Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction in a type of teaching approach in which the teacher makes changes to lesson plans or unit curriculum so that students of all levels achieve the same level of learning. The whole lesson might not have to be changed, usually they just will make changes to the content, process or product of a given lesson.

These two elements of classroom are intrinsically linked, as differentiated instruction is well suited to the three principles in UDL. By focusing on CAST’s three systems and appropriate teaching methods, particularly recognition, strategic and affective, the guide aims to identify ways in which differentiated instruction coordinates UDL theory. Varying theories have been proven to be affective in supporting different skills as students learn, from gifted and talented to those providing more support in special education programs.

Classrooms come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, and in each classroom, there is a unique structure that can enhance or hinder a student’s understanding of a new concept. Despite the wide variety of teaching methods, there is a clear goal in each classroom. Every instructor aims to teach students the required materials to successfully complete the course, in addition to meaningful life skills. However, lecture style classes do not accomplish anything aside from regurgitating information and showing off how knowledgeable a professor is on his topic. In fact, a recent study on active learning in stem fields showed that students in traditional lecture style classes are 1.5 times more likely to fail than students in active learning classrooms (random website thing). That is why, as an instructor, I am committed to make teaching a collaborative process to enhance my student’s mastery of the concepts and life skills, through a classroom structure that facilitates meaningful discourse on main ideas.

In the past, I have been somewhat successful with differentiating instruction. I can’t say I have been 100% successful.

The steps to Direct Instruction created by Madeline Hunter are: teaching the new skill tostudents, modeling the new skill for students, checking for student understanding, guided practice, feedback and independent practice. It is my belief the steps to effectiveinstruction created by Sharon Ware, professor and doctorate student at the University of Connecticut should be used along with the steps of Direct Instruction. Professor Warestates that effective instruction should instruct students in the “big idea” of the lesson,instruction should be conspicuous and scaffolded, and students should be provided withmultiple opportunities for practice with immediate feedback. It is my firm belief thatinstruction should also be hands-on with as many concrete

Following the many approaches, theories, and development through cognitive, conceptual, constructivist styles of teaching, the Direct Instruction allows a constant source of inspiration, support, encouragement, and motivation. By starting the education of life applied to myself, my family, my daily actions in all I do, this action applies the appropriate knowledge, dispositions, and performances in developing diverse approaches to strategies that are constructive, consistent and reflective of sound practice. As we prepare to use current research, knowledge, and technology to empower our future to serve and be sensitive and responsive to the unique needs for ourselves, others, and the diverse society in which we

Hollingsworth and Ybarra (2009) discussed the importance of objective in chapter four in Explicit Direct Instruction: The power of the well-crafted, well-taught lesson. The purpose of the objective is that what students learn should not be a secret and needs to be clearly communicated to the students in order to avoid confusion. The problem often lies in the teacher misaligning the objective with the standards or deviation from the objective that can be confusing for students to understand. Teaching without a goal in mind can mislead cognitive cohesion in both the teachers and students. I find that students will get confuse when the flow does not aligns to the goals and thus there is a lack of communication in transferring the ideas to students. The book resonates with four important components that objectives are used as means to improve communications, allow teachers to choose succinct learning activities, facilitate in the choice of teaching materials, and articulate purposeful engagement in order to assessment of student learning outcomes that are important to a purposeful lesson design (2009).

I want students to be able to know they are just as responsible for their learning as I am. That is why I plan often to have a few minutes of direct instruction and then allow students to explore the content more in-depth through practicing it with peers. I also have included different activities, such as discovery learning task and a scavenger hunt in this lesson. This will be beneficial for students to see the importance of the skills they are practicing and how just giving them the information is not beneficial for them. They will have to use their previous knowledge and understanding in order to learn the

To help students effectively interact with new knowledge, I often preview new content prior to the critical input experience with a short engaging video. Often I also purposefully organize students in groups to enhance the active processing of information. New information is presented in small chunks or digestible bites. Questions are then asked for my

Differentiated instruction could also be demonstrated by sparking the interest of the student on how the lesson can be applied in the real world. I remember one day my calculus professor came in and asked the class if anyone like getting a speeding ticket, of course no raised their hand. He then leads with a story that some states do have police on the toll road because there was no need, but people would still get tickets through the mail. We all looked at him with curiosity, because we were all course on how that was not possible. He told us that the road was using calculus to ticket drivers that were speeding, by using the Mean Value Theorem. The way that it would worked was when you enter on the toll road it takes a picture with a time stamp and if you continue on it, another picture will be taken in intervals to see if you still on the toll. The state can calculate the average speed between each interval to determine if you were speeding or not. He then told us that we can do the same to make sure that we do not get a ticket. It was fun to learn and made the lesson relate to the class, because no one wants to get a ticket. He demonstrated a

In order to thoroughly reach students, studies have shown that teachers who utilize given data are better equipped to meet the diverse needs of their students (Fullan & Germain, 2006). The foundation of this plan is based on the new teacher accountability program, new standards which will soon be put into place, and a continued adherence to current educational legislation. The most important aspect of this project is to find ways to better educate students no matter what group they fall into.

Every student has their own story, set of experiences, and abilities. Overtime, teachers have quickly realized that they cannot reach all students with a-one-size-fits-all approach to instruction. Therefore, the goal of a “differentiated classroom” is to maximize growth and individual success of each student by providing different avenues for the students to learn the content, to process the information and ideas, and to create a final product. Differentiating instruction needs to be a daily component of my planning and teaching. Some of students need to be challenged with opportunities to expand their mind with advanced learning activities. Other students need extra scaffolding and support in order to understand the basic concepts of the course. Differentiation can be an extremely effective instruction strategy for teachers as they work to meet the needs of English Language Learners.

Prior knowledge, experiences permits children to draw back on prior experience and background knowledge that may help them draw connections. As part of learning students need to be able to build their own knowledge based on both the experiences and the information they have learned. In a constructivist environment, it is key for students to be able to question themselves and apply new understandings to any prior knowledge, which helps the student develop critical thinking. In a classroom I consider it is vital for students to have time to explore outside a textbook. To make a connection with the world outside and reflect on experiences lived. Direct instruction is a strategy used by many teachers who believe that guided instruction is an effective approach to teaching. In a direct instruction environment the teacher sets objectives and has a lesson plan with a clear outline of what will be done in that class period. The teacher directs the lesson by lecturing to impart a set of skills that he or she wants the student to learn.

As described by Hall, Strangman, & Meyer (2011), differentiated instruction [DI] allows teachers to build flexibility into their approach and understanding in adapting curriculum to the needs of the student, instead of requiring students to apply modifications they may be ill-equipped to complete (p. 2). In the alternative classroom, with a majority of students ELLs, teachers can adapt DI to set lesson and curriculum goals through a range of instructional and management strategies to engage students through curiosity, promote understanding, and clarify understanding to incorporate learning in the classroom (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a; Laureate Education, Inc., 2010b). As a teacher become confident in lesson planning,

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.