Differentiation What Is differentiated instruction?Differentiated
instruction, also called differentiation, is a process through which
teachers enhance learning by matching student characteristics to
instruction and assessment. Differentiated instruction allows all
students to access the same classroom curriculum by providing entry
points, learning tasks, and outcomes that are tailored to students'
needs (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2003). Differentiated instruction
is not a single strategy, but rather an approach to instruction that
incorporates a variety of strategies.
Teachers can
differentiate content, process, and/or product for students (Tomlinson,
1999). Differentiation of content refers to a change in the material
being learned by a student. For example, if the classroom objective is
for all students to subtract using renaming, some of the students may
learn to subtract two-digit numbers, while others may learn to subtract
larger numbers in the context of word problems. Differentiation of
process refers to the way in which a student accesses material. One
student may explore a learning center, while another student collects
information from the web. Differentiation of product refers to the way
in which a student shows what he or she has learned. For example, to
demonstrate understanding of a geometric concept, one student may solve a
problem set, while another builds a model.
When teachers
differentiate, they do so in response to a student's readiness,
interest, and/or learning profile. Readiness refers to the skill level
and background knowledge of the child. Interest refers to topics that
the student may want to explore or that will motivate the student. This
can include interests relevant to the content area as well as outside
interests of the student. Finally, a student's learning profile includes
learning style (i.e., a visual, auditory, tactile, or kinesthetic
learner), grouping preferences (i.e., individual, small group, or large
group), and environmental preferences (i.e., lots of space or a quiet
area to work). A teacher may differentiate based on any one of these
factors or any combination of factors (Tomlinson, 1999). (http://www.readingrockets.org/article/differentiated-instruction-reading)