An Action Research on the Effectiveness of Differentiated Instruction In Teaching English for Grade 10

Classes

I. Introduction

English is a challenging but crucial subject, much like science and math, because the curriculum
views it as a tool topic required to comprehend the many content subjects. It mostly focuses on
enhancing one's abilities in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing. Writing comprises
preparation skills, mechanics in guided writing, functional and creative writing, whereas speaking
involves abilities in employing language expressions and grammatical structures effectively in oral
communication (K to 12 Curriculum Guide for Grade 10). The K–12 Basic Education Curriculum strives to
teach students how the English language participates in a social process that is dynamic and responsive
to shifting social norms. Additionally, it is closely linked to people's values, ideas, and ways of seeing
themselves and the environment in which they live. The curriculum's goal is to give students the chance
to expand on their existing knowledge while making use of their unique skills, interests, styles, and
talents. However, teachers often have trouble instructing various student types who have varying
intellectual capacities, talent or skills, interests, and learning styles, particularly when the student
population is heterogeneous. In this circumstance, teachers must design lessons for all students based
on their level of preparation, their areas of interest, and their prior knowledge. According to Anderson
(2007), a teacher must provide a diversified learning environment in order to ensure that no child is left
out of the classroom.

The idea behind differentiated education is that students should be in charge of growing their
knowledge by understanding how they can learn in different ways than their teachers do (Robinson,
Maldonado, & Whaley, 2014). Wilson (2009) asserted that differentiated instruction is the progression
of activities from easy to complicated, taking into account differences between people who are
otherwise comparable in terms of things like age or grade. It is also a planning strategy, according to
Butt and Kusar (2010) that allows for the delivery of a single lesson to the entire class while still
satisfying the unique needs of each student.

Tomlinson (2009) asserts that the foundation of the DI philosophy of teaching is the idea that
children learn best when their teachers take into account the variations in their readiness levels,
interests, and learning profiles. It views education as a collaborative and social process. The instructor is
first accountable for what occurs in the classroom, but also the learner (Subban, 2006). Additionally, DI
offers a successful way to address learner diversity while avoiding the drawbacks of a rigid curriculum.
According to Stronge (2004) and Tomlinson (2004b), addressing student differences and interests
increases their drive to study, helps them stay motivated, and helps them stay positive. In a study on the
effects of differentiation in mixed-ability classrooms, Stravroula (2011) discovered that by effectively
managing variety and providing learning opportunities for all students, differentiation had made
significant progress in addressing the detrimental effects of socioeconomic factors on students'
achievement. Differentiation can be viewed as an effective teaching strategy in mixed-ability classrooms,
as evidenced by the rise in students' academic performance. Additionally, Servilio (quoted by Robinson,
2014) investigated the efficacy of utilizing DI to encourage kids to read and discovered that on average,
83.4% of the students' reading grades increased, 12.5% of the grades stayed the same, and 41% of the
grades deteriorated.

The teacher-researcher was inspired to carry out an action research on the efficiency of DI in teaching
English to Grade Four students for a week-long class because of her role as an educator. Additionally,
she was interested in seeing how this approach affected the students' academic performance as seen in
the outcomes of the diagnostic and accomplishment tests.

II. Statement of the Problem

This study determined the effectiveness of conducting DI to Grade Four English class. Specifically, it
answered the following:

1. What is the performance of the two groups of respondents in the pretest?

1.1. Control group

1.2. Experimental group

2. What is the performance of the two groups of respondents in the posttest?

1.1. Control group

1.2. Experimental group

3. Is there a significant difference between the pretest scores of the control and experimental group?

4. Is there a significant difference between the posttest scores of the control and experimental group?
III. Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.

1. There is no significant difference between the pretest result of the experimental and control
group.
2. There is no significant difference between the posttest result of the experimental and control
group.
3. There is no significant difference between the pretest and posttest result of the experimental
and control group.

IV. Methodology

Since the primary goal of this action research was to assess the effectiveness of DI and its potential
impact on the mean gain scores on students' accomplishment throughout a one-week English session in
Grade 10, it made use of an experimental design..