the content. Sitting students down and lecturing them about the content is not an effective method of teaching, especially for young students. Not only are the interactive activities more interesting and engaging for students, but it is also more fun for me as the teacher!

“Process means sensemaking or, just as it sounds, opportunity for learners to process the content or ideas and skills to which they have been introduced. When students encounter new ideas, information, or skills, they need time to run the input through their own filters of meaning.” (Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Pg. 79) When it comes to the process in my art classroom, I often chunk my instruction for creating our final product. It is very overwhelming for younger students to be provided multiple steps for creating a piece of art all at once. In order to help students through the process, I provide students with one or two steps at a time. This provides students with the opportunity to explore the concepts in bite-size chunks. In between my instruction I am able to observe student work and help those that need it. This also lets me provide feedback in a timely manner and gives me time to connect with students on their work.

“Product assignments should help students— individually or in groups— rethink, use, and extend what they have learned over a long period of time— a unit, a semester, or even a year.” (Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Pg. 85) The final product is a way for students to display their understanding of the content. Although my lessons are broken down into steps, not all students will create their work in exactly the same way. The steps are more of a demonstration of processes and materials and how they can be used to show an understanding of the content we have learned. No two pieces of student art ever look the same. When students are creating their final product and adding their own personality and details into their piece there are a few different methods I use to provide general differentiation. Some of these are partner work, group critiques and feedback, gallery walks (where students can view other students' work), and material exploration. If a student wants to use texture plates in their collage, they are more than welcome to use them as long as they have been previously instructed on their use.

In my experience, I have seen far too many art educators creating lessons with the intent of having their students replicate an image. This strips many possibilities for differentiation from the lesson and all personality from the students’ work. Providing differentiation in the content, process, and product not only helps students connect with and understand the lesson, but it also gives students the opportunity to make expressive and innovative artwork. How do you use differentiation throughout the content, process, and product of your lessons?

Resources:

Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Gray, K. C., & Waggoner, J. E. (2002). Multiple intelligences meet Bloom's taxonomy. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 38(4), 184–187

Aboutlearning4MAT (January 2010). Introduction to 4MAT by Bernice McCarthy. YouTube