Rick Wormeli uses Chapter One of his book “Fair Isn’t
Always Equal” to really expel any doubt a reader might have about the
implementation of Differentiated Instruction in the classroom and its rise in
the field of education. Wormeli's biggest rival is the claim that DI gives too
much power to the student, allowing them to dictate the complete direction of
the learning and the amount of effort exerted. Wormeli does well to rebuttal
these claims by citing an example in which glasses are used as a tool indicative
of DI. The story compares the learning of two boys sitting in the back of a
classroom tasked with copying information from the board and assessing it, one
boy impaired with near-sightedness uses glasses to bring the board into focus,
the other does not. Wormeli uses this example to showcase how the resource of
the glasses is not altering the assignment or making the task easier but rather
possible; it levels the playing field between the two boys. Another strong move
on Wormeli’s part is his connecting of DI to the “real world.” As teachers our
end goal is to prepare students for their adult life and make sure they are
equipped with the abilities to strive. Teaching methods in which students learn
how to be more self aware of how they process information is beneficial both
short term and long term.
I do
not think that I am exactly the intended audience for this chapter as I am
already very much on board with the practice of DI. I do however think that in
this early state of my pedagogical learning experience that it is important for
me to still read supports of the practice. I should not assume the methods being
presented to me are the best, I should know they are and why they rank superior.
I think the biggest recognition I walk away with from this chapter is how small
scale DI can be; while it can appear in large-scale productions such as IEPs it
can also be as simple as the rewording of a sentence.
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