Differentiation - Mathematics#

Mathematics Strategies that promote equity and achievement#

D'Ambrosio & Kastberg (2008) provide the following.

D'Ambrosio appears from this paper (Friere is quoted) and other publications to have a constructivist perspective. The fact that some (most?) of the following resonate at some level with the explicit-teaching crowd offers some potential indication that they are not mutually exclusive.

1. Encourage exploration and investigation#

Expressly includes giving students "an opportunity to explore concepts before being 'taught the rules'". Which may trouble some of the explicit crowd, but that perhaps depends on when and with what scaffolds that exploration is offered.

2. Use students' prior knowledge#

Constructivist perspective expressly mentioned. But the cognitivists would have something similar e.g. zone of proximal development, short/long-term memory

3. Use multiple representations to illustrate mathematical ideas#

4. Use real-world problem solving activities#

Advice here tends to what Meyer warns against in real-work-versus-real-world

5. Integrate mathematics with other subjects#

6. Use culturally relevant materials as a springboard for mathematics instruction#

7. Provide students with opportunities to use technology#

8. Encourage oral and written discourse in the classroom#

9. Encourage collaborative problem solving#

10. Use student thinking to enhance learning#

11. Offer an enriched curriculum and challenging activities#

12. Use a variety of problem-solving experiences#

References#

D'Ambrosio, B. S., & Kastberg, S. E. (2008). Strategies to Promote Equity in Mathematics Education. In Educating Everybody's Children: Diverse teaching strategies for diverse learners.