1) Carol Tomlinson mentions "definitions" or partial definitions of differentiation in chapter one. What makes sense to you, in attempting to define differentiation?
An element of differentiation that makes sense to me is what was termed, "Learning profile." This means material is presented or offered in the way the, "students learn best." I know that certain classroom activities really get me going because they're "my thing." What a great thing for a student to feel and know that they are good at the activity in class and to know their strengts. We can only help them identify those strengths if we offer opportunities to work with them.

2a) Carol Tomlinson mentioned a metaphor of baseball camp in last week's reading, and introduces the metaphor of taming the fox in chapter 1 of Fulfilling the Promise. Can you think of a metaphor that indicates your current understanding of differentiation?
I hope this is not too close to the metaphor of the baseball camp but it got me thinking in terms of athletics as well. The metaphor I was thinking of though is of a personal trainer. I understand the metaphor of baseball camp and think it only works because a baseball team would include a coach who wants to win and so it would be harder to help the student feel good about progress when their grades reflect on the teacher. So I think of a trainer. I was a swimmer and really bulky and muscly. That was appropriate at the time but it's not now. Now I'm focused on being healthy and also on looking cute. I've never really been "cute" because I'm fairly large in stature (just plain tall). When I worked with a personal trainer, we assessed my goals and the were just to trim down. The way I lift weights has to be different than it used to be because I'm not trying to build muscle, just tone. I'm not training for an competition or marathon but someone who was, would need to train differently than I do. Also, once goal weight or body type is achieved, maintenance becomes important and so the training is typically not as intense. When I am older, I know that I'll have a different type of workout then too. This is like how we can differentiate for our students. They all have different needs and different things that drive them. Along with that, they have different limitations. My mom has bad knees so training for a marathon with lots of running would not work for her but swimming may be great. Once she has made some progress with her health and fitness, her knees will improve and she'll be able to add more strenuous activity. This would be like scaffolding and building from where the student is to where they want to be.