Research-based Component Observation –

Differentiated Instruction
DI Differentiated Instruction Feature Evidence it was part of the lesson (or not)
Component
Differentiate by the

 The information and ideas students The teacher presented content in a few different
grapple with to reach the learning ways. The first was on the poster paper presented at
CONTENT

goals the front. He differentiated by presenting an

opportunity to present the equations on a mat/folder
at their desk using pieces, and lastly he would clarify
the equation by writing it up on the marker board.

 How students take in and make sense

Differentiate by the

of the content Students use the box chips to put pieces together to
create a visualization as a way to make sense of the
PROCESS

written problem. They were also put into pairs to aid

each other throughout this process.
Differentiate by the

 How students show what they know, Students verbalize to the teacher the process they did
understand, and can do to get to the correct structure that matched the
PRODUCT

formula.
Differentiate by the

 The climate or tone of the classroom The affective filter was very low, students felt
ENVIRONMENT

comfortable sharing their ideas whether right or

LEARNING

wrong with the whole class. Partners encouraged each

other with correct answers. Teacher provided kind
feedback and correction as needed without being
harsh.
 I felt that this teacher did a phenomenal job teaching a subject most students want to skip through.

Math, especially algebra, is a tough class for a lot of students and it is very easy for a teacher to turn this

into a “read your textbook and figure it out” lesson. Alongside that, it is also possible that a teacher knows

what is going on, but does a poor job explaining it leaving the students to sort of fend for themselves.

Math is a subject I believe benefits strongly from differentiation due to its complex components.

The piece that stuck out to me the most was his use of those square chips. Students who prefer to

touch the idea or see the big picture will benefit greatly from this resource. This allows diverse learners to

have equity in the classroom with a new way of seeing the content. He also put students into pairs as a

way to differentiate the process they were doing. I admired that he purposefully paired students who were

familiar with the activity with those who had never done it as a way to aid the new students into the

practice. This not only helped him as a teacher be more available to the class as a whole, but also gave

students a chance to practice interpersonal communication and problem-solving as a small team. This skill

can carry over into a plethora of other courses and situations in life.

Another strength shown by the teacher was in his differentiation by the learning environment. There is

a component in teaching called the “Affective Filter”. The affective is in relation to the emotions of the

students. The idea is that the teacher should create a low-stress environment, so, the lower the filter, the

less stress and better the opportunity of learning. This teacher had very good composure. He was able to

create confidence for his students that allowed them to share their thoughts and opinions without

hesitation or worry of obstructive ridicule. He gave them multiple chances and ample time to get to the

correct answer and guided their thinking in the right direction without giving out the answer. If he did have

to give the answer, he backtracked and had them retrace steps as to why this was the answer.

As a student learning education still, it is hard for me to find critiques in these good examples. Perhaps

he could have removed unnecessary square chips. There was a student who had questioned the purpose

of one of the chip styles and the teacher shared how rarely they are used, maybe to avoid confusion in the

future he could remove them from the students’ bags and place them in their own separate bag and only
get them out as needed. He might also directly call on students who were trying this technique out for the

first time as a sort of formative assessment in how they are grasping the process, it seemed that most of

the students giving answers were ones who had done this before.

However, my overall impression of this teacher’s differentiation strategy were that they were

beneficial and worth doing. I thought back on my own experience in algebra and, though I did well, wished

we could have utilized blocks and pieces to create a new way of seeing the equations. I hope to be able to

have a good list of ideas and resources in the future to help meet the needs of my students, or at least be

creative enough to come up with some of my own ideas.