According to data from a survey by Charismatheia, the critical thinking ability and creativity of students who participated in differentiated lessons increased by 20% as compared to traditional lessons.
This and other research findings were presented at an event co-organized by Charismatheia and the Postgraduate Program in Special Education of the Department of Pedagogy and Primary Education at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens on May 2 at the University of Athens. The findings reflect the impressions and experiences of the approximately 3,500 teachers and 46,000 students who have benefited from the Day of Differentiated Education, which has been organized by Charismatheia on April 7 for two years now.
The Day of Differentiated Education features presentations of differentiated lesson plans, including autonomous learning plans and construction challenges. In those plans, the standard educational curriculum is enriched to support each child’s motivation, skill development, emotional education, and recognition of self-worth. Educators using differentiated lessons report feeling more enthusiastic performing their work, but they require time and exposure in order to implement differentiation even more effectively.
With support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), 35 integrated lesson plans were made available to primary and secondary school teachers, along with teacher’s manuals, supervisory materials, and 50 free trainings in differentiated education.