When differentiating instruction, there is a five-step process that should be followed. The first step is to determine the need for differentiation (Smith et al., 2012, p. 112). The teacher needs to examine the class and see exactly who would benefit from differentiated instruction, based on the problems of the individual student. Teachers can also look at a student’s IEP or 504 plan to see who can best benefit from these accommodations. Once this has been identified, the teacher needs to think about what the student needs to be successful (Smith et al., 2012, p. 112). This change could be something related to the content, process, product, learning environment, or any combination of these.
The third step is implementing these different practices into the classroom (Smith et al., 2012, p. 112). It is important not to go overboard and try multiple strategies at the same time. The practices should be done in such as order where the least intrusive are presented first, because sometimes the smallest, simplest adjustment can make all the difference (Smith et al., 2012, p. 112). Once the practices are in place, the teacher needs to monitor the progress of students to see if the strategies are working or not (Smith et al., 2012, p. 113). If data is not being collected and looked at, then there is no way to know if the intervention is successful. Chuck Watson states, “There is no point in testing if you don’t look at the data, don’t understand them, and don’t change” (as cited in
In response to the varied student learning needs, differentiation will be a key component of this classroom. It is “designed to improve access to the general education curriculum by adapting instruction to each student’s diverse learning needs” (Smith, 2007). “Differentiation instruction means changing the pace, level, or kind of instruction you provide in response to individual learners’ needs, styles, or interest” (Heacox, 2012). Because each student comes to this 6th grade classroom with unique needs, differentiation will implemented frequently to ensure that each student receives the rigor needed to master the 6th grade curriculum. It will be relevant to your student and his/her needs. It will provide an appropriate level of challenge. It will be engaging and at times, it will offer choices. Delivery of differentiated instruction will frequently involve centered based learning activities and small group instruction. A list and description of some of the centers will be distributed to parents and is attached as Appendix
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
Describe at least four significant ways in which differentiated instruction differs from traditional classroom instruction.
Differentiate instruction and adapt curriculum to meet the individual needs. Teachers can differentiate classroom elements based on student interest. For example, if the child interested to play in containers the child may provide different shape and things the child ca explore and learn. Also, the teacher can provide materials that reflect a variety of learning.
Education by nature is a field known for change. In recent years the word differentiation has become almost as common as the word instruction; although the exploding shift into differentiated instruction comes with the need to better educate and support teachers in order to accommodate the growing expectations for increased differentiation in the classroom. The role of teacher has shifted into many new roles with increased responsibilities and demands for addressing increased diversity in the classroom posing and greater educational challenge.
Differentiated instruction has been around in classrooms for quite some time now. It is a philosophy that not all students are the same. All kids learn differently and some students may be ahead or below their actual grade. Differentiated instruction helps this issue by teaching us that this problem can be achieved no matter what the road blocks are up ahead. Nowadays, teachers are pressured and even mandated to meet certain standards. It can be hard to meet both these standards and the needs of all students consecutively. DI is there to help the teachers set each student up with their own progress learning goal and to promote the growth and success that each student will make.
The article contains views from professionals who both support and oppose the idea of differentiated classrooms and its effectiveness for teachers and students. As you read further into the text, the author suggests that there are more important questions to ask, “What are students supposed to be learning? [and] are all students mastering it?” (p. 10). Furthermore, by answering these questions leads to “broad focus on learning intentions and student learning, teachers work (and principles support and evaluation of that work) follows logically into three phases: unit in lesson planning; delivery of instruction; and follow up with unsuccessful students” (p. 11). Finally, the text discusses each aspect in-depth providing ways that teachers can make each of these phases effective in their implementation and application towards intentional
Differentiated instruction is the approach of ensuring that each student is learning in the way he or she procures it and the way he or she demonstrates the learning as a marker for the
An inclusive classroom contains students with different forms of diversities who may differ from each other in terms of readiness levels, interests, skills, intellectual abilities, disabilities, learning styles and so on (Salar, & Turgut, 2015). The educational
I am going to address the implementation of three key work processes at our educational institution. The first work process implemented at our educational institution is how our community transformation teams (CTT) function to ensure student success for all students. Each educator is assigned to a CTT at the beginning of the school year. Each week throughout the school year on Tuesday mornings, the community transformation teams meet and analyze student data on classroom assessments and benchmark assessments. Based on the data analysis, each member of the community transformation team will commit to specific action plans or steps. Educators will implement action steps throughout the week in their daily lesson plans aligned to help each student improve their overall scores on assessments and reach mastery on essential tasks. Educators are required to bring data showing how well their implementation of action steps did for the week aligned with student performance on assessments. School administrators are also given a copy of the CTT member’s action steps. The school administration and leadership team then performs several teacher observations and walkthroughs. This is to ensure effectiveness of the implementation of action steps and provide feedback and support when and where needed.
Classrooms are not made up of a homogeneous group of students. All students bring varying backgrounds, skills, and learning styles into the classroom. In order to sufficiently meet the needs of all students, teachers must adjust their instruction accordingly. In this article, the author discusses the relationship between differentiated instruction and teacher efficacy and the effectiveness of professional development. The author discusses the need for teachers to modify the content that is presented to students. Not all students have the same skill set when entering a classroom, and teachers must remediate and supply enrichment to provide all students with a challenging curriculum. In addition, teachers must consider student learning styles when planning their methods for delivering information. Finally, the manner in which students must submit their work should be modified to meet individual student needs. The process of differentiating instruction is one that takes time, guidance, and practice. The author first studies the relationship between teacher efficacy and time spent utilizing differentiated instruction. The study found that differentiation had a positive effect on teacher efficacy. Teachers who utilize differentiation are using
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.
Classrooms today are diverse, have issues that were not previously present, and more is demanded of teachers than ever before. The readings in chapter six of Differentiated Instructional Management (Chapman and King, 2008), stuck me that many of the presented plans are intertwined with each other. I will explain three areas of planning in a differentiated classroom. I will not only discuss the areas of planning, but also speak about how I will incorporate and use the information in my teaching.
In both theory and application, the differentiated instruction has its own great benefits, especially it is used to engage the students in learning, motivate them as well as create interesting learning atmosphere which altogether lead to the improvement in their learning and achieve the goal of learning
Differentiation means tailoring instructions to meet individual needs and requirements. The teacher’s differentiates contents, processes of learning thus, making it a useful methodology.