Differentiated instructions is an education term which refers to any practices, approaches, tools or structures that facilitate teaching students at different levels. In general, it refers to teaching the same material, if possible at the same time. It is closely related to inclusion, but inclusion tends to refer to mainstreaming students in special education, whereas differentiated instruction refers more to your average elementary classroom in which achievement ranges may vary two or three years in both math and reading.
The alternative to differentiated instruction is tracking, or perhaps ignoring the needs of the high and low ends of the class. Differentiated instruction can never be done perfectly; there will always be a middle of the class and the outliers.
The Bell Curve of Achievement
The middle of the class would represent the largest number of students, and these individuals get the mainstream instruction. The outliers are too high or too low to get all their needs met from mainstream instruction. The idea of differentiated instruction is to create plans to keep the ends of the bell curve engaged.
Two Types of Differentiated Assignments
There are basically two methods for differentiating instruction. One is to create assignments to which students can respond on their own level such as writing to a prompt. Students can simplify or extend based on their abilities.
The second one is to create a multi-level assignment structure so all students do the main assignment while students who are lower level have support or remedial work, while higher students have what are called extensions, extra or more difficult work corresponding to their abilities.
Within These Two Categories, Opportunities to Differentiate are Infinite
The methods for achieving a differentiated classroom are myriad. It is safe to say that the first step is for the teacher to recognize a need for instruction that meets the learners where they are. The purpose of this blog will be to facilitate the process of differentiated instruction in elementary classrooms.
My Journey in Differentiated Instruction
I first became interested in differentiated instruction when I began teaching. The problem of a mixed classes of on-level learners and struggling learners, as well as some above-level learners, was real. Despite much discussion among leadership and some customized differentiated instructional materials within curriculums, most of the work of differentiating instruction falls to classroom teachers. Small reading groups are the most widely used differentiated instruction method in modern elementary classrooms. However this approach is challenging, and is probably used in no more than half of classrooms today.
Some Ideas for Differentiated Instruction
The methods I’ve used for a differentiated classroom this year include
- Multi-level work – where you create two assignments with similar objectives, but one is more difficult than the other
- Peer tutoring – where you assign a student who understands the work to review or teach one who doesn’t
- Desk side support – where you stop at the student’s desk and scaffold their work
- Anchor charts – where you write critical information to help understand and display for later reference.Â
- Handbooks and charts – such as multiplication charts, hundred number charts, and spelling booklets
- Preferential seating – for behavior management, choose seating based on students’ emotional needs and distractibility
- Conduct charts – keeping records of student behavior for consistent accountability and sharing this information with parents
- Class jobs – allowing all students to feel connected to the class by allowing all students a class job.Â
- Classroom meetings – sharing about matters affecting the class as a class and giving all students a voice to increase student security and connection
- Parent contact – phoning home or checking in at the end of the day, keeping parents in the loop so they can support students at home
- Tutoring after school – creating a small group to work on concepts that don’t get enough time in class.Â
- Facts practice kits – sending home sets of cards to practice math facts or phonics or sightwords.Â
Why differentiated instruction now?
The truth is differentiated instruction is not new. In the one room schoolhouse, differentiated instruction was the norm; and each grade was taught their materials simultaneously. That is a meditation for today. Somehow, for the most part, they all got it. Or so the story goes. Back in those days, they didn’t have national normed tests to report how it was going.
In the famous read aloud Thank You, Mr. Faulkner, by Patricia Pollacio, the teacher is doing differentiated instruction when he teaches the young and ostracized protagonist to read. He identifies a difference in her reading level and creates an intervention. In his case, writing on the chalkboard with a wet eraser helps her memorize how letters are shaped, and her lift is changed.
It’s important to do differentiating instruction today, because the kids have not changed but the curriculum has. Some current curriculums are very demanding on teachers in terms of planning and implementation, making it harder than ever for us to differentiate instruction. Nevertheless it is every bit as important as always has been to do so.
Classroom Teacher
If you are the teacher for your elementary students that is if they are assigned to you, you are responsible for their learning. You’re responsible for looking at their assessments, seeing if they’re learning, and creating plans and interventions. If they’re not, you must try something. But doing so can be incredibly difficult. This is going to be the topic of this blog.
New materials
We plan to share our materials, our journey and our experience with readers of Differentiating instruction.us. Differentiated Instruction already has a store, but the best material I have is available for free. A PDF of Orton Gillingham phonics cards which I’ve created over years of teaching are available to everyone who is willing to sign up for a mailing list.