Summary
What is differentiated instruction?
Differentiated instruction is an educational approach that personalizes materials, teaching methods, and assessments according to the student’s educational needs. The underlying goal is to provide equal and maximum opportunity for all learners with diverse readiness levels and backgrounds.
How do teachers differentiate instruction?
Teachers differentiate instructions based on all aspects of learning, including the process, content, and product. Products are differentiated by giving the students the option of presenting their assignments, while the process is differentiated by giving different levels of support to meet the students varying needs and grouping students based on their readiness levels. Teachers can also differentiate content by using different learning resources and giving choices on the topic of final projects. This ensures that the student’s unique needs, including learning styles, are met throughout the learning process.
How do teachers prepare their students and their classrooms for differentiated instruction?
Teachers prepare their learners for differentiated instructions by assessing them to understand their readiness and prior knowledge. Teachers can also set clear expectations to ensure that students are aware of how to interact in class. Teachers can also collaborate with colleagues to devise suitable teaching strategies that meet students’ needs.
What does differentiated instruction look like in the classroom?
Typical classroom differentiated instructions include students working individually and in groups for collaborative projects. Students may also use hard-copy study materials and videos to learn a topic. Teachers might also give students extra time to complete assignments and allow students to answer in written texts or graphics. This may also include giving gifted students complex or challenging questions while using examples from different cultures to explain concepts in a history classroom.
Assessment
- Describe at least four significant ways differentiated instruction differs from traditional classroom instruction.
Traditional classroom instructions typically use rigid learning environments, while differentiated instructions are flexible by adopting learning environments to suit the student’s needs. Differentiated instructions adopt a continuous assessment, while traditional instructions rely on summative assessment. Traditional instructions use uniform instructions, while differentiated instructions use varied instructional methods. Finally, the traditional method adopts a standardized approach to teaching while differentiated focus on individual needs.
- How can teachers get to know their students? Ensure that the three characteristics of students that are important for differentiating instruction are included, and give at least two examples of how teachers can learn about each.
Teachers can assess their students’ readiness and prior knowledge, determining their learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses. They can also differentiate instructions by grouping students based on their needs and giving individual and group assignments. They can also use different learning materials and assessment modules. They can also allow students to choose how they want to answer questions.
Instructions during my high school days were typically standardized and characterized by summative assessment, limited teaching resources, and only one format for answering questions. I would change these by differentiating the instructions, for instance, using different learning materials and grouping students based on their learning needs. I can also accomplish this by allocating students different tasks based on their readiness and using varied teaching methods.