TOPIC 1:

INTRODUCTION TO
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

1
 “Our task is to
provide an education for the
kinds of kids we have,
not
the kinds of kids we used to have,
or
the kids that exist in our dreams”.
-K.P Gerlach-
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_____________________________________________________________________________________

So many students are physically present and psychologically absent. About 40 percent
of students go through the motions, neither trying hard nor paying attention. So many cut
class and are truant, so many admit to cheating to get through, so many lose interest
because they cannot keep up, and so many are bored by the lack of appropriate
challenge. So many do not learn that ability is not enough and effort is crucial. About
half of students who drop out say their classes were not interesting, and about two-thirds
say not one teacher cared about their success in learning at school. Not all is rosy with
teachers, teaching and school.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

- John Hattie, Visible Learning -

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 INTRODUCTION

• Teachers are the lifeblood of our

nation.
• They educate our children, they
‘Differentiation is
prepare our workforce and shape RESPONSIVE TEACHING
tomorrows citizens. rather than one-size-fits-
• Our nation’s schools today are
educating the largest, most diverse
all teaching’.
student.
• Population ever, to higher standards
than ever before.
• This is the reason why the need for
differentiated instruction is so
necessary.

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 INTRODUCTION

Differentiation is making sure that the right

Differentiation
students get the right learning tasks at the right
time. Once you have a sense of what each
student knows and what he or she needs in order
is making
to learn, differentiation is no longer ansure that
option, it is the right students get the right
an obviouslearning
response. tasks at the right time. Once you have a
sense of what each student knows and what he or
she needs in order to learn, differentiation is no
longer an option, it is an obvious response.

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 DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION (DI): A DEFINITION

Effective instruction that is responsive to student’s:

DEFINITION OF DI

Doing what is fair

for students.
It means creating
multiple paths so
that students of
different abilities,
interests, or
learning needs
experience
INTERESTS PREFERENCES equally
READINESS appropriate ways
to learn.

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DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION (DI): A DEFINITION

Differentiation
It means teachers proactively plan varied
approaches to what students need to
learn, how they will learn it, and/ or how
they will show what they have learned in
order to increase the likelihood that each
student will learn as much as he or she
can, as efficiently as possible.

Meeting Individual Student Needs

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WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION?

“Differentiated instruction is a teaching philosophy based on the premise

that teachers should adapt instruction to student differences.

Rather than marching students through the curriculum lockstep, teachers

should modify their instruction to meet students’ varying readiness levels,
learning preferences and interests.

Therefore, the teacher proactively plans a variety of ways to “get at” and
express learning”.

Carol Ann Tomlinson

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 GOALS FOR TEACHERS IN A DI CLASSROOM

To gather information
To create connection To establish a safe about students to
between teachers learning foster the relationship
and students environment between students
and the teacher

To learn about
students’ interests, To encourage students
hobbies and multiple to become more
intelligences independent learners by
strengths and teaching them to assess
weaknesses their work habits and to
make them more self
sufficient

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 KEY PRINCIPLES OF A DI

The teacher is clear about what matters in The teacher understands, appreciates and
subject matter. builds upon student differences.

Assessment and instruction are inseparable. The teacher adjusts content, process and
product in response to student readiness,
interests and learning preferences.

All students participate in respectful work. Students and teachers are collaborators in
learning.

Goals of a differentiated classroom are Flexibility is the hallmark of a differentiated

maximum growth and individual success. classroom.

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 STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS FOR WHICH TEACHER CAN DIFFERENTIATE

• Students vary in at least 3 ways that

make modifying instruction a wise
READINESS INTERESTS PREFERENCES
strategy for teachers. Student’s starting Attention to The many different
• Students differ in their readiness, interest point for learning, student’s interests ways in which
and learning preferences. relative to the enhances the learners prefer to
concept being relevancy of acquire, process
studied. learning by linking and work with
By attending, at various times, to a
new information to information. Learning
learner’s readiness, interests and
students’ experience preferences are
learning preferences, we increase
and enthusiasm. influenced by
the likelihood that students will be
gender, culture, the
able to build new learning through
classroom
connection to existing knowledge
environment,
and preferred ways of working
learning styles and
and that they will be engaged in
multiple
the learning.
intelligences.

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WHY DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION?

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 WHY DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION?

Different Students differ

Disability learning on
Engagement
styles performance All students will
and not learn the
varies
readiness. same material
within the same
time period

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 WHY DIFFERENTIATION?
IN NON-DIFFERENTIATED
CLASSROOM
• The teacher is the one who knows the
objectives for the lesson.
• Whole-class teaching prevails, desks are
all in a row.
• Assignments, texts and tasks are the same
for all the students.
• The preponderance of talk is the
teacher’s.
• High-level thinking questions and tasks are
reserved for highest-achieving students.
IN DIFFERENTIATED
CLASSROOM
• Both the teacher and the students know
clearly the content and language
objectives.
• Grouping of students is frequent and
flexible.
• A variety of texts, tasks and options is
evident.
• Talk is shared between students and
teacher.
• High-level thinking questions and tasks are
the norm for all students.
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 DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

EXAMPLE OF SITUATIONS
• Varying sets of reading comprehension questions to answer for a given
book. (either chosen by the teacher or student)
• A personalized course packet with individualized remediation or
enrichment materials.
• An adaptive assessment that gets easier or harder depending on how
a student is performing.
• One-to-one coaching with a student, designed around his/her specific
challenges.
• Students grouped into small groups, which are designed around their
strengths and weaknesses so that they can tutor each other.

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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.

▪ Students are assessed before, during and after their learning.

Assessments inform next steps for both teacher and student.

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TEACHER’S VIEWPOINT OF DI

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 OFFERING CHOICE

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-

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 IMPLEMENTING DI 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 Expanding Instructional

Routines Routines and
and Skills Skills
Developing the Routines, Habits Sustaining a Differentiated
and Skills for Differentiated Instruction Culture in the
Instruction Classroom

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 IMPLEMENTING DI IN THE CLASSROOM

• Identify your own learning preferences and

those of your students by using inventories,
Developing Instructional observations in a variety of learning
Routines situations and discussion.
and Skills
• Deliberately plan part of a lesson so that it
appeals to a learning preference that you
do not usually address.

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 IMPLEMENTING DI IN THE CLASSROOM

✓ Determine ways of learning that motivate

your students the most.
Expanding Instructional
Routines and ✓ Provide the class with learning experiences
Skills that introduce them to different ways of
learning and allow you to different ways of
learning and allow you to observe which
opportunities work for which students.

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 IMPLEMENTING DI IN THE CLASSROOM

✓ Begin by providing a single alternative to

standard assignment, making sure that each
alternative is equally respectful, takes roughly
the same amount of time and satisfies the
same expectations.
Developing the Routines,
✓ Provide a few alternatives/ options, supporting
Habits and Skills for students as necessary as they work at their
Differentiated Instruction 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.

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 IMPLEMENTING DI 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
Sustaining a Differentiated use areas of strength.
Instruction Culture in the ✓ Challenge students to stretch beyond their
Classroom comfort zone and experiment with other ways
of learning when they are working on
concepts that they understand.
✓ Reflect on what helps to engage them and
respond by refining your instructional
approaches.

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 PROS & CONS OF DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

PROS CONS
• Differentiation can be effective for both • Differentiated teaching requires much
high-ability students and those with a more lesson-planning time for teachers
disability. who may already be strapped for time.
• Providing children options means that • It may require more resources for a school
they take on more of the responsibility for or school district to implement.
learning themselves. • Many schools lack the professional
• The engagement in learning tends to be development resources to properly train
stronger because it addresses the faculty.
children as individuals with an equal
opportunity for growth.

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 EFFECTIVE DIFFERENTIATION

The teacher is attuned and responsive to the The teacher and students share in the decision-
affective, cognitive and physical needs of making process about daily routines and
learners. classroom operation.
Students feel safe, both physically and Hard work is an expectation.
affectively.
The teacher respects and supports the Physical arrangements are flexible and support
possibilities inherent in each student. student access to a variety of learning options.
Individual differences are accepted as natural A range of resources are available and support
and positive. student access to content.
Students learn to respect and support one Flexible student grouping capitalizes on student
another as learners. strengths and allows effective attention to
student weaknesses.
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 3 PILLARS THAT SUPPPORT EFFECTIVE DIFFERENTIATION
PHILOSOPHY
• Regarding diversity as normal
and valuable
• Seeing every learner’s potential
for academic success
• Accepting responsibility for
maximizing each learner’s
progress
• Recognizing and removing
barriers that deny many learners
equal access to excellence
PRINCIPLES
• Creating environments that are
catalysts for learning
• Building on a foundation of a
quality curriculum
• Using assessment to inform
teaching and learning
• Tailoring instruction to
assessment-indicated student
needs
• Leading and managing a
flexible classroom
PRACTICES
• Planning proactively to address
readiness, interest and learning
profile
• Basing instructional approaches
on student needs and the
nature of the content
• Teaching up
• Assigning respectful tasks
• Using flexible grouping
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 Thank You
Xie Xie
Nandri
Kotoluadan /Pounsikou
u n i t a r. m y
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