Objectives:
In this session, the participants should be
able to:
 Explain differentiated instruction (DI)
 Provide activities for Differentiated
Instruction
 Make plans on how to transform the
classroom into a DI classroom
 Recognize the importance of DI in
responding to individual differences of
students
 refers
to a systematic approach to
planning curriculum and instruction
for academically diverse learners.
 It is a way of thinking about the
classroom with the dual goals of
honoring each student’s learning
needs and maximizing each
student’s learning capacity
(Carol Ann Tomlinson)
Differentiating instruction is
doing what’s fair for students.
It means creating multiple
paths so that students of
different abilities, interests, or
learning needs experience
equally appropriate ways to
learn
a
teacher proactively plans varied
approaches to what students need
to learn, how they will learn it,
and/or how they will express what
they have learned in order to
increase the likelihood that each
student will learn as much as he or
she can.
 Every
student will make continuous
progress no matter how old she is or at
what level her knowledge and skills
are as she begins the unit of study.
 Every student will become a lifelong
learner, the long-term goal for all
children and young people.
-Julia A. Roberts and Tracy F. Inman
According to Melanie Bailey-Bird,
 To differentiate instruction is to RECOGNIZE
students varying background knowledge,
readiness, language, preferences in
learning, interests, and to react
responsively.
 It is a PROCESS to approach teaching and
learning for students of differing abilities in
the same class.
 The intent of differentiating instruction is to
MAXIMIZE each student’s growth and
individual success by meeting each student
where he or she is, and assisting
in the learning process.
 do
a formative assessment
 create an individual profile of
each of his/her student in each
class he/she is handling.
BUT assessment should be on-going
and diagnostic for these
assessments provides teachers a
day-to-day data on their students.
Assessment is today’s means of
understanding how to modify
tomorrow’s instructions.
Using the results of the assessment,
teachers can modify/differentiate
content, process or product along with
the learning area.
 The differentiation should be based on
the students’ Readiness, Interest and
Learning Profile.

Interest
refers to a child’s
affinity, curiosity or
passion for a particular
topic or skill.
 Learning
profile has to do
with how the students’
learn.
 It may be shaped by
intelligence, preferences,
gender, culture, or learning
style.
 Content
is input.
 It is what a student should
come to know (facts),
understand (concepts and
principles), and able to do
(skills).
 Determine
the
Ability Level of
Your Students
› Survey Past
Records, Look
at Their Chums
 Align Tasks and
Objectives to
Learning Goals
 Survey
Student
Interests
› Interest
Inventories,
Interview/
Conference,
Respond to
Open-Ended
Questionnaire
with Questions
 What
are Your
Students
Multiple
Intelligences &
Learning Styles?
 What are Your
Student’s
Preferences and
Motivators?


Instruction is
Concept-Focused
and PrincipleDriven
What do BrainBased Research
say?
 Ultimately,
teachers need
to Know THEIR
Students.
Use Reading
Materials at
Varying
Readability Levels
 Put Text Materials
on ppt, mp4 or
mp3 format
 Use
Spelling/Vocab.
Tests at Readiness
Levels of Students

Use Reading
Buddies
 Meet with Small
Groups to ReTeach an Idea or
Skill for Struggling
Learners, or
Extend the
Learning

 Process
is the opportunity
for students to make sense
of the content.
 Part of process is the
activities in the lesson. They
should be well-thought of.

Flexible Grouping is Consistently Used.
› Groupings are Not Fixed, and Should Be
Dynamic in Process.
› Teach Whole Class Introductory Discussions,
then Follow with Small Group (or) Pair Work.
Direct Instruction
Inquiry-Based Learning
Cooperative Learning
 Classroom Management Benefits
Students and Teachers



› Organization & Routines
 Use Tiered Activities
 Provide Interest Centers
 Develop Personal Agendas
for
Completion of Work
 Manipulatives (or) Hands on
Supports
 Varying the Length of Time
 Memorization
 KWL
 Reciprocal
teaching
 Graphic organizing
 Scaffolding
 Webbing
 Self Talk
 Web Quests
 Guided Notes
› have a clearly defined instructional
purpose
› focus students squarely on one key
understanding
› cause students to use a key skill to
work with key ideas
› ensure that students will have to
understand (not just repeat) the idea
› help students relate new
understandings and skills to previous
ones, and
› match the student’s level of readiness.
 Product
is a vehicle through which
a student show (and extends
what he or she has come to
understand and can do as a result
of a considerable segment of
learning.
 It is something students produce
to exhibit major portions of
learning.
 These
are culminating projects
that ask the student to
rehearse, apply, and extend
what he/she has learned in a
unit.
Strategies to Make
Differentiation Work
1. Tiered Instruction
Changing the level of
complexity or required
readiness of a task or unit of
study in order to meet the
developmental needs of the
students involved.
Tiering
Key Concept
Or
Understanding
Those who do not
know the concept
Those with some
understanding
Those who
understand the
concept
What Can Be Tiered?
Processes,
content and
products
Assignments
Homework
Learning
stations
Assessments
Writing prompts
Anchor activities
Materials
What Can We Adjust?
Level of complexity
Amount of structure
Pacing
Materials
Concrete to abstract
Options based on student interests
Options based on learning styles
Tiering Instruction
1. Identify the standards,
concepts, or generalizations you
want the students to learn.
2. Decide if students have the
background necessary to be
successful with the lesson.
3. Assess the students’ readiness,
interests, and learning profiles.
4. Create an activity or project
that is clearly focused on the
standard, concept or
generalization of the lesson.
5. Adjust the activity to provide
different levels or tiers of
difficulty that will lead all
students to an understanding.
6. Develop an assessment
component for the lesson.
Remember, it is on-going!





Initial and on-going assessment of student
readiness and growth are Essential
Authentic Assessment is a must.
Students should be trained to be active
and responsible explorers.
Teachers should vary expectations and
requirements for student responses
For outcomes, teachers should consider
each student’s multiple intelligences and
learning styles

Give Students Options of How to Express
Required Learning
 Create a Puppet Show, Write a Letter, Develop
Mural with Labels

Use Rubrics that Match Student’s Varied
Skill Level
 Use RubiStar.com
Allow Students to Work Alone (or) in
Small Groups
 Performance -Based Assessment
 Student Portfolios
 Knowledge Mapping

Teachers should look at
the level of readiness of
their students as they
differentiate content,
process or product.
someone to help them identify and
make-up gaps in their learning so they
can move ahead;
 more opportunities for direct instruction
or practice;
 activities or products that are more
structured or more concrete, with fewer
steps, closer to their own experiences
and calling on simpler reading skills; or
 a more deliberate pace of learning.

to skip practice with previously mastered
skills and understandings;
 activities and products that are quite
complex, open-ended, abstract, and
multifaceted, drawing on advanced
reading materials; or
 a brisk pace of work or perhaps a slower
pace to allow for greater depth of
exploration of a topic.

a
student needs it and
 modification increases the
likelihood that the learner will
understand important ideas
and use the important skills
more thoroughly as a result.
In Summary…..
What is fair isn’t always equal…
and
Differentiation gets us away
from “one size fits all” approach to
curriculum and instruction that
doesn’t fit anyone
 Group
participants per learning
area.
 Assign a leader and a rapporteur.
 For 5 minutes, discuss among
yourselves what competency or
lesson your group will cover.
 Create a step-by-step plan to
make a specific lesson that
follows a DI format.
EVERY MAN is in certain
respects
a. like all other men,
b. like some other men,
c. like no other man.
-Murray, H. A. & C. Kluckhohn, 1953
“Don’t do things to be
noticed or praised. Do
things simply because they
are the right things to do”
Whatever it Takes!
THANK YOU!