Aspects of differentiation in teacher education: Exploring student teachers’ experiences

It is well accepted that not only the ability but also the positive disposition of teachers towards various teaching practices (including differentiated teaching) can be largely traced back to their initial education and training. Therefore, the beliefs and experiences of future teachers for planning and implementing differentiated teaching activities are worth exploring. Based on the above, the purpose of the current study is to explore the beliefs and experiences of future teachers in differentiated teaching. The participants (N = 142) were undergraduate students of a Greek university, who, during a six-month compulsory practical course, planned and implemented in schools a two-hour differentiated course. In particular, the difficulties they encountered in planning and implementing differentiated teaching were investigated, as well as the positive way in which they considered it to contribute to their teaching profile. Data were collected through the participants’ responses to the course’s open-ended evaluation form. Data were analyzed by two independent raters using qualitative analysis. Main findings have shown that the participants encountered difficulties in planning appropriate teaching activities based on the students' learning readiness, while challenges have emerged during teaching related mainly to class management. The participants believe, however, that the whole process has contributed significantly to their teaching skills as well as their motivation for using differentiated teaching and for teaching in general