“Teachers craft classrooms that are good matches for their teaching styles as well as for learner needs.” NeedsWellsTeacherTeachingStyleCraftsClassroomLearners Author:Carol Ann Tomlinson
“Creating a classroom environment that encourages students to take the risk of learning. We've known for a long time that when students lack a sense of safety or of belonging or of contribution, learning takes second place to meeting those needs.” NeedsLongKnownEnvironmentRiskStudentsCreatingLong TimeSafetyMeetingsContributionBelongingClassroomSecond PlaceEncourage Students Author:Carol Ann Tomlinson
“We need to understand where are students are at any point during a unit - in other words, what each student actually knows, understands, and can do at a given time based on the content goals we've established.” KnowsNeedsGivenGoalCan DoStudentsUnits Author:Carol Ann Tomlinson
“We need to develop a robust set of tools - strategies and routines - that help us address student variance. It's easy to come to rely on two or three "trusty" instructional strategies like worksheets and lectures. Those are of little help in planning for a variety of student needs. As we develop a better toolbox, we're empowered to meet students where they are.” NeedsLittlesTwoHelpingThreeEasyStudentsToolsStrategyPlanningVarietyRelyAddressesLecturesEmpoweredRobustVarianceLittle HelpToolbox Author:Carol Ann Tomlinson
“Until a teacher learns to use elements like time, space, materials, groupings, and so forth flexibly, it's incredibly difficult to teach students as they need to be taught.” NeedsUseDifficultSpaceTeachTeacherStudentsTaughtMaterialsElements Author:Carol Ann Tomlinson
“I have find that today's students are often more tolerant of human variance than students in earlier generations might have been. On the other hand, some of our students need much more interaction with a wide variety of peers so they level of understanding deepens and so they are prepared to live in a world that is only going to get smaller.” WorldNeedsHumansHas BeensHandsMightTodayUnderstandingLevelsGenerationsStudentsPreparedWideVarietyInteractionPeersMight Have BeenVariance Author:Carol Ann Tomlinson
“I think [testing] has had a profoundly problematic impact on student learning. It must seem to students that their worth as individuals is equivalent to their test score. The stress the high stakes culture has on teachers is also highly negative and must surely impact students in a negative way. It also de-professionalizes teachers because it encourages them to be script readers, followers of rigid schedules, and to disregard the needs of the people they teach in favor of the scripts and schedules.” PeopleThinkingWayNeedsSeemsCultureIndividualTeachTeacherStudentsReaderNegativeTestsStressImpactScriptsFavorsScoreFollowersStakesSchedulesTestingDisregardStudent LearningTest Scores Author:Carol Ann Tomlinson
“We need teacher educators who regularly spend a great deal of time in classrooms so they have a deep understanding of where they students will teach.” NeedsUnderstandingDealsTeachTeacherStudentsClassroomEducatorDeep Understanding Author:Carol Ann Tomlinson
“We need teacher educators who are hungry to learn about and implement contemporary approaches to teaching and learning in their own classrooms and who are reflective about their work with their students.” NeedsTeacherTeachingStudentsApproachHungryContemporaryClassroomEducatorTeaching And Learning Author:Carol Ann Tomlinson
“As educators we need to understand that there is no finish line in our work.” NeedsLinesEducatorFinish Line Author:Carol Ann Tomlinson
“Differentiation is simply a teacher attending to the learning needs of a particular student or small groups of students, rather than teaching a class as though all individuals in it were basically alike.” NeedsIndividualClassTeacherGroupsTeachingStudentsParticularAttendingSmall GroupsDifferentiation Author:Carol Ann Tomlinson