Differentiated Instruction

Differentiating instruction is a valuable instructional management and delivery tool, which can be used to assist teachers in meeting the needs of the diverse populations of students which they now find in their classrooms. In using these strategies, a teacher may use pre-assessments to determine the learning styles, interests and readiness of the students, prior to the introduction of a lesson or unit. After developing a learner profile, the teacher may then differentiate according to the readiness of the student, by process of delivery, and by the product which the student may produce to

Differentiation of instruction is the process of teaching in a way to meet the needs of students with differing abilities in the same class, including those with special learning needs. One way to do this is by providing several different avenues by which all students can learn the same material. In differentiating instruction, teachers plan out and implement a variety of approaches to content, process, product, and environment. Differentiated instruction is used to meet the needs of student differences in readiness, interests, and learning needs. Many people in the education field believe differentiation has the potential to transform teaching and learning in a way that raises expectations for all students.

Describe at least four significant ways in which differentiated instruction differs from traditional classroom instruction.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal law that guarantees educational services to eligible students with disabilities. It establishes “people first” language for referring to people with disabilities. IDEA requires states to educate students with disabilities for transition to employment, and to provide transition services. IDEA also provides the students with a free and appropriate education If a student with a disability is expelled from school, IDEA says that he or she must still receive educational services. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that all students with disabilities take state and district testing. This law also requires a general education teacher to be a member of the Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) team.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is an important law that was passed, which advocates for the needs of disabled children. Federal funding is given to the schools to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Each state works with the federal government to provide this service. It is the states responsibility to follow the laws and find appropriate placement for these children. (US Department of Education, 2007) These students go through a process called appropriate placement by going through a series of referrals, evaluations, and classifications to see which category they fall under. These students may suffer with learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, emotional disorders, cognitive challenges, autism, hearing impairment, visual impairment, speech or language impairment, and developmental delay. Once they find the category then the Child Study Team (CST) made up of a school psychologist, social worker, and a learning disabilities teacher consultant will decide if the student needs an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Then the consultant will decide if the student needs an Individualized Education Program (IEP). This program is offered to students struggling in school allowing them to be taught a different way in the school system. If the student needs an IEP the multidisciplinary committee will meet. The

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal mandate that regulates how educational agencies supply children with disabilities early intervention services, special education classes, and additional assistance that is equitable to a general education student who does not have a disability. The services under the IDEA law are offered to children from birth to age 21. Students who qualify for services under the IDEA Act

For students with documented special needs, the school makes additional accommodation. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is "designed to protect the rights of students with disabilities by ensuring that everyone receives a free appropriate public education (FAPE), regardless of ability" (IDEA, 2012, Kid's Health). IDEA mandates that students are educated in the least restrictive environment possible. It also recognizes that every child is different, and giving each child the same education does not mean that every child will receive the same quality of education.

In 1975, Congress enacted the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that children with disabilities will receive a free appropriate public education through their local school

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 (IDEA), is a federal special education law and was signed into law in June 1997. The IDEA pledges that each child with a disability as well as students who need special education services has the right to a free proper public education, with the least restrictive environment. Below are the six components that are included in the IDEA. They include;

Prior to 1975, no federal requirements existed for students with disabilities to attend school, or requirements for schools to attempt to teach students with disabilities (Salvia, Yesseldyke, & Bolt, p. 25, 2013). However, upon the enactment of several federal laws, such as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB), students with disabilities received access to free, appropriate public education which in turn required students with disabilities to participate in statewide assessments. According to Public Law 94-142 (now included in IDEA), it requires an individual education program (IEP) for students with disabilities. The IEP contains items such as present levels of

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a United States federal law that consents of four categories outlining how public agencies and individual states ensures that students with various disabilities are provided a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) that is conditioned to their specific needs regardless of their ability. This act mandates tailored services, educational modifications, and the main objective for these children throughout the nation is to supply them with the same possibility of getting an education as those who do not have a disability until the age of 21.

Parents and supporters of students with disabilities were able to use this case to improve educational opportunities for their children, and “established the right of all children to an equal opportunity for an education” (Heward., 2009, p. 26). Individuals With Disabilities Education ActIn 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA), which is also known as Public Law 94-142, was passed by Congress and has been reauthorized and amended by Congress five times since it passed. In 1900, congress changed the name from Education of All Handicapped Children Act, and enacted The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act instead. This law was later reauthorized in 1997 and named Public Law 105-17, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments (IDEA), was passed into a federal special education law, with final federal regulations being published in March 1999, and retained all of the earlier versions of Public Law 94-142. In 2004 this act was again reauthorized and became The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA), also known as IDEA 2004.The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, requires that public schools serve all students and “ensures that children with learning disabilities have the ability to receive a free appropriate public education that

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a wonderful resource to use when writing objectives or explaining the measurable outcomes for students’ assignments. In the Bloom’s Handout, the graphics offered quite a bit of insight into Bloom’s and how it is pyramidal or hierarchical in it’s increasement of a student's cognitive process, ranging from lower order thinking to higher order thinking. This shows the concept of how students will be asked to increase their understanding on topics learned. To help students through the process, teachers use the verbs presented in their objectives so that they along with their students understand the expectations laid before them for that particular lesson. The graphic presented on page 3 of the Blooms Handout offered a 3-D effect on how the hierarchy works; this model helped me visualize how exactly Bloom’s is to implemented.

Example of Differentiated Instruction If I were teaching reading skills such as making inferences, I would differentiate the lesson by using leveled text to meet the developmental needs of each student. If students don’t comprehend reading materials, learning these skills would be extremely difficult. Therefore, struggling readers would receive leveled text where they are comfortable enough to understand and learn particular skills while advanced students would be challenged with complex texts. Example of Cooperative Learning For long and complex texts I would incorporate cooperative strategies such as the jigsaw, carousel, or think pair share methods. However, out of the several strategies I particularly like the jigsaw method.

There are various instructional approaches but one that is widely employed by many teachers is the direct instruction approach. This is the classic teaching style that many people remember during K-12 grade school. The teacher would stand in front of the class lecturing while writing on the black board. That is why direct instruction is also known as “Chalk and Talk” (Evans, 2006). Direct instruction is not out of date and is still appropriate in many situations today. The following will discuss direct instruction and a few scenarios in which this teaching approach is appropriate.