Week One: What is differentiated instruction?

Week One: EDET 637 Differentiated Instruction Through Technology

Essential question: What is differentiated instruction?

            When I was in elementary school, the differentiated instruction that was provided for me consisted of working on higher level math concepts in a group of students, going to an enrichment program during the day with all of the advanced kids from the different schools once a month, and being put in a reading program that had me tutor other kids in the lower grades. As a student that excelled in the material I was learning, it was important that differentiated instruction was provided but it seemed like the opportunities of differentiated instruction stopped in middle school.

            As a teacher, differentiated instruction (DI) sometimes seems like this golden ticket that is unobtainable but in reality this is not true. DI is knowing the level of each student through frequent formal and informal assessment and using this knowledge to provide instruction at the level of each student. This does not mean that every student is on an individual learning plan and that the teacher is juggling 10-20 different paths of learning. Thomlinson explains that DI is used in the classroom by blending whole-class, group, and individual instruction and that there are “multiple approaches to content, process, and product.” (pg.4, 2001) Smith and Throne explains that “DI is guided by the constructivist or student-centered approach to teaching and learning.” (pg.31, 2009) This means that DI is one of the most effective ways to teach students because the focus is on the needs of the student and teaching them at their level so that they can grow in the most organic ways.

            The difficult part of implementing DI is the fact that it is student centered so this means that it can be fully planned and it is needed to be constantly fluid. There are programs that do prepare teachers with materials that can be easily applied to students and their needs. Callahan explains in an interview with Wu a DI program that was created for rural schools and that “the whole differentiation process has been built into the curriculum” and this provides a clear direction that teachers can take with their students when it comes to DI. (pg.54, 2017)

            After researching DI, I thought that it seemed similar to RTI (response to intervention) when it comes to the students who need extra support. The two fit together and have many similarities and O’Meara explains that “both DI and RTI address important aspects of teaching that need to be a focus in order for effective learning to take place.” (pg.45, 2011) This means that some of the same methods that are used in RTI can be applied while providing the classroom differentiated instruction.

References

O'Meara, J. (2011). RTI With Differentiated Instruction, Grades K–5 : A Classroom Teacher’s Guide. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin.

Smith, G. E., & Throne, S. (2009). Differentiating Instruction with Technology in Middle School Classrooms. Eugene, Or: International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE].

Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-ability Classrooms. Alexandria, Va: Assoc. for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Wu, E. H. (2017). Paving the Way For Differentiated Instruction in Rural Classrooms Under Common Core State Standards. Journal Of Advanced Academics, 28(1), 51-65. doi:10.1177/1932202X16683646

This shows that DI needs assessment frequently and after this assessment, the teacher decides what grouping and part of learning should be done knowing the students' levels.