Differentiated Instruction (& Tiered Instruction)

By Anonymous -

The Bedford County Public Schools Instructional Technology Coaches created a Mini Vodcast and set of resources on Differentiation. Today's blog is a quick summary of those resources and the vodcast. A future blog and mini vodcast will focus on Tiering.





Check out the (Mini) #Vodcast on Differentiation (Part 1) on YouTube: https://bit.ly/36crHkR

Differentiation is basically tailoring instruction to meet each student’s individual needs regardless of their abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

At the core of Differentiated Instruction is the modification of four elements

  • Content (what students learn), 
  • Process (how do students make sense of the information and ideas), 
  • Product (how they show what they’ve learned) and
  • Learning environment/Affect (the climate or tone in the classroom).

This modification is based on an assessment of student differences in readiness, interest, and learning profile.

Pros & Cons of Differentiated Instruction

Pros

  • Research shows differentiated instruction is effective for high-ability students as well as students with mild to severe disabilities.
  • When students are given more options on how they can learn the material, they take on more responsibility for their own learning.
  • Students appear to be more engaged in learning, and there are reportedly fewer discipline problems in classrooms where teachers provide differentiated lessons.

Cons

  • Differentiated instruction requires more work during lesson planning, and many teachers struggle to find extra time in their schedule.
  • The learning curve can be steep and some schools lack professional development resources.
  • Critics argue there isn’t enough research to support the benefits of differentiated instruction outweighing the added prep time.

Differentiation, or the ability of educators to meet the needs of a variety of learners, is a key aspect of successful teaching.  Fortunately, there are many approaches to differentiation and numerous tools available, including a variety of sites that can help facilitate the process (see link).

Additional Resources:

References:

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