Differentiation
Caitlin, as you have a number of students in your classroom with exceptional needs, it is important to differentiate the curriculum to cater for the diversity of needs in your classroom.
The Department of Education and Communities have a number of policies that state that all students should be included in NSW Public School and therefore, teachers must differentiate the learning experiences to cater for the various needs.
Caitlin, in order to differentiate the curriculum, you can:
- Plan the curriculum for the different levels of ability of your students: Based on the varying levels in the classroom, work with the support staff to plan the curriculum to cater for all the student’s needs.
- Adapt some aspects of the curriculum to ensure you include all students: Across all Key Learning Areas, some adaptations may need to be made to ensure the students are still achieving the outcomes, even if they need to achieve this in a different way. For example, a student with a physical disability may need the PDHPE syllabus adapted to ensure the learning outcomes are achieved.
- Plan learning experiences for partial participation if required: If the student is unable to participate in the learning experience fully, include them to participate partially. This may need to be done for students that are only at school for parts of the day.
- Modify the classroom environment: Make changes in the physical learning environment to ensure that all students can access the room easily as well as view the board, be away from distractions and move around the room when required.
Methods of Adapting Curriculum Content and Presentations
Focus |
Methods |
Curriculum Content |
|
Presentation Methods |
|
Additional Skills training to assist Curriculum Content Understanding |
|
(Table 4.2 from Foreman 2008, p114)
Further Reading:
Foreman, P 2008, Inclusion in Action, 2nd edn, Cengage Learning, South Melbourne, VIC.
Loveman, T, Depeller J & Harvey, D 2005, Inclusive Education: A Practical Guide to Supporting Diversity in the Classroom, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, NSW.