Differentiated instruction is a teaching theory based on the premise that instructional approaches should vary and be adapted in relation to individual and diverse students in classrooms (Tomlinson, 2001). All though, “every teacher who has entered into a classroom has differentiated their instruction in one way or another.” (Levy, 2008) Teacher can use differentiated instruction in four elements, including content, process, products and the learning environment.
Content is what the students needs to know to learn the material. One way, that a teacher can differentiate the instruction is though properly used reading groups. A well formed reading group should be really close to the same reading level. This allows the teacher to provide a book that is easy enough to comprehend, but hard enough to challenge the reader. For example, if a third grade teacher, has a few students that read at a fifth grade level, the teacher can provide books at their level. Meanwhile, if that same teacher had a few students that read at a first grade level, the teacher can provide first grade books. If the teacher provides the correct book, the students can learn how to spell and more vocabulary. Also a proper reading group does allow for students to have conversations with students at their own comprehension level allowing for a more beneficial knowledge assessment.
The way that a teacher teaches is the process. There are many things that a teacher can do to help all students get the most out of the classroom. One of the things that a teacher can do is encourage class discussion. The reason is because it moves students farther up Bloom’s taxonomy. Another way that a teacher can do is value independent reading time. This will help a student because...
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...o provide read alouds that talk about that country’s culture, or have a guided reading book that does the same thing.
A third reason for differentiated instruction is the gender differences. Boys and girls in the classroom have different likes. When a teacher has to pick read alouds, the student should consider having books that are very neutral based of the gender that likes to read the book. Although the teacher, should also have books that boys seem to really like, as well as girls really like.
A fourth reason that a teacher has to use differentiated instruction in the classroom is the different religions that may be in a classroom. This affects some of the bigger schools in the United States. A teacher should have books that provide character building and talk about many different religions in the classroom.
Works Cited
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In the essay, “Other Voices, Other Rooms” from Inquiry to Academic Writing, Gerald Graff argues that students learn things differently from class to class and are not taught to use information from one class in another. This is a problem especially in higher education today because there is such a large gap from professor to professor. Although the disagreement from one subject to the next may seem like a problem to some, if there were no disagreements, nothing would be worth learning. While these problems may occur, they are essential in the evolvement of education. Without these disagreements there would not be any search for more information to solve the problems. Also, students would not be motivated to continue to learn. The disagreements between the two are what seem to confuse students, but what confuses them more is how the education system is set up. Students must learn to make
differences can effect education because they are essentially the mode of delivery to what is
These principles include suggestions for dealing with their implications such as the use of multiple methods to convey information, providing explicit instruction in academic language, incorporating primary language supports, making expectations clear, and using testing accommodations when appropriate (2010). Characteristics of culturally responsive instruction include high expectations, positive relationships with families and communities, cultural sensitivity, active teaching methods, student control of portions of the lesson, and instruction around groups and pairs to create low anxiety (2010).
For this lesson I still need to learn how to analyze instructional goals and differentiated instructional strategies. When I transfer to a university to further my education; in my educational classes I will learn about this. In addition to student teaching, I will be learning how to handle future situations with the appropriate grade level. Lastly, I will ask for advice from art teachers and teachers in general to find out more information on differentiated instructional strategies.
It targets all the students’ needs without leaving anyone out. Differentiated instruction allows educators to plan activities and lessons that provided a higher order of thinking to their students. This course has provided me with a wealth a knowledge that I can pass on to my co-worker by showing them first hand through learning activities how to differentiate content, process, and product. In the article Moving to Assessment-Guided Differentiated Instruction to Support Young Children 's Alphabet Knowledge by Shanye Piasta, provided a great reason why early childhood educators should differentiate instruction. Piasta,( 2014)
The first question that I asked my host teacher during the interview was “What does it mean to you to differentiate your mathematics instruction?” She stated that she will begin by teaching the lesson as a whole group and when she is finished make sure the students understand before they leave to do anything independently. She will pull groups of students who she knows are not going to understand the material and gives students options. She will give them them the option to either stick around and work with her on the lesson being presented or go work independently. But, she will pull the students that she knows has trouble and forces them to stay with her to work on the lesson that is being taught. She says that often when having the students work independently she can see who understands the material and who does not. The last thing that she said about this topic is that she would rather get to the students before they wor...
1. Differentiated instruction- Is personalized and customized learning, and it is one of the concepts in education that many people hear about, but do not understand clearly.
Is differentiated instruction necessary to meet the needs of all levels of learners within the environment based on learning styles, interests, and readiness levels? Differentiated instruction involves daily assessment, either formal or informal, lots of planning, and a classroom of learners working together as a community (Tilton, 2001). Differentiated instruction is a learner-centered instructional design model that acknowledges that students have individual learning styles, motivations, abilities, and, therefore, readiness to learn.
What is differentiated instruction? According to the book How to Teach Now: Five Keys to Personalized Learning in the Global Classroom, differentiated instruction is simply the customization, or personalization of instruction practiced by the teacher in order to captivate students that are at different levels in their learning process due to cultural, emotional, academic, gifts, gender, or social differences, but are all found in the same classroom (Powell & Powell, 2011).
When teachers differentiate their lesson, the students are more engaged to learn. Students have some choice in their learning activities, which motivates students to want to learn and also puts more learning responsibility on the students. Some students may prefer to work alone or in groups and some students like to be hands-on. By differentiating the lesson, all students’ needs are being met. “Differentiated Instruction gives students a range of ways to access curriculum, instruction and assessment. DI engages students to interact and participate in the classroom in a richer way. It is based on the assumption that all students differ in their learning styles, strengths, needs and abilities and that classroom activities should be adapted to meet these differences
Lawerence-Brown, D. (2004). Differentiated instruction: inclusive stragies for standards-based learning that benefit the whole class. American Secondary Education , 34-62.
Differentiated instruction seems to be a philosophy that has captured the attention of many over a long period of time. Yet, when speaking to teachers about differentiated instruction, many don’t know what it entails. According to Carol Ann Tomlinson, differentiated instruction is a teacher’s response to learner’s needs. The differentiated instruction is guided by principals such as respectful tasks, flexible grouping, and ongoing assessment and adjustment. Teachers can differentiate the content, process, or product according to student’s readiness, interests, and learning profile through a range of instructional and management strategies (Tomlinson & Allen, 2000).
Today I used a variety of instructional delivery methods to ensure that my students were able to accomplish the learning targets. Having different modes of instruction (direct instruction, individual writing, pair-share, small group discussion, large group discussion, etc.) allows students to demonstrate learning in a variety of ways. If students do not master a key skill, it also provides students to relearn, rework, and rethink key concepts. This type of instructional design also encourages engagement as it appeals to multiple learning styles and builds in time for me to interact with students in multiple ways (including one-on-one) (IE: Chloe can be quieter. I was able to touch base her to make sure that she understood the abstract vs. concrete exercise). Using multiple instructional delivery methods also provides me with opportunities to personally motivate students to be active in their learning (IE: Emily is very creative and likes small group work. IE: Taylor likes politics and would grasp the global climate change example IE: Big Mike works best when he has time to think individually before responding to a group. A notes handout helps him process key ideas before feeling pressured to apply them. IE: Several students enjoy speaking in large groups. Asking for examples and group participation appeals to the sense of camaraderie in the class).
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.
Which is why I must assess my students to see how I can better teach them depending on their specific needs. The majority of my kids will need differentiated instruction. I will need to make literacy more accessible to them. Taffe, Laster, Broach, Marinak, Connor, and Dalhouse (2012) stated that “differentiated instruction allows all students to access the same classroom curriculum by providing entry points, learning tasks, and outcomes tailored to the students’ learning needs” (pp. 304). I want to give my students the same opportunities to learn the development of literacy as their general education peers. I can do this by accommodating and modifying the instruction I am presenting to them. One way I can modify the instruction is by delivering to my students in a different way and by giving them different materials to use. Children can and should learn how to read in a variety of different ways and methods. I love how Taffe et al. (2012) stated that “a truly differentiated classroom is one in which learners are understood to be constantly growing and changing as they participate in various literacy activities” (pp. 305). That is just so true! I do not want people to think my kids are not capable of learning literacy simply because of their being in a special education classroom. These kids just learn differently and at a different pace thank other kids. They develop differently in many areas and the