The Ultimate Guide to Differentiation

Reviews / Votes

Sue Cowley has done a tremendous job. This book is comprehensive, balanced, eminently sensible and written with Sue's customary flair and warmth. It emphasises that effective differentiation is as much about relationships, awareness and understanding of each individual learner as it is about grand strategies. Sue offers numerous practical suggestions for how this understanding can be built and successful learning secured. Differentiation is not just a word; it's being a thoughtful and reactive teacher and making evidence-based, rational decisions. Sue Cowley manages to develop practical ideas, rooted in classroom reality, that stimulate thinking about children and their needs in an investigative process of constant reflection and refinement. The book demonstrates how teachers already differentiate much of the time, in subtle and creative ways - maybe even without knowing it. Sue Cowley shows that we need to understand, acknowledge and celebrate the variety of approaches that teachers already use to differentiate, as well as helping them to develop additional strategies. ...it prompts thought; it asks great questions; it offers ways to implement strategies, useful to the NQT and senior leader alike. Sue Cowley shows that we need to understand, acknowledge and celebrate the variety of approaches that teachers already use to differentiate, as well as helping them to develop additional strategies. What a magical little book. Teaching student teachers how to differentiate is so hard because it is just good teaching! This book breaks these areas of good teaching down and offers snippets of useful advice. Another one for the recommended reading list.