viffeventiated Instruction \e — William N. Bender eS Differentiating instruction means varying instructional activities and instructional products in order to ‘accommodate the diverse learning needs and learni style preferences of the stucients in today’s classroom. Carol Tonlinson’s concept of differentiated instruction was groundbreaking in 1999 and has now evolved into 8 dynamic movement to restructure instruction at almost every grade level. tis dificult to overstate the Importance of Dr Tomlinson’s work in terms of how teachers plan instruction, though her premise ‘wes relatively simple; the wide divergence among today's students in learning styles, learning preferences, and achievement levels necessitates a wider array of instructional activites ®” Tomlinson recommended varying instruction in three ‘dimensions: instructional content, instructional process, and instructional prod- \Uct" Variations in instructional content have involved varying the content or depth ‘of content for ifferent learners. However, the emphasis on high educational stondards has, over the last decade, offset this emphasis as instructional content Is now specifically delineated by the standards themselves, Tomilinsen also suggests that instructional process and activities be varied based Con the different and distinct ways that students learn, and much of her early ‘work was founded in the theory of multiple intelligences, or cifferent learning sijles, proposed by Howard Gardner’ However, more recently Tomlinson has recommended that teachers use a wider array of learning styles and learning preferences as the basis for development or selection of instructional activities {or individual students,2* and multiple intelligences theory has been deempha- sized in Tomiinson’s description of ifferentiation Finally, Tomiinson's emphasis on the differentiation of learning product involved ‘accepting a wider set of options for students to demonstrate their understanding fof the content"Rather than exclusively using unit tests, Tomlinson advocates having students demonstrate understanding ofthe subject matter through art projects, joint projects, engineering work, presentations, or various other creative endeavors Teacher moves away from the traditional ‘whole-group lesson plan. ai Evolving alent Ta) Lol) Teacher creates an there willbe very few moments when all stucents in the class are doing‘The teacher, Ms. Lovom, plans to | begin at nstucton on tne tcantons(eg Sc = 20, inoder | {Seiten he ering fom thebepiring Me Lvornvnpon | the festesson by deve rece ‘Seren ace framers, | ese on cterent amin tyes te pefrncis These cue @ ’ | peer acy, on int Wicnoteced stinsructonel {ety ona teachered mall ‘oun doctor, orto acing Students to thes vee ass, Mi tovorn wilt athe sents row tater 15 mines every cen wi take "doy qu" by | compl severe! ra eaten Witt urn ind, most ofthe Stents wb igh moat to fea nowt complete tis ype of int rem Models of Differentiated Instruction ‘The four models for citferentiation include two traditional models (modification of the traction! tesson pian and leerning centers) and two more recent differentiated instructional models (lipping the class and project-based learning)!2? The graphic depicts some overlap between the traditional ‘whole-class lesson, learning centers, and the flipped classroom approach, as these models can bbe used together. However, project-based learning is depicted as separate from the traditional \whole-class lesson plan, because project-based learning typically does not involve the use of the traditional teacher-led, whole-class instruction at all. With that noted, both learning centers and flipped classroom instruction can be components of project-based learning, so some overlap In these models is depicted here. Taken together, these differentiated instructional approaches present a wide array of instructional options for meeting the needs of all students in today's classrooms, ‘explore each of nese roe options. Differentiated Instruction Example For the peer-budéy instructional activity, Ms. Lovor could assign ten “students with a partcuar strength in interpersonal earring to partner up ‘and work together, as they oiscuss the textbook explanation ofthat ype. ‘of equation. This isa highly effective teaching approach for students who learn best i a social framework because some students pay attention ‘to peer partners much better than to teaches in a tretonal “teacher- taught" lesson, For those student, this teaching activ wil Increase ‘achievement overtime. Also, as an observant teacher, Ms. Lovorn would know in vance which students lear best in 8 peer-buddy task. For the selfinstruction activity, Me. Lovorn could assign seven students ‘to work on the seven computers inthe back of the class, while using @ video explanation of how to do a linear equation, This example Is similar tothe “ppd class since these students are undertaking thelr own, intl instruction based on pre-recorded video content. Many sources of ‘ree and appropriate videos are avallable including Khan Academy, SAS Curricular Pathways, YouTube, and Teacher Tube, an teachers should Finally. Ms. Lovoen might choose to work with the remaining seven ‘students in a teacherded, direct instructional approach, Note that this teacher-ed instructional group would be more Intensive than the usual ‘whole-clss instruction because students In this smeller group would receive much more direct teacher attention, Thus, they ae ikely to pick Up this sc more quick. ‘fer the group had done thelial instruction for 15-20 minutes, Ms, Lovorn would callthe entre class back together and do a “quick check” qulz that includes two or tree near equations to solve. ‘This would ensure that all students understood the ‘work, and Would show Ms. Lovorn which students ‘need more help. Asin allinstrucional approaches, ‘students need to know their comprehension willbe | ‘assessed often and this quick check procedure wil ‘help ensure high student engagementin each of. the three differentiated tasks, Atthis point, Ms, Lovorn would have invested / pemape 20 minutes in these ina Instructional tasks, andthe class has at this point covered the required materia forthe day. However, beyond, Instruction on new tasks, turer diferetiation is ‘ecommended based on individual skil-bulding ‘activities for perhaps 15 to 20 minutes is | “suggested that teachers undertake such skll- pulling work atleast three days per week to \ students to remain sharp on content covered ‘previously Ms, Lovorn could plan indviualskil- ‘uliding work forthe last 25 minutes ofthe class \_on Monday, Wednesday, and Fiday each week.Differentiated Instruction: Right for the 21st Century Differentiated instruction is a much broader construct today than in 1999. Further, several recent instructional innovations can be best understood as versions of differentiated Instruction, and these evolutions of the construct have kept this idea relevant much longer thari certain other hot topics of the day in education. Therefore, all teachers should explore differentiated instruction, if they have not already done so. Further, those who have been differentiating instruction should explore one or more of the more recent models of differentiation, such as the {lipped classroom or project based learning, Itis quite likely that these differentiated instructional approaches will drive instruction for the next decades of the 21st century, because differentiated instruction is, truly, the most appropriate instructional approach for teaching in the future. Modification of the Whole-Class Lesson Plan Incorder to understand the power of clfferentiated instruction, one must explore the assump- tions that undergirs the whole-class lesson plan and compare that with a differentiated, lesson plan First, in the traditional whole-cass lesson plan, every student in the class was assumed to be similar In terms of academic skills and learning needs. Next, the plan ‘assumes that all students learn in the same manner. These assumptions lead to essump- ton number three: that all of the students should complete the same lesson activity at the same time. Thus the whole-class lesson plan posits that al students, led by the teacher, {go through the same educational activities together. Our developing understanding that students learn differenti, as well as the increased diversity In classrooms today, shows how inappropriate the whole-class lesson plan is for today's classes. In order to acknowledge the reality of today's academic diversity, Tomlinson argues that instructional activities should be much more varied, based on unique learning ditferences ‘among today's students." Therefore, in a differentiated class, teachers should provide Varied learning activities based on individual learning styles, preferences, and needs of the students, beginning as early asthe intial instruction phase of the lesson. Traditional Whole-Class Lesson Plan Versus Differentiation Phases ‘Traditional Whole-Ciass Lesson Differentiated Lesson Orientation to the Lesson Ms, Kimball introduces the Alamo. ‘Same activity forall students. Teacher-Led Initial Instruction ‘Ms. Kimball begins a discussion of what caused the Texas Revolution with 18 students in the mainline group who receive Increased teacher attention. Ms. Kimball assigns a group to write a role play on causes to fight. ‘The Omega Group is formed to begin that work. Teacher-Guided Practice MMs. Kimball gives student groups an assignment to look up how their chosen character percelved the fight. Ms. Kimball Is now ‘working with ft students in the mainline group. ‘Omega Group continues its work while Ms. Kimball forms a second ‘group—the Beta Group—for another differentiated assignment. Independent Practice The whole group comes back for further activities. Check and Reteach ‘Tyaically on the next day, the teacher will undertake some type of activity that checks the students’ understanding of the content. (© 2017 Hawker Brownlow Education + 9781760562144 + LSM2I44