An Introduction to Differentiation

In this unit Pre-service Teachers (PSTs) will examine approaches to curriculum planning that supports and encourages all students to achieve at their level of need. PST’s will investigate teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from different physical, cognitive, and social-emotional abilities, including gifted students; as well as those who come from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. PST’s will explore a variety of pedagogies, programs, resources and policy documents, which enable and support them to develop practices to create inclusive environments that cater to the specific, but differing learning needs of students. This exploration will include a focus on the relevant legislative requirements.



This is a praxis inquiry unit in which students will undertake professional experience in a primary school setting. This unit builds on PST’s primary school professional experiences and will support them to articulate and reflect on important questions regarding the impact of teachers' work. PST’s will reflect on their experiences of, and learning in, primary schools by investigating personal, school-based, theoretical and socio-cultural explanations of their experiences in educational settings, including the principles underpinning the creation of differentiated classroom environments. In addition, PST’s will have the opportunity to contextualise and role-play the key features of coherent and deliberate teaching practices such as: applying diverse pedagogies, planning and sequencing of tasks and lessons including differentiating curriculum-aligned learning objectives, clear descriptions of how students will show evidence of mastery, the common progression of learning in a subject area and the critical curriculum knowledge needed for students to progress. PSTs will also explore how to use the evidence of student outcomes to support further differentiated learning experiences.