Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Differentiated Instruction
Prior to reviewing the Learning Resources, DI (Differentiated Instruction) to me was all about tailoring instruction to meet individual student needs. It meant considering students' readiness levels, thinking about their interests and learning preferences, and trying to teach them in a way that would help best. Thats what I considered when planning lessons. Essentially, it was about ensuring that every student gets an equal opportunity to learn, regardless of their starting point.
After exploring new resources and learning more about DI, my understanding has changed a bit. I now see that DI is not just about adjusting lessons for different students, but also about creating an inclusive learning environment that motivates all students to achieve their potential (Education Week, 2018). It involves more than just accommodating for different learning styles - it includes recognizing and respecting the individual identities and backgrounds of our students, and using this recognition to inform instructional design and delivery (Ginja & Chen, 2020).
I've had many positive experiences with DI. For example, when I developed teaching content for a unit on ecology, students were able to engage with material that interested them. It was an approach that helped improve discussions. I have also faced challenges though. Differentiating instruction requires careful planning and can be time-consuming. Also, in larger classes, it can be difficult to provide individualized feedback.
As for differentiation by content, process, or product, my preference tends to vary depending on the learning objectives and the students I'm working with. I often differentiate by process, offering a variety of activities and strategies for students to understand and explore a concept. The challenges I face when differentiating outside of my preferred method mainly involve ensuring the method of differentiation aligns with the learning objectives. To implement DI more effectively in my school setting, I need to learn more about the tools and resources available that can aid in planning differentiated instruction.
References
Education Week. (2018). Differentiating Instruction: Its Not as Hard as You Think. Retrieved
from (1) Differentiating Instruction: Its Not as Hard as You Think - YouTube
Ginja, T. G., & Chen, X. (2020). Teacher Educators' Perspectives and Experiences towards
Differentiated Instruction.International Journal of Instruction,13(4), 781-798.
(Brown, nd) Brown lists 'labor intensive' strategies for differentiation to include those as follows: Assessment, data analysis, and diagnosis; Flexible grouping; Tiered tasks; Anchor activities; Differentiated learning encounters; Learning contracts; Independent study. (Brown, nd) The work of Jahnine Blosser (2005) entitled: "Unit of Lessons: Safety in the Secondary Science Classroom" states that there is "a growing need to make all students understand science and the relevancy of science to their lives." Blosser notes that "many students learn differently
In many ways, the concepts of separating out individuals that are different has been fostered by the construction of the educational format. Tomlinson notes the fallacy of such an arrangement and provides some excellent advice with regard to classroom inclusiveness. "A classroom is -- or at least ought to be, in my opinion -- a microcosm for the world we live in. It is a community of individuals in
Thus, the idea of inclusion was born, an idea that suggests students with special needs be paired alongside students who are gifted, students with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and students who have different modes of learning (Tomlinson et al., 2003). Despite this, evidence exists to suggest that the self-contained special education classroom still serves the needs of many students with special needs, suggesting that fears related to special education
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which special training addressing how to effectively identify the correct needs of the students, without the intrusion of personal bias, will improve the academic outcomes of elementary school students. Because this is a quantitative study, academic outcomes will be measured in terms of test scores on a standardized test designed for grades 2 through 4. Research Design and
Differentiated Instruction and Closing the Achievement Gap It is not always easy to see how differentiated instruction is able to initiate an advantage in schools that are performing extremely low or how it could help in closing the achievement gap. On the other hand, research done by experts show something different. Research has been taking a look at schools that have been on the AYP list and achieving results that are
Teachers should not try to do everything at once but start with highest priority first and work with a collaborative team to set goals. Best Advice The best advice is for teachers to reflect on what it will take to incorporate differentiated instruction. Next, teachers need to evaluate the curriculum with a survey including what students should know, what most know, and what standards they must be held accountable for. Furthermore,