One Size Doesn’t Fit All:
Differentiating
Classroom Instruction
Susan Demirsky Allan
www.differentiatedinstruction.net
sdallan@att.net
Goals for the Day
By the end of the day, you’ll be able to:

Identify key features of an
effectively differentiated classroom

Explain some of the concepts and
principles of differentiated
instruction

Analyze some lessons that
differentiate by readiness using a
key technique: tiered lessons

Relate a number of examples of
differentiation at work in a
classroom
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Differentiation is...
...the recognition of and
commitment to plan for student
differences. A differentiated
classroom provides different
avenues to acquire content, to
process or make sense of
information and ideas, and to
develop products.
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The Goals...
... of a differentiated
classroom are to maximize
student growth and to
promote individual student
success.
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Basic
Understandings



The increasing diversity of students requires
an alternative to the one-size-fits-all approach
to heterogeneous classrooms.
Educating all our students requires clear
commitment to gifted and special education
students, as well as those students whose
performance is more “typical”.
There should be no walls and no ceilings to
learning.
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Clearing Up a Common
Misunderstanding
Differentiation uses flexible grouping.
 Teachers implement flexible grouping strategies
that cluster students by achievement in a
particular subject area, interest, learning style,
personal choice, and/or ability.
 The key is flexible. Teachers move students
in and out of groups after assessing students’
instructional needs.
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Some Basic Principles


We differentiate instruction when
we use a variety of instructional
techniques that enable us to meet
the diverse learning needs of our
students.
It is not the cumbersome
technique of individualization. It
can be thought of as grouped
individualization.
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Differentiation is…


Providing multiple assignments
within each unit, tailored for
students of different levels of
readiness, interest, and/or
learning style
Having high expectations for all
students. Aim high and
differentiate down as
necessary.
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Differentiation is…

Permitting students to opt out
of material they can
demonstrate they know and to
progress at their own pace
through new material.
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Differentiation is…


Allowing students to choose,
with the teacher’s guidance,
ways to learn and to demonstrate
what they have learned.
(Keep in mind, it’s with the
teacher’s guidance. The teacher
has the final word!)
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Differentiation is…


Providing students with
opportunities to explore topics in
which they have strong interest and
find personal meaning.
Implementing flexible grouping
strategies that cluster students by
achievement in a particular subject
area, interest, learning style,
personal choice, and/or ability.
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Differentiation isn’t...


Individualization. It isn’t a
different lesson plan for each
student each day.
Giving all students the same
work most of the time, even in
achievement or ability grouped
classes.
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Differentiation isn’t…



Requiring students to teach
material that they have already
mastered to others who have not
yet obtained mastery.
Assigning more math problems or
more reading at the same level to
high achieving students.
Focusing on student weaknesses
and ignoring student strengths.
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A Picture is Worth A
Thousand Words
Differentiation in Action:
Snapshots of Tiered Lessons in
Different Grades and Subjects
Instructional Strategies






tiered activities and/or products
adjusted processes in activities
learning contracts
independent study
adjusted questions
compacting
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
A middle school science project used almost
identical activities but some groups of
students did the activities on elements and
some on compounds.
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A simple tiered activity
Grade K: Counting (skill)
• Task 1 Find a way to count and show how many people
are in our class today.
– How did you get your answer?
• Task 2 Find a way to show how many people are in our
class.
– How many are absent today?
– How many are here today?
– How do you know?
• Task 3 Find a way to show how many boys are in our
class today.
–
–
–
–
How many boys are absent today?
How many girls are here today?
How many girls are absent today?
Prove you are right.
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Grade K:
Key Concept: Patterns
• Generalization: Scientists make classifications.
– Use carpenter’s aprons to collect “data” through a nature
walk. Then, at the science center:
• Task 1 Using a pre-made grid with categories on it, classify
leaves:
• by size
• by color
• Task 2 Display a sample grid and have students create their
own. Classify leaves:
 by shape
• by creating a category
• Task 3 Students decide how to show categories and contents
• Find 3 ways each leaf could be classified – other than color.
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

“Tweak” an existing lesson to create two
or three different tasks that all achieve the
same objective.
Sample GLCE:
◦ N.ME.06.06 Represent rational numbers as
fractions or terminating decimals when
possible, and translate between these
representations.



Easy task: What is 3/4 as a decimal?
Mid-level task: What is 3/5 as a decimal?
Difficult task: What is 1 3/8 as a decimal?
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OR COMPLEX
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


GLCE: N.MR.06.13 Solve contextual problems
involving percentages such as sales taxes and
tips.
The music store is having a sale. Every day this
month, the store is offering a 10% discount on all
CDs and CD singles.
You have $25 to spend on CDs and CD singles.
Buy as many as you’d like with the money you
have. Make a list of the CDs and CD singles you
buy, and how much they cost after the discount.
Remember to add on 6% sales tax!
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

The music store is having a sale. Every day
this month, the store is offering a 25%
discount on all CDs and CD singles.
You have $45 to spend on CDs and CD
singles. Buy as many as you’d like with the
money you have. Make a list of the CDs and
CD singles you buy, and how much they cost
after the discount. Remember to add on 6%
sales tax!
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

The music store is having a sale. Every day
this month, the store is offering a 25%
discount on all CDs and CD singles.
You have $45 to spend on CDs and CD
singles. Buy as many as you’d like with the
money you have. Make a list of the CDs and
CD singles you buy, and how much they cost
after the discount. Remember to add on 4.5%
sales tax!
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
At the beginning of the year, have the students
complete a Learning Styles Inventory.

Use this information to determine which
students should get
◦ visual instruction (either from a video tutorial or the
book)
◦ auditory instruction (either from you, a video tutorial
or a podcast)
◦ tactile/kinesthetic instruction (e.g., using
manipulatives)

Some students grasp the abstract concept
quickly and prefer not to use manipulatives at
all. But kinesthetic learners love them!
Developed by Jennifer H. Allan, Birmingham Public School System
The teacher uses the same lesson but some
students work
 with the actual manipulatives (tactile
learners)
 with virtual manipulatives (visual learners)
 don’t work with the manipulatives at all, but
may hear an explanation or see a video
(auditory learners) or work with the abstract
symbols (advanced learners/abstract
thinkers)
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Example: Chip Boards for teaching Integer Addition
and Subtraction



Tactile model involves a flat “board” (usually
cardboard) and red and black chips.
Virtual model available at the National Library of
Virtual Manipulatives (www.nlvm.usu.edu)
***Caveat – students love the virtual chip boards
and usually will not go back to the tactile version!


National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
(http://nlvm.usu.edu/)
NCTM website
(http://illuminations.nctm.org/
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A.
B.
Why did Max go to visit the wild things? Do
you think that was a good or bad idea? Why
did he decide to come home? Was that a
good or bad idea? Why do you say so?
If you were Max’s Mom or Dad, write about
what you would think when he went to his
room, when he went where the wild things
were, when he came home?
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C.
D.
Max sometimes talks to himself. Tell us
what he says when he goes to his room,
goes through his visit to the wild things,
decides to come home and gets back to
his room. What do he and his parents
say the next morning?
What does it really mean to go where the
wild things are? Tell a story about a time
when that happened to you or a friend.
Tell enough so we can see how the two
stories are alike or different.
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DEAR MOM
AND
DAD
Welcome to parent conferencing night. My
teacher and I have developed the following
report so that you will know what I am
working on in (subject area) this term.
We have some goals for our class this term.
They include the following:
Academic:
Work Ethic:
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
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DEAR MOM
AND
DAD (CON’T)
In addition, my teacher has differentiated
these goals for me and a group of my
learning partners in this way:
Academic:
Work Ethic:
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
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DEAR MOM
AND
DAD (CON’T)
In discussion with my teacher, I’ve also
decided on the following personal goals:
Academic:
Work Ethic:
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
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DEAR MOM
AND
DAD (CON’T)
I would like your help in accomplishing my
goals by:
___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
______
Thanks,
Your son or daughter
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Compacting
Useful for students who:
 Are reading at an advanced level
 Finish tasks quickly
 Would benefit from more
advanced work.
Good site for information:
http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/p
df/Curriculum_Compacting.pdf
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Curriculum Compacting



Pre-Test everyone (all students
are given equal opportunities to
demonstrate knowledge)
Give a Post-Test to those students
who pass the pre-test
If a student passes the Post-Test
as well, demonstrating mastery,
they can “opt out” of the unit.
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