Differentiated instruction is effective instruction that is responsive to students’ readiness, interests and learning preferences.
All three characteristics of the learner—readiness, interests and preferences—allow educators and students to build new learning through connections to existing knowledge and preferred ways of working.
The process of differentiating instruction for students depends on the ongoing use of assessment to gather information about where students are in their learning and about their readiness, interests and learning preferences.
Teachers use this information to vary the learning environment, instruction, and assessment and evaluation. Readiness refers to the student’s starting point for learning, relative to the concept being studied. Attention to students’ interests enhances the relevancy of learning by linking new information to students’ experience and enthusiasm.
Learning preferences are the many different ways in which learners prefer to acquire, process and work with information. Learning preferences are influenced by gender, culture, the classroom environment, learning styles and multiple intelligences. By attending, at various times, to a learner’s readiness, interests and learning preferences, we increase the likelihood that students will be able to build new learning through connection to existing knowledge and preferred ways of working and that they will be engaged in the learning.
A LONG HISTORY Differentiated, or responsive, instruction is not new. Concern for attending to the needs of particular students is captured in writings about teaching in ancient Greece and Egypt, in descriptions of life in the one-room schoolhouse and in every instance where instructional plans are adjusted to better meet the needs of an individual learner. Of course, if it were easy to address individual needs, there would be no need for this brochure!
Effective differentiated instruction requires that educators take thoughtful and deliberate actions to address the particular needs of students and keep in mind a number of essential concepts:
Essentials of Differentiated Instruction
- Knowledge of students’ readiness to work with concepts, their interests and their learning preferences and seeing all preferences as equally valid.
- Teachers use a repertoire of instructional and assessment strategies to meet the needs of different learners.
- All differentiated instruction activities are equally engaging and respectful and take approximately the same amount of time.
- Unless students are on an IEP, all differentiated instruction is based on the same curriculum expectations and all students have opportunities to achieve the same high standards of performance.
- Students are assessed before, during and after their learning. Assessments inform the next steps for both teacher and student.
- Even if students have choices in the ways that they demonstrate their learning, teachers are able to use a common assessment tool (e.g., a rubric) so that all student work is judged against the same assessment criteria.
- A defining characteristic of a differentiated classroom is flexibility. Students work in short-term, flexible learning groups and educators are flexible in creating and altering instructional plans in response to learners.
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IN THE CLASSROOM
Differentiated instruction is not individualized instruction. Instead, it involves considering and selecting from a variety of instructional approaches and making frequent use of flexible, short-term groups to address a variety of learner needs and preferences.
Some DI involves prior planning and formalized structures (e.g., designing a choice board or a tiered assignment); some DI requires less prior planning or results from decisions made on the spot based on emerging student needs (e.g., choice of group size, think-pair-share, note-taking options such as a web or outline).
SOME EXAMPLES‡
- DI in Geography Students work in small, readiness-based groups to sort images and written statements into two piles; one representing the characteristics of urban environments, the other of rural environments. Students complete a graphic organizer where, depending on readiness, they either use the sorted images and text to deduce the criteria that distinguish one environment from the other (e.g., differences in population density, types of employment), or they give examples for provided criteria.
- DI in English Students studying effective presentation techniques individually choose to focus on a speaker’s use of images; inflection, pitch and pace; level of language and use of written text; or body language. After listening to and viewing an oral–visual presentation, students work in like groups (e.g., interest, learning style) to prepare a list of what they observed. Students then meet in mixed groups to prepare a comprehensive list, graphic organizer, or brief presentation summarizing effective presentation techniques.
- DI in Business Students choose an area of personal interest to develop a fictitious business. The various forms of ownership are explained (e.g., sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, cooperative, franchise) and students are asked to select the form they think would be best suited to their business. Students then work individually, with a partner or in a small group to research their particular form of ownership and respond to the questions on a provided template. This task might also be differentiated by readiness if questions of greater or lesser complexity are scaffolded according to each learner’s needs.
- DI in Science Students participate in a class brainstorm of the possible factors that affect soil composition and fertility. Students individually select the factor that most interests them and then design and conduct an investigation to examine their chosen factor.
- Mini-lessons are provided on experimental design along with investigation recording forms that support learners according to their needs for more or less structure.
- Other subject-specific examples and resources are currently under development and will be shared with educators across the province.
ENGAGING STUDENTS BY OFFERING CHOICE
“Choice makes the young adolescent’s desire for control and freedom possible—without the power struggle. Choice builds confidence and fosters independence. Choice tells students their interests are important and allows them to demonstrate responsibility.” – Hume Manageable Choice Is the Goal All learners want to feel they have some control over their lives and will make more of an effort when their desire for choice is addressed.
It is important that educators clearly define and model choices so that neither students nor educators become overwhelmed. Young adolescents need practice and experience working with a prescribed range of choices before they will be able to make informed choices independently.
Teach Students to Make Good Choices
√ Explicitly teach students the skills necessary to work effectively in a group or with a partner.
√ Help students know their learning strengths and preferences by using inventories, observation and discussion.
√ Encourage and provide opportunities for students to reflect on the outcome of their choices, so they can get better at making good ones. For example, use learning stations to have all students try all choices, then ask, “Which one helped you to learn?” instead of “Which did you enjoy the most?”
√ Introduce choices in small ways at first:
• Ask if students prefer to work individually or with a partner.
• Let them decide the order of completion when multiple tasks need to be done.
• Allow them to answer one of the test questions by writing or by drawing.
Provide Appropriate Choices All choices need to satisfy the same expectation, take roughly the same amount of time and be equally respectful of all learners. Create or select two, three or four well-constructed choices that address both the demands of subject disciplines and the readiness, interests or learning preferences of students. Remember to ensure that students know how to accomplish the process skill for any choice offered (e.g., writing a script, creating a role play, filming a documentary). Also, ensure that all choices are assessed using the same assessment criteria.
Differentiated instruction involves:
• Using assessment to gather information about students’ readiness, interests and learning preferences
• Using this information to differentiate the learning environment, instruction, and assessment and evaluation
• Selecting from a varied repertoire of strategies to meet the particular needs of students.
• Using assessment to gather information about students’ readiness, interests and learning preferences
• Using this information to differentiate the learning environment, instruction, and assessment and evaluation
• Selecting from a varied repertoire of strategies to meet the particular needs of students.
IMPLEMENTING DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IN THE CLASSROOM
Begin planning your approach to differentiated instruction by referring to the continuum on the left. Consider where you are now and the steps you could take to increase your effectiveness and your responsiveness to learners’ needs. Developing Instructional Routines and Skills Identify your own learning preferences and those of your students by using inventories, observations in a variety of learning situations and discussions.
Deliberately plan part of a lesson so that it appeals to a learning preference that you do not usually address. Expanding Instructional Routines and Skills Determine ways of learning that motivate your students the most. Over several days, provide the class with learning experiences that introduce them to different ways of learning and allow you to observe which opportunities work for which students.
For example, using a multiple intelligences approach, engage students in learning that is primarily visual/spatial, follow up with opportunities that are kinesthetic and interpersonal, and then provide experiences that focus on logical/mathematical, intrapersonal and verbal/linguistic intelligences. This may be done using a centres/stations approach in which all students have experiences at all centres over a period of several days.
Developing the Routines, Habits and Skills for Differentiated Instruction Begin by providing a single alternative to a standard assignment, making sure that each alternative is equally respectful, takes roughly the same amount of time and satisfies the same expectations. Later, provide a few alternatives/options, supporting students as necessary as they work at their choices.
Create an assessment that will allow you to give meaningful feedback to the student regardless of the choice made, and the student to engage in meaningful assessment as learning. Sustaining a Differentiated Instruction Culture in the Classroom Routinely encourage student reflection and involve students in activities that require them to engage in assessment as learning.
Talk with students about times they will want to use areas of strength. Challenge students to stretch beyond their comfort zone and experiment with other ways of learning when they are working on concepts that they understand. Along with your students, reflect on what helps to engage them and respond by refining your instructional approaches, provide a few alternatives/options, supporting students as necessary as they work at their choices.
Create an assessment that will allow you to give meaningful feedback to the student regardless of the choice made, and the student to engage in meaningful assessment as learning.
Sustaining a Differentiated Instruction Culture in the Classroom Routinely encourage student reflection and involve students in activities that require them to engage in assessment as learning.
Talk with students about times they will want to use areas of strength. Challenge students to stretch beyond their comfort zone and experiment with other ways of learning when they are working on concepts that they understand.
Along with your students, reflect on what helps to engage them and respond by refining your instructional approaches.
The ability to systematically and thoroughly meet the needs of the individual learners in your care is central to the important work you do as an educator. Thank you for that work. We look forward to supporting you in your continuing efforts to reach every student.