Differentiated
Instruction
Michele Arce
Nathan Crowe
Patricia Sodders Ashley Sowers
Kirsy Valerio
What is Differentiated
Instruction?
Differentiated instruction is having
curriculum lesson plans that accommodate
the needs of all students. Not all students
are the same and they don’t learn the same
way. Differentiated instruction
approaches the different diversity
backgrounds and abilities of each student
in the classroom.
Impact of Differentiated
Instruction in the Teaching
and Learning Process
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Teachers provide…
In differentiating instruction…
Students can address…
Teachers appropriate…
Differentiation provides…
A differentiated classroom offers…
Reluctant Teachers
• Many experts consider differentiation of
instruction to be a practice only used by
veteran teachers.
• Teachers in their first are still trying to
master the “gross motor skills” of teaching
• Research on first year teachers shows a
focus on classroom management issues,
instructional planning, and teacher
centered teaching.
Why is Differentiated
Instruction Critical Today?
• Enable teachers to open up learning opportunities
for all students by offering various learning
experiences
• Allows teachers to put research-based best
practices into a meaningful context for learning
• Helps teachers to understand and use assessment
as a critical tool to drive instruction
• Meets curriculum requirements in a meaningful
way for achieving student’s success
Elements of a
Differentiated Curriculum
1.
CONTENT
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2.
Knowledge, skills and attitudes
PROCESS
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3.
Create many paths for students to comprehend the
information taught
PRODUCT
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4.
Vary the complexity depending on the level of the student
MANIPULATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT
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This broadens the student’s way of learning and promotes
self-discovery
One Size Does Not Fit All
• Many students have unseen variables that keep
them away from learning at everyone else’s pace
• Standards do not consider underlying problems of
the students such as learning disabilities
• Pressure is put on teachers to learn so much; they
only understand what they are teaching “on the
surface”
Differentiated Learning &
Inquiry Instruction:
How are They Related?
•Differentiated education contains a
number of various ways to involve
students in their own education
through questioning and discovery.
•Inquiry instruction asks
students to discover and ask
questions to draw conclusions
and reflect on newly attained
knowledge.
These two are related because inquiry
instruction could be one of the strategies to
use with differentiated education in order
to teach students discovery skills and about
their own education. Also, inquiry instruction
can be used as a discovery method which
fulfills the ideology of differentiated
instruction.
Inquiry-Based Learning
Direct Instruction
Modified in Differentiated
Instruction
Three Universal Design learning principles:
• Recognition Learning: Understanding the
environment in which one is teaching
• Strategic Learning: Teaching
methodologies need to be varied
• Affective Learning: Allowing students to
engage in instructional tasks
Student Engagement in
Differentiated Instruction
• Boosts student’s self-confidence and
engagement
• Social interaction and collaborative
partnership that encourages learning.
Multi-Dimensional
Learning Profile
• Groups of students with various ways
of learning that all interact together
to show their strengths.
• Some of these types of differences
may include the following:
» Learning Styles
» Gender
» Culture
Strategies for
Differentiated Instruction
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Compacting Curriculum
Tiered Assignments
Flexible Grouping
Peer Teaching
Buddy Studies
Visual/Verbal Learning Style
Visual/Nonverbal Learning Style
Tactile/Kinesthetic Learning Style
Auditory/Verbal Learning Style
Adjusting Questions
Strategies for
Differentiated Instruction
Compacting Curriculum: Assessing students
knowledge, skills and attitudes and
providing alternatives for the student who
has already mastered curriculum content.
• Example: the teacher will assist the child
who is ahead of regular classroom work,
with challenging or higher grade level work
while the rest of the students work at
their level.
Strategies for
Differentiated Instruction
Tiered Assignments: These are a series of
related tasks of varying complexity.
• Example: teachers assign the activities as
alternative ways of reaching the same
goals, taking into account individual
student needs.
Strategies for
Differentiated Instruction
Flexible Grouping: allows students to be
appropriately challenged and avoids
labeling a student’s readiness as static.
• Example: readiness varies depending on
personal talents and interest.
Strategies for
Differentiated Instruction
Peer Teaching: Occasionally a student may
have personal needs that require one-onone instruction that go beyond the needs
of his/her peers. After receiving this
extra instruction the student could be
designated as the “resident expert” and
re-teach the concept to peers. Both
students benefit from peer teaching.
Strategies for
Differentiated Instruction
Buddy Studies: permits two or three
students to work together on a project.
The expectation is for the students to
share the research and
analysis/organization of information, but
each student must complete an individual
product to demonstrate learning that has
taken place for their own planning, time
management and individual accomplishment.
Strategies for
Differentiated Instruction
Visual/Verbal Learning Style: you learn best
when information is presented visually and
in a written language format.
• Example: write out sentences and phrases
that summarize key information obtained
from your textbook and lecture.
Strategies for
Differentiated Instruction
Visual/Nonverbal Learning Style: you learn
best when information is presented
visually and in a picture or design format
• Example: mark up the margins of your
textbooks with key words, symbols and
diagrams that help you remember the
text. Use highlighter pens of contrasting
colors to “color code” the information.
Strategies for
Differentiated Instruction
Tactile/Kinesthetic Learning Styles: you
learn best when physically engaged in a
“hands on” activity.
• Example: when studying, walk back and
forth with textbook, notes or flashcards
in hand and read the information out loud.
Strategies for
Differentiated Instruction
Auditory/Verbal Learning Style: You learn
best when information is presented
auditory in an oral language format.
• Example: Use audio tapes or create one by
reading notes into a tape recorder.
Strategies for
Differentiated Instruction
Adjusting Questions: during large group
discussion activities, teachers direct the
higher level questions to the students who
can handle them and adjust questions
accordingly for students with greater
needs.
References
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http://www.eht.k12.nj.us/~Jonesj/Differentiated%20Instruction/1%20DI%20Homepage.htm
http://www.utexas.edu/
http://differentiatedinstruction.com/
http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/differentiated/gould.htm
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/subject/di_meeting.phtml
http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstruc.html
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http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/differentiating.html
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/onesize.htm
http://www.worksheetlibrary.com/teachingtips/inquiry.html
http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstructudl.html
http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/differentiatingstrategies.html
http://www.metamath.com//lsweb/fourls.htm