Better Together Seminar - Multi-level instruction: meeting the needs of diverse learners

“Differentiation is about what you are doing as a reflective practitioner.”

A common concern among teachers is how to effectively differentiate as the range of student learning profiles in their classrooms widens. The desire to meet the needs of each student can be the source of pressure and anxiety. On January 30th, Campus des Nations’ Tom Finlayson led us in a discussion on differentiation through multi-level instruction as a solution.

No teacher can prepare an individualized lesson plan for each and every student. And that is not what differentiation is really about. However, we can prepare a multi-faceted lesson that will challenge our students. Multi-level instruction is based on an awareness of student readiness, needs and learning profiles to inform the way we set objectives in the classroom. What is most important, is the way in which a multi-levelling approach promotes student agency and autonomy in the learning process.