Dr. Fogarty Leads Differentiation Workshop
February 25, 2008
On February 18, 2008, approximately 200 educators met in Hays for Dr. Robin Fogarty’s presentation, “How to Differentiate Learning”. This presentation was for Smoky Hill Education Service Center’s Regional Inservice Day. Dr. Fogarty is well-known not only in the United States but also around the world for her expertise on educational topics. In fact, she had returned the evening of February 16th from Singapore where she had been working with the country’s Ministry of Education. A former teacher, Robin, got the audience actively involved in the learning during her presentation just as teachers do in a regular classroom. For example, she had participants rotating to different groups for various activities. They also worked in groups on a differentiated lesson for their grade level or content area.
Dr. Fogarty noted that differentiation involves changing the content, process, or product. Teachers lead the change with challenge and choice. Furthermore, teachers often differentiate without even realizing that they are doing it. She reminded the participants that differentiation was for all students, including the advanced learners. At the conclusion of the event, educators had learned several strategies that they could implement directly into their classrooms.
