Leading for Differentiation: Growing Teachers Who Grow Kids

by Carol Ann Tomlinson, Michael Murphy

To differentiate instruction is to act on the belief that all kids deserve access to the richest, most compelling learning experiences and to provide the scaffolding they need to seize that opportunity. While a handful of teachers in a school might be using differentiation to great success, it takes a collaborative, schoolwide approach to maximize differentiation's effectiveness and improve outcomes for all students.
Leading for Differentiation lays out the reflective thinking and action-oriented steps necessary to launch a system of continuous professional learning, culture building, and program assessment that will allow differentiation to take root and flourish in every classroom.

Genres: Education

167 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2015

Reviews

[Emma Llama · Rating 4 out of 5]

i feel that even though the book is written for school leaders, its core ideas about autonomy, purpose, mastery, and humane change management apply to any modern workplace, which was my biggest takeaway. i believe that the principles that empower teachers also motivate high-performing teams everywhere. i found the reframing of autonomy especially interesting, since it breaks the idea into four clear elements of time, task, technique, and team, making autonomy feel structured and practical rather than a vague idea of just "letting someone do whatever they want" and the model carries over easily into corporate settings and personal leadership. the reason it is a four-star read is the organization, as the chapters often feel dense and key insights are sometimes hidden within long narratives without clear summaries or visual frameworks to pull ideas together.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lays out a solid approach to initiating & supporting teachers in a school wide focus on differentiation. I found much if it to be applicable to any major shift or initiative to be implemented in schools.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well explained and invaluable resource for anyone wanting to lead change in schools. I thoroughly recommend it.