In our last blog post, we explored differences between personalisation, differentiation, and also considered where technology might be taking us. As arts and performing arts educators, we want to foster creativity and self-expression in our students but we know our students are often very different from each other. If we are to successfully engage students and enable them to achieve their maximum potential, differentiation and scaffolding are essential strategies. In this post, we will delve into the concepts of differentiation and scaffolding, exploring how they can be applied in art and performing arts education.
Understanding Differentiation
Differentiation involves the tailoring of teaching to meet the unique needs of each student. The main goal is to ensure that every student can comprehend the material, make progress, and reach their fullest potential.
Learning, Vygotsky & ZPD
Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a useful concept through which we can understand differentiation. A simply illustration looks a little like the diagram below:
Vygotsky, highlighted that some tasks sit beyond the ability of learners with any kind of support, whereas other tasks can be accomplished by students without assistance. Between these two positions is a space for learning, a zone in which students can accomplish a task with support; he called this the zone of proximal development.
In any class you teach, you may well have students in each of the three zones. If you offer tasks at only a single level of complexity, some students are likely to get bored, whilst others will find the task too hard and lose interest:
This is why it’s so important to differentiate learning. The intention is to keep all students in the zone of proximal development, all the time.
Differentiate by Input or Output?
There are broadly two forms of differentiation, differentiation through input (the material provided to students) and output (the work they produce).
An extreme example of differentiation through output might be to ask a toddler and an undergraduate art student to paint a picture of some flowers; effectively the same task for both students. Whilst the task is the same, the quality of the outcomes, and the techniques used to achieve the outcomes, will be substantially different. If the approach is differentiation through output we need to ensure that the task is open ended to allow students to fully engage at whatever level of learning they are at. Narrow tasks, where the use of specific techniques are required for instance, are not appropriate. The obvious risk of such tasks is that whilst students with lower abilities may be able to engage, those with higher level skills might choose to stay within their comfort zone, which if done repeatedly will lead to the stagnation of learning and boredom.
Differentiation through input is likely more effective, however requires greater skill from the teacher, and a better knowledge of each student’s current ability. It takes time for a tutor to set specific tasks for individuals or groups of individuals, or set similar tasks with different degrees of support; giving the entire cohort the same broad activity is obviously less demanding. There is also the potential for the tutor to misunderstand a students’ level of learning, and set a task that is too easy or difficult for a student to achieve. Relatedly, there could be challenges regarding equity. That said, for competent teachers, especially for formative tasks, differentiation can be a powerful tool to heighten engagement and learning.
Learning Outcomes and Criteria Based Assessment
Learning outcomes set the stage for differentiation. Learning outcomes present the minimum expectations of what students need to achieve in order to pass a course or programme of study.
Whilst, at one level, it might be regarded that the task of a tutor is to enable students to achieve the learning outcome, it must be remembered that this amounts to just a minimum pass. This is why rubrics are so vital. Rubrics provide the criteria against which higher levels of attainment can be categorised and judged. They are a vital tool for teachers who might wish to set tasks enabling a further stretch for students. They can provide valuable information for both the student and teacher about what the next learning steps should be, enabling effective differentiation.
Differentiated Inputs
The input, is traditionally the ‘chalk and talk’ aspect of a class. It’s the point of transmission of ideas from teacher to student. For many higher education disciplines, lectures make up the bulk of the learning. In the arts it has never quite looked like this, with students more often taking part in practical activities, in which the modelling of techniques and approaches are used to introduce skills that are developed during the course of the lesson.
Some ideas to spice up your input include:
Roll on, Roll off: Offer an input before starting the main activity, with designed ‘exit’ points for students who wish to engage more immediately with the practical task.
À la carte: Offer different inputs to different students based on their needs. In reality this might look like a carousel of inputs.
Material Difference: Provide different materials to separate groups as an input. One group might have a video to watch, whilst another group gets draw/written instructions to follow
Peer Input: Students can lead the input for each other.
Differentiated Questions
Consider how you can adapt your questions to suit the varied needs and abilities of your students. If you search ‘Blooms Taxonomy Question Stems’ lots of sites will offer different question starters, that enable you to pitch questions at different levels of challenge. Indeed, AI can increasingly support with this too. Questions are an amazing way to quicky assess the understanding of your students, and analyse what you might need to offer them next in terms of learning experiences.
Learning Activities
As suggested earlier, where differentiation occurs through input, learning activities should involve different degrees of challenge. There are two ways that this can be achieved:
Challenge of the task
Consider the prior knowledge, complexity, skill level, sensory demands, and other factors that can make a task more challenging. Mix these together to stagger the learning demands for different students.
It is worth noting that Kolb’s experiential learning approach, and Bruner’s spiral curriculum, move from concrete examples towards abstraction. One aspect you might think about is the degree of abstraction involved in the work being explored.
Support/assistance provided
It is also possible to increase or decrease the challenge of a task by altering the amount of support and assistance that is provided. This is often described as scaffolding tasks.
Scaffolding
Scaffolding is the process of providing structured support to help students work through tasks independently. This can take various forms:
Focussed Support: Direct, permanent, tutor or peer support throughout a task.
Intermittent Support: Occasional, direct assistance from a tutor or peer.
Mini Plenary: Small group or whole-class responsive support during which a task is temporarily paused to allow for reflection and re-alignment of the approach.
Chunking: The breaking down complex tasks into smaller, more manageable parts.
Complementary Aids: Using guides and other supporting materials to assist students whilst they complete a task
Success Criteria: Offering systematic outlines of the key stages required to complete a complex task.
Worked Examples: Providing part-finished or fully-finished examples.
Interactive Simulations: Utilizing videos and interactive tools to aid students.
Concluding Thoughts
Incorporating differentiation and scaffolding can create a more inclusive, active, and engaging learning environment. As educators, we must continually assess the effectiveness of these strategies and adapt them to the evolving needs of our students. By recognising and addressing individual differences, we can unlock the creative potential of every student and foster a lifelong love for the arts.
