National Expert in Differentiated Instruction to Speak April 13 on U of A Campus

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Carol Ann Tomlinson

Carol Ann Tomlinson, a University of Virginia education professor and department chair, teaches, speaks and writes extensively about differentiated instruction and will speak about the topic on the University of Arkansas campus April 13.

Tomlinson's address titled, "Every Single One: From Student to Classroom to School to Community," is part of the Public Education Lecture Series based in the College of Education and Health Professions. Tomlinson's appearance is co-sponsored by the Education Renewal Zone at the U of A and Springdale Public Schools.

The talk will begin at 7 p.m. in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main and is free and open to the public. Tomlinson has written 15 books on the topics of differentiated instruction and curriculum, including Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom with Marcia Imbeau, a U of A professor of special education.

Tomlinson is the William Clay Parrish Jr. Professor in Virginia's Curry School of Education and chair of Educational Leadership, Foundations, and Policy. She believes every learner has greater hidden potential than that student or others may think and that teachers are most effective when they teach as though each of their students will be successful. Differentiation means to tailor instruction to meet individual needs. It is based on the belief that culture, gender, language, socioeconomic status, peer relationships and many other factors make a difference in how children learn.

In her talk, Tomlinson will use stories about students and what happens when teachers are willing to see them in a different light. Teachers need to study their students to understand the elements in their lives that impact their learning and plan instruction with those elements in mind, she said.