Dynamic Differentiation has already begun
As Darren Coxon 🚀 talked about in his recent post,
we have the opportunity to transform our Schools in 3D
There is so much to mine and so much to work through in just the few points he makes. It, also, leaves me wondering how many schools and school leaders are thinking through such issues, weaving them into their strategic plans and preparing themselves for the new now.
To take one of the points, ‘Dynamic Differentiation’ and consider this at the classroom level, I led a PD session this week at Scotch College where the question was: ‘How can AI simplify the process of differentiating in the classroom?’ The approach to this and the rapid impact I am seeing as a result of that, is something worth sharing. To me, it shows that AI in its current form, has already created a different dynamic to the issue of differentiation.
In preparing for the PD session, I was immediately challenged by the realisation that I am in a school where a number of the staff have made significant strides in integrating AI tools and technology, in thinking about the implications, in being transparent and open to the issues and adapting their practice. Yet, as in any school, college, university or workplace, there are some staff who are very confident, skilled, adventurous, and then there are others less so. In other words, to approach such a session in a school where we have tried to meet the AfterChatGPT era with gusto, this creates its own issues with having to differentiate such PD for the staff.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but differentiation PD would typically focus on what the teacher could or should do i.e. best practice for the teacher. Yet, if we consider that AI has immense power to personal learning surely there is the potential or, indeed, the need for a shift in the focus. As Darren Coxon states:
we will finally experience dynamic differentiation: we will shift away from the traditional, one-size-fits-all model of education to one that is tailored and adaptable
So why not start now?
Hence, I decided to take a different approach and consider what AI enables, what do AI tools in the hands of students mean for differentiation, given this stated capacity.
Larry Ferlazzo, an educator who has resonated so much with me down the years, is credited as having said this:
Differentiating instruction is really a way of thinking, not a pre-planned list of strategies. Oftentimes, it is making decisions in the moment based on this mindset. It’s recognising that ‘fair’ doesn’t always mean treating everyone equally. It’s recognising that all of our students bring different gifts and challenges, and that as educators, we need to recognise those differences and use our professional judgment to flexibly respond to them in our teaching
As much as this was such an important statement and, in some ways, still is, AI brings a fundamental shift that undermines some key points in this, namely the last sentence could change to:
It’s recognising that all of our students bring different gifts and challenges, and that as educators, we need to recognise those differences and use our professional judgment to provide students with tools and education around those tools for their education
Therefore, I feel that ‘dynamic differentiation’ has already begun and the teacher response to differentiation is to actually shift the focus from what they have to consider to what a student can do for themselves. The ‘thinking’ Larry refers to becomes about technology provisions that enable students to access learning at their level.
As a result of this approach, the session I delivered, although short, focused on just a few tools: Perplexity (non-intrusive chat)
ChatGPT (more in depth and varied approaches such as Socratic)
Google Bard (image searches)
AudioPen (speech to text with note summaries)
These tools, I feel, right now, provide the potential for students to get that personalised assistance in their learning.
