Transformative Differentiation Using the Home and Community Connections Model

The authors define the transformative aspect of differentiation as: * honoring student's assets in contextually specific ways; * recognizing and valuing how knowledge is demonstrated in culturally authentic and sustaining ways; * examining ethical issues like power, prejudice, and discrimination; * addressing the development of identity, agency, and community from a socially conscious perspective; and * shifting the focus of learning from conformity to individual, family, and community cultural empowerment. The prompts provide the means for dents to access the content in ways that value their perspective, frame their funds of knowledge, and anchor new knowledge in the problem-solving strategies and identities of their home and community. * Refocusing Resources and Products: A transformative differentiated learning experience is activated through the integration of culturally authentic and sustainable resources and products determined by the students or community (Ladson-Billings, 2014). The strategic and purposeful use of one or more Home and Community Connections prompts provides students with a personalized means of demonstrating what they know and can do, using resources and product development aligned with assets from their home and community. * Refocusing Through Dialogue and Questioning: The Home and Community Connections Model serves as a framework for dialogue and questioning that creates an open approach to differentiation between student and teacher within a learning environment.