preview

Differentiated Instruction

Decent Essays

In schools across our nation, teachers and administrators are trying to find ways to improve student achievement and test scores. The best way to do this is to differentiate instruction. With special education and regular education students sharing the same classrooms it has become imperative that teachers realize that not all students will be successful unless they take the time to find out how each student learns best. Teachers need to respond to their students individual needs by incorporating a variety of strategies. Differentiated Instruction is simply responding to the individual needs of each student through a variety of learning experiences (Watts-Taffe, S., Laster, B (., Broach, L., Marinak, B., Connor, C. M., & Walker-Dalhouse, …show more content…

Some students will be far below grade level, some at grade level, and still some will be above grade level. How can a teacher effectively provide access to the grade level curriculum when there are students functioning at so many different levels within one classroom? Differentiated instruction is the answer to this problem. Howard Gardner developed a theory in the early 1980’s that each person has a range of talents or intelligences. He identifies eight intelligences that include verbal/linguistic, mathematical/logical, musical/rhythmic, visual/spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, naturalistic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Teachers can use this theory to differentiate the learning experiences for their students by choosing activities to match the different intelligences within their classroom. Today’s students have become accustomed to a constant stream of entertainment provided by televisions, videos, and computer games. The type of instruction that worked twenty years ago simply does not work in …show more content…

These students learn best when music is used as a part of teaching. They have a very developed sense of auditory discrimination and remember songs easily. They are drawn to sound and can usually been seen humming, tapping or singing.
Students with high body/kinesthetic intelligence use their bodies to process information. They have very good fine and gross motor skills. They prefer constant movement and need to move around often. They are natural actors.
Students with high interpersonal intelligence use relationships with others to process information. It is in this way that they best understand their place in the world. They are good at reading others feelings and moods. They make friends easily and enjoy being with others. They work well in groups and handle conflict well. They have good communication skills and like to speak.
Students with intrapersonal intelligence know who they are and what they need. They are non-conformist that march to their own tune. They are good at self-reflection and often day dream. They often enjoy writing poetry or in journals. They enjoy being

Get Access