DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION BY Micheala Hoffman DEFINING DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION BY: Micheala Hoffman

DEFINING DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: “Differentiated instruction and assessment, also known as differentiated learning or, in education, simply, differentiation, is a framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing different students with different avenues to learning. Often in the same classroom, in terms of: acquiring content” In other words, not every student in the classroom learns the same. Some students are visual learns, some are verbal, and some are all sorts of other types of leaners. Everyone learns in their own ways.

HISTORY OF DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION: “The roots of differentiated instruction go all the way back to the days of the one-room schoolhouse, where one teacher had students of all ages in one classroom. As the educational system transitioned to grading schools, it was assumed that children of the same age learned similarly. However in 1912, achievement tests were introduced, and the scores revealed the gaps in student’s abilities within grade levels. ”

TEACHERS WHO PRACTICE DIFFERENTIATION IN THE CLASSROOM MAY: 1. Design lesson based on students’ learning styles. 2. Group students by shared interest, topic or ability for assignments. 3. Assess students’ learning using formative assessment. 4. Manage the classroom to create a safe and supportive environment. 5. Continually assess and adjust lesson content to meet students’ needs.

EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING: I myself am an example of differentiated learning. I don’t pick up on thinks as well as other students do. Typically I am better at visual rather than verbal but still even with that it has to be something that is catchy and entertaining. My mind drifts more than one can handle. Also while many students love group work, sometimes that doesn’t work for me. When in groups I have three modes. 1. ) get distracted and get off topic with group members. 2. ) Let the rest of the group handle things. 3. ) Take over the group work and deal with it all myself. Regardless of whether or not this was a good example, all students learn differently and each student needs to learn in their own ways.

CONCLUSION: Differentiating instruction may mean teaching the same material to all students using a variety of instructional strategies, or it may require the teacher to deliver lessons at varying levels of difficulty based on the ability of each student. Formative assessment is an essential ingredient of this method.

WORKS CITED: “Differentiated Instruction”. Wikipedia. 27 Dec. 2016. Web. 4 March 2017. Weselby, Cathy. “What is Differentiated Instruction? Examples of How to Differentiate Instruction in the Classroom”. Concordia University. 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 4 March 2017.