Why Differentiate?

1. Students are in school to learn.

As educators, it is our responsibility to actually teach every student. Obvious, right? But there is a common misperception that advanced learners do not need to be taught if they are already performing at or above grade level. Perhaps you have heard something like this:

"Those high kids will be just fine."

"You can just let them go!"

Or even, "I take no responsibility for teaching your child," said with a smile (true story!).

Grade level skills are NOT an end-point. Our responsibility to teach students does not go away once they have mastered grade level skills. It is our duty as educators to take our students to their next level,  whatever that level might be.

The National Association for Gifted Children  has declared the Gifted Children's Bill of Rights, written by Del Siegle, NAGC President, 2007-2009:

You have a right to...

• know about your giftedness.

• learn something new everyday.

• be passionate about your talent area without apologies.

• have an identity beyond your talent area.

• feel good about your accomplishments.

• make mistakes.

• seek guidance in the development of your talent.

• have multiple peer groups and a variety of friends.

• choose which of your talent areas you wish to pursue.

• not to be gifted at everything.

All children, including gifted children, have the right to learn something new everyday, and we have the responsibility to teach them. So when we have students with different levels of skill and ability, we must differentiate to make sure that every student's educational needs are met.

2. Growth Mindset: Students must learn to strive.

Carol Dweck's work on mindset shows the importance of connecting success with effort:

• If students continually "succeed" without expending true effort, they discount the result because it didn't cost them anything.

• Only when students are challenged can they develop the skills of persistence and effort.

• Teaching children how to strive gives them the skills to work through the frustration of genuine challenge when they are older.

Elementary grades are NOT too early to learn to strive! Not only that, but waiting until middle or upper grades may leave students with a "fixed mindset."

Students with a fixed mindset often give up more easily in the face of challenge, and they may accept failure as a reflection of self-worth or ability instead of connecting it to effort. A student with a fixed mindset might think, "I'm so bad at math; I'm dumb," and stop trying in math class because they feel doomed to failure due to their (perceived) innate incompetence, while a student with a growth mindset might think, "I didn't do so well on this math test, but if I practice division more, I could do better next time," which sets the student up for future success.

For more information on Carol Dweck's work, visit her website, MindSet.

Gifted children are at an especially high risk for developing a fixed mindset when they don't have to "try" in the elementary grades, so differentiation in the classroom is necessary to teach them to strive and to help them develop a growth mindset.

3. Behavior issues are minimized when kids are engaged.

Learning is the opposite of boredom, and learning is the antidote to boredom. Engaged, interested kids are more likely to be focused on their work and less likely to tune out, goof off, or distract other students. So how do we keep kids interested and engaged?

Students learn best in the Zone of Proximal Development, where they are presented with an appropriate level of challenge that piques their interest and encourages them to use what they know to expand their skills. An article worth reading is "Boredom and Its Opposite," from ASCD.

While high-achieving kids are often characterized as "good students" because they perform highly in their academics, it is not uncommon for these students to start pushing limits and acting out when they get bored, bringing about confusion: why are the "good students" suddenly developing behavior problems?

Differentiation in the classroom is key to keeping these students engaged at an appropriate level of challenge to prevent boredom and behavioral issues.