Differentiation

At TDS, the faculty recognizes and appreciates that students learn differently and are at a variety of readiness levels.  This creates a rich mixture of all kinds of minds.  Teachers embrace the diversity of learning styles and levels and do their best to meet each student where he/she is, both academically and developmentally.  While diverse teaching styles are used in the classroom, teachers also provide support or enrichment for students who need it.  Here are a few ways we differentiate at TDS:

• Spelling lists within the same Lower School classroom could be different, depending on the readiness level of the student.
• Independent reading books for individual students and works of literature between reading groups are different, depending on the readiness level of the student.
• Math projects in Middle School may have different expectations in terms of depth into concepts, depending on the student.  Note that the work load should be the same.
• Expectations for writing assignments may be different, depending on the level from which the student has started.