Strategies for Effective Differentiation in Elementary Mathematics

Ashley Ferguson

1448180

University of Alberta
 Strategies for Effective Differentiation in Elementary Mathematics

Recently there is a great need for differentiation in mathematics to tend towards all

learning styles. Differentiation is defined as, “... an organized, yet flexible way of proactively

adjusting teaching and learning to meet students where they are and help all students achieve

maximum growth as learners” (Pierce and Adams, 2004). Adjusting teaching can in happen in

several different ways. In this reflection I will discuss several strategies for the implementation

of differentiation, not only for struggling learners but also for exceptional learners. Some of these

strategies include flexible grouping arrangements, the REASON strategy, ongoing assessment,

and tiered lessons. Learning mathematics should be accessible for all learners, it is the teacher's

job to aid students in learning. Students learn in different many different ways, including but not

limited to, “[visual learners, aural learners, verbal learners, physical learners, logical learners,

social learners, and solitary learners]” (Education Degree, 2009-2018). Tending to as many

learning styles as possible is a differentiation strategy that I used quite often in my practicums. It

allows for as many learners as possible to grasp and understand the information being taught. In

a classroom, this might look like the teacher posing an open ended problem solving question to

the students on paper (tending towards visual learners). The teacher will read the question

outloud to the class (tending towards aural learners). The teacher can allow students to work in

groups or individually (tending towards aural, verbal, logical, social, and solitary learners).

These simple steps allow many different types of learners to be successful in a mathematics

classroom.

The first article to be discussed is called, TIERED LESSONS: One Way to Differentiate

Mathematics Instruction, written by Rebecca Pierce and Cheryll M. Adams. This article gives a

realistic way of differentiation in contemporary classrooms. It gives examples of different areas

product/output according to the students' readiness, interest, or learning style” (Pierce and

Adams, 2004). Tiered lessons provides a practical way of creating differentiated lessons and

shares the same underlying principles as the backward design model, where educators start with

the “particular standard, key concept, and generalization, but allows several pathways for

students to arrive at an understanding of these components based on their interests, readiness, or

learning profiles” (Pierce and Adams, 2004). Tiered lessons allows for flexibility when it comes

to learning and caters to individual needs without making an individual lesson plan for each

student in your class. I often use the idea of backward design or tiered lessons (without even

knowing it) in my teaching. It makes sense to me to start with the outcome from the program of

studies and create a rich, worthwhile task to effectively teach said outcome.

The next article is written by Joanne Van Boxtel and is called, REASON: A Self-

Instruction Strategy for Twice-Exceptional Learners Struggling with Common Core

Mathematics. It suggests differentiation should not be implemented just for struggling learners, it

should also be implemented for gifted or exceptional learners. The article explains that some

gifted learners can easily solve mathematical problems but when it comes to explaining what

strategy they used, they really struggle (Van Boxtel, 2016). This is where the REASON Self-

Regulation Problem Solving Strategy can be implemented (Van Boxtel, 2016). REASON stands

for: “Read the problem twice, Express the problem, Answer the problem, Share/state the steps

you followed, Offer an explanation, Notice how a peer solved it and compare,” along with

guiding questions for each section (Van Boxtel, 2016). These questions and statements are to be

put on a card small card for each student who requires this type of differentiation, where students

can discreetly look at the card to aid them in mathematics reasoning. This strategy is geared for
exceptional learners but could be used for struggling learners. This strategy is focused on helping

students become independent and aid them in problem solving. Some techniques include “... self-

instruction, self-questioning, and self-checking” (Van Boxtel, 2016). I believe it is important to

help children strengthen their reasonings skills. It can be challenging to articulate oneself and the

REASON strategy encourages learners to think about ‘why’ and how they got to their answer(s).

Teacher-Initiated Differentiation is an article written by Jacque Ensign and discusses

some techniques that teachers can implement to help students through differentiation. The article

talks about a workshop that is implemented into all grades in one school in the United States.

The differentiation in this article focuses on “...flexible grouping, ongoing assessment, and a

variety of daily math tasks” (Ensign, 2012). Flexible groupings is so important because students

are able to work with each other and learn from each other. I often strategically planned where

my students will sit in order to maximize learning with each other. I used my stronger students as

scaffolds to help my struggling students. This not only helped my struggling students but

strengthened reasoning skills and the concepts in my stronger students. Whether students are

placed in groupings of ability, interest, or readiness, having similarities allows students to work

together for a positive learning environment. Ongoing assessment plays a huge role in

differentiation. Assessment is used to see if students are understanding what is being taught to

them. If assessment is used continually and consistently, it will benefit the students because the

teacher will be able to help them if they are not understanding, place them in a different grouping

to aid their learning further, or reteach a concept as a whole class.

The next article I am going to discuss is called, Increasing Participation through

Differentiation, by Bridget Christenson and Anita Wager. The article gives lots of rich, specific

examples of lessons, then looks at some guiding questions to ask how the teacher included
differentiation in her lessons. A lot of the ways are very subtle and I find contemporary teachers

do this already. Some of the ways this teacher differentiated is through giving students different

sets of numbers to work with, based on their level and ability. She often left it up to the students

which set of numbers they wanted to work with, encouraging her students to challenge

themselves, picking “just right” numbers. She allows her students to share their thoughts and

opinions to their table groups, instead of to the whole class, therefore eliminating the

intimidation factor. She uses her groupings as a tool for scaffolding and she ensures that the

students are “within their zone of proximal development” (Christenson and Wager, 2012). She

ensures that she reads the math problem out loud several times to make sure students who

struggle with reading and English language learners understand the problem. This is something I

did often in my math classes, I found it really helped my students focus and it minimized

questions. All of these strategies are very minimal and do not take a lot of preparation to

incorporate into everyday lessons. At the beginning of the year teachers can determine “Such

groups [that] are equivalent to a guided-reading group” (Christenson and Wager, 2012), therefore

students will be able to work together with similar levels of readiness, ability, or interest.

The last article I will discuss is called, The Myth of Differentiation in Mathematics:

Providing Maximum Growth, by Jason O’Roark. The teacher in the article describes how they

taught high school mathematics for years and made the move to teach grade six. The teacher

started off the year with the whole class doing the same thing, to determine what level the

students were at, then through ongoing assessment the teacher was able to create a differentiated

program where each individual student could excel in mathematics. The “differentiation within

the heterogeneous classes is based on [pre-tests] before each chapter that determine whether a

student already knows the material” (O’Roark, 2013). It is important to know what level the
students are at before differentiation can happen. Within mathematics some students may excel

in one area and struggle in others, hence the important to do a pre-test before each chapter. I

often used a pre-assessment with my students, usually in the form of discussion or “thumbs up if

you know what I am talking about” to see where students were before a new unit started. This

strategy is effective because you can predetermine who might struggle, be familiar with, or excel

with a new concept.

A common theme among the articles presented is the fact that students are put into

different groups based on the level students are working at, students readiness, students interests

and students abilities. Using peers as a form of scaffolding is highly effective and is beneficial

for students learning. The articles talked about beginning the school year at the same spot with

all students and through peer, formative, and summative assessment the teachers are able to

determine where students are at in understanding the curriculum. Some key ideas that continually

came up in the articles is the importance of assessment in gauging where students understanding

lies. One thing that I can infer from my research is that it is okay or often suggested to start

differentiation off small and simplistic. It does not all need to happen at once, things can be

gradually added as teachers get comfortable with employing different techniques and strategies.

Differentiation cannot and will not happen overnight in a classroom, it will take progression and

it will be a lifelong process. I feel prepared with a plethora of strategies and techniques for

differentiation but now I am faced with the daunting task of implementing techniques in my

future math classes. I hope I can find a balance between my newfound knowledge and

implementation. I understand that all students can learn mathematics and through the

differentiation strategies discussed I believe I can effectively engage students, including

struggling students and exceptional learners.

Bridget Christenson, & Anita A. Wager. (2012). Increasing Participation through Differentiation.
Teaching Children Mathematics, 19(3), 194-200. doi:10.5951/teacchilmath.19.3.0194

Education Degree. (2009-2018). The 7 different types of learning styles. Retrieved from
https://www.educationdegree.com/articles/different-types-of-learning-styles

Jacque Ensign. (2012). Teacher-Initiated Differentiation. Teaching Children Mathematics, 19(3), 158-
163. doi:10.5951/teacchilmath.19.3.0158

Jason Lee O'Roark, a. (2013). The Myth of Differentiation in Mathematics: Providing Maximum
Growth. Mathematics Teacher, (1), 9. doi:10.5951/mathteacher.107.1.0009

Pierce, R. L., & Adams, C. M. (2004). TIERED LESSONS: One way to differentiate mathematics
instruction. Gifted Child Today, 27(2), 58-66. Retrieved from
http://login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/docview/203257737?accountid=14474

Van Boxtel, J.,M. (2016). REASON. Teaching Exceptional Children, 49(1), 66-73.
http://dx.doi.org.login.ezproxy.library.ualberta.ca/10.1177/0040059916662252