Lesson 8 – Differentiated Instruction

Overview of the lesson

Differentiation is a “hot topic” in education right now. As class sizes grow exponentially, teachers
face the daunting task of teaching all levels of student in a single class. Teachers must stimulate
and engage intellectually gifted students, while simultaneously scaffolding curriculum to support
lower level learners.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
1. cite reasons why teachers use differentiated instruction;
2. explain the role of differentiated instruction in assessing student’s learning; and
3. respect students’ learning styles as bases in designing lessons

Course Materials:

According to the International Bureau of Education, Differentiated Instruction is an

approach to teaching that involves offering several different learning experiences and
proactively addressing students’ varied needs to maximize learning opportunities for each
student in the classroom. It requires teachers to be flexible in their approach and adjust the
curriculum and presentation of information to learners of different abilities.
Source: https://tinyurl.com/y4kegmoc

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.

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 (Individualized Education Plan for learners with special
needs), 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 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.
Here is an illustration that summarizes the concept of Differentiated Instruction.
Key Elements of Effective Differentiated Instruction

References: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108028/chapters/Differentiation@-An-
Overview.aspx#:~:text=Five%20components%20of%20instruction%20can,will%
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https://tinyurl.com/awsz8f4

Output 8: Activity and Assessment: Answer the two questions below.

1. What is the impact of using Differentiated Instruction to improve delivery of
instruction and in improving the achievement levels of the learning outcomes.
2. Using your own words, explain the three bases for differentiated instruction.