I'd be interested to learn about the social implications of that kind of differentiation. I always understood that one of the underlying reasons behind "streaming" is that they are in a class with people at their own level, no matter what level that is. A negative aspect of streaming is that children know that they are in the "lower level" class, when their friends are in the upper level. Kids may internalize that feeling of inadequacy if it comes up in social situations, but in class, at least, they are on equal par with their fellow students. In a differentiated classroom, you don't have the same social stigma of being in the "stupid class" (or the "nerd class"), but lower-level students will be re-singled-out every day, in front of higher-performing peers. During the initial group work, levels mix (I assume), and I'd worry that lower-level students would either not try at their own level/pace (relying on high-level friends), or try and then feel frustrated when their friends/peers catch on faster and don't struggle.
I guess it comes down to which is worse. In streaming, students may feel labeled as "stupid," but they aren't reminded of it in the learning situation. In differentiation, they aren't labeled as anything, but they will learn to associate the feeling of "stupidity" with the learning environment. I'd think the better of the two options would entirely depend on the student, but you can't structure a school both ways.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-09 12:00 am (UTC)I'd be interested to learn about the social implications of that kind of differentiation. I always understood that one of the underlying reasons behind "streaming" is that they are in a class with people at their own level, no matter what level that is. A negative aspect of streaming is that children know that they are in the "lower level" class, when their friends are in the upper level. Kids may internalize that feeling of inadequacy if it comes up in social situations, but in class, at least, they are on equal par with their fellow students. In a differentiated classroom, you don't have the same social stigma of being in the "stupid class" (or the "nerd class"), but lower-level students will be re-singled-out every day, in front of higher-performing peers. During the initial group work, levels mix (I assume), and I'd worry that lower-level students would either not try at their own level/pace (relying on high-level friends), or try and then feel frustrated when their friends/peers catch on faster and don't struggle.
I guess it comes down to which is worse. In streaming, students may feel labeled as "stupid," but they aren't reminded of it in the learning situation. In differentiation, they aren't labeled as anything, but they will learn to associate the feeling of "stupidity" with the learning environment. I'd think the better of the two options would entirely depend on the student, but you can't structure a school both ways.