What Is Differentiated Instruction?

This article was excerpted from the Scholastic Professional title, Differentiating Reading Instruction, by Laura Robb. Differentiation is a way of teaching; it’s not a program or package of worksheets. It asks teachers to know their students well so they can provide each one with experiences and tasks that will improve learning. As Carol Ann Tomlinson has said, differentiation means giving students multiple options for taking in information (1999). Differentiating instruction means that you observe and understand the differences and similarities among students and use this information to plan instruction. Here is a list of some key principles that form the foundation of differentiating instruction. Ongoing, formative assessment: Teachers continually assess to identify students’ strengths and areas of need so they can meet students where they are and help them move forward. Data That Supports Differentiation in Reading Step Inside My Classroom Make your read alouds a common teaching text.

Universal Design for learning verses Diffrentiation Explanation of Resources How will you present new information Explanation of Resources how will students demonstrate prior background knowledge Are You Tapping into Prior Knowledge Often Enough in Your Classroom? Learning progresses primarily from prior knowledge, and only secondarily from the materials we present to students, studies show. Think about that. We teachers spend so much time gathering materials -- important and necessary for good instruction -- but are we often enough using the greatest tools right there at our fingertips? All of those young minds, ready to go! We are all guilty of hurrying through teaching some concept or skill, and not taking the time to slow down, ask the kids what they already know about the matter, and make important connections to what is to come. The Research Behind It Constructivism proposes that new knowledge is constructed from old. The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget believed educating children to be one of society's most important tasks. Use It or Lose It -- PK Strategies Launching the learning in your classroom from the prior knowledge of your students is a tenet of good teaching. Image Brainstorm. Thank goodness we know this to be a ridiculous notion.

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