The assessment of teachers’ differentiation skills: the construction of an observation scale.

Monica Sienders, Jos van den Bongaardt & Gonny Schellings

Interfacultaire Lerarenopleidingen

Why differentiated teaching? Call for differentiated teaching

Differentiated teaching = “the efforts of teachers to respond to differences among learners

WITHIN ONE classroom” (Tomlinson, 2000; 2005a). Differentiated teaching may be aimed at five different elements: class climate, instruction; assignments; grouping structure, and evaluation.

Differentiated teaching is an instructional strategy of a higher order level (Van de Grift, et al., 2011).

Observation scale 2

Openschoolgemeenschap Bijlmer

Very heterogeneous school Research teachers have constructed a course

for differentiated teaching.

Observation scale 3

Research questions concerning the observation scale

Is assessment of differentiated teaching possible?

May the effects of a training course be made visible? (Is there an increase in observable differentiated teaching after following a course)

Observation scale 4

The observation scale Is based on:

interviews (at a heterogeneous secondary school), two other observation instruments

(Van de Grift, 2007; Van Tassel-Baska et al., 2008)

differentiation rubrics (Strickland, 2009). Concerns:

a high-inference event sample scale Consist of two parts:

the quality and frequency of activities.

Observation scale 5

Quality part of the scale

There are five subscales (indices):Class climate; instruction; assignments; grouping

structure, and evaluation

Each index is qualitatively judged with help of rubrics (1=Novice; 2=Apprentice; 3= Practitioner; 4= Expert; 0 = not observed).

Observation scale 6

Frequency part

Each scale is specified by “good practice examples”.In all, there are 20 “good practice examples”.three-point frequency scale1 = not at all; 2= occasionally; 3= regularly.

Observation scale 7

Practice: meet Edwin Teacher English; 7 years of practice 28 students Lower-grade: students are not yet familiar with

differentiated teaching The lesson is half-way; students have already made

some exercises; now feedback is given.

Observation scale 8

Please score the scale 1) Class climate2)

Instruction3)

Grouping structure

Discussion1) The results found with the observation scale were

somewhat ambiguous (for example both increases and decreases in differentiation activities). Can the observation scale be used as a reliable evaluation instrument or should it solely be used as an instructional tool ?

Observation scale 9

Discussion

2) The frequency of the differentiation activities turned out not to relate to the quality of these activities. Should the instrument be adjusted to match frequencies and quality in more congruent ways?

Observation scale 10

Discussion3) The instrument is quite complex to score. Can

the instrument also be used by relative layman in the area of differentiated teaching?

Observation scale 11