#CELTAchat Monday 1 October 2018 Differentiation on Initial Teacher Training Courses

Differentiation on initial teacher training courses - summary by @bellinguist

Monday 1 October #CELTAchat topic suggestion came from @bellinguist based on an article summarising a talk at this year’s IATEFL conference in Brighton. The talk was given by Karin Krummenacher, who advocates introducing differentiation on initial teacher training courses. The participants were @bellinguist @fionaljp @GioLic1976 @Cathyofnusle @angelos_bollas @CELTALeeds @adi_rajan @sandymillin

Comments on how differentiation is/can be implemented on initial teacher training courses

@Cathyofnusle Comments on trainees’ lessons are tailored based on their level of development. Trainers also differentiate on criteria and are required to grade trainees’ performance accordingly. Support is given to trainees who require it and stronger trainees are asked to produce more. It is also possible to mix strong and weak trainees so that the former can provide peer support. Trainees are asked to vote on what they want to cover in review sessions.
@angelos_bollas Differentiating input from one course to another is possible based on the trainees’ profiles, i.e. having materials for sessions for a stronger group as well as a weaker one. Differentiation is also possible when reviewing input later on in a course 
@fionaljp It is good to give trainees choices based on their profile and their developmental needs.
@bellinguist Input sessions can be adapted to both challenge and support and extension tasks can be devised for fast finishers. It might be worth actually having an input session on differentiation to raise awareness as this will no doubt reflect the reality of trainees’ future teaching experiences. One way of supporting trainees is to have a VLE so that they can access materials pre and/or post session, e.g. Moodle, Edmodo.
@GioLic1976 Differentiation usually happens during lesson planning, with extra guidance given if required. There are some input sessions that work well as far as differentiation is concerned, e.g. using a work station format in a mop up session on language analysis/MFP in which trainees choose the area(s) they feel less comfortable in and work on tasks to develop in those areas. 
@CELTALeeds One example of a differentiated input session is receptive skills, in which the trainees observe a lesson and are given different tasks. The strongest trainees work together and identify the stages and the stage aims, slightly less confident trainees are given the stages and write the aims, and the least confident trainees have both the stages and the aims, match them and put them in order.
@adi_rajan Having two versions of input sessions based on the level of the trainees
@sandymillin Having mini reviews in TP feedback based on the trainees’ needs and the gaps in their knowledge. 

Comments made about pitfalls/problems/concerns regarding differentiation on initial teacher training courses

@GioLic1976 said differentiation could be seen as being unfair, especially during feedback and a trainer may make the wrong assumptions. @angleos_bollas is concerned about giving different tasks to trainees. Instead he feels the same tasks should be given but with more practice/input if necessary @Cathyofnusle says it is unrealistic for there to be different input sessions, i.e. stronger and weaker trainees receive different input as this would result in an increase in costs for centres. @bellinguist admitted that devising differentiated input sessions required more work and time
In response to Karin’s suggestion about having a diagnostic test and devising a tailor-made timetable for each trainee, it was thought that centres would not welcome this as there would be financial implications and perhaps there could also be resistance from trainees. @adi_rajan mentioned that trainers would also not be paid for the extra time they would spend on redesigning materials to offer such differentiation

And finally, thanks to @sandymillin who posted a link to a summary of an IATEFL talk on she attended last year, in which Alistair Douglas talks about differentiation: IATEFL Glasgow 2017: Teacher Training.