Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated Instruction

November 2008

            Differentiated instruction is a revolution and one that can not go unnoticed (Rock, Gregg, Ellis, and Gable 2008, 39).  Differentiated instruction, in a nut shell, allows students to understand and learn the same concepts, how to process information, make sense of new information, and develop diversified products (Tomlinson 2001, 1).  This is a brand new way to approach teaching with diverse learning styles and behaviors (Rock, Gregg, Ellis, and Gable 2008, 39).  This revolutional way of thinking is “indispensible” to accomplish the missions of the public school system to educate our youth (George 2005, 191).

            Differentiated instruction comes about because while students are grouped in classes primarily by age they are all very different in their background, prior knowledge, personalities, likes, dislikes, and hobbies (Tomlinson 2001, 1).   Teachers “proactively plan” for their student’s uniqueness and their leaning styles by offering, managing, and monitoring several activities for their students, simultaneously (Tomlinson 2001, 2-3).  The lessons are student centered in the way that the teacher has to take into account student’s prior knowledge and plan to work in that student’s zone of proximal development (Tomlinson 2001, 5).

            The traditional classroom lacks in many different areas.  The vast majorities of teachers in the traditional classroom teach to the “average” student and as a result many students are either bored or are left behind (Rock, Gregg, Ellis, and Gable 2008, 32).  In addition, the traditional classroom often encourages students to conform; however, non-conformity may be the key to getting students to learn more effectively and allowing them to become better citizens in the world after life as a student (George 2005, 190).  In other words, the traditional classroom emphasized students similarities but their differences can be extremely and possibly more important factors in helping them learn (Tomlinson 2001, 1).

            Traditional teaching strategies in the traditional classroom also have the potential to divide students based on race, ethnicity, and social status (George 2005, 187).  Differentiated instruction, however, allows teachers to be responsive instead of being reactive to the differences in their students (Anderson 2007, 52).  One can be lead to see that the traditional classroom is no longer sufficient and that differentiated instruction is essential to the public education system (George 2005, 186).

            The purpose of differentiated instruction in the classroom is multi-faceted.  In the differentiated classroom all students participate in their own learning and engage in the lessons that the teacher is teaching (Anderson 2007, 52).  Differentiated instruction encourages student’s uniqueness the schools and teachers that employ differentiated instruction enhance their pupil’s gifts and help build their weaknesses (Anderson 2007, 50).  Therefore, one can see that differentiated instruction is much better than the traditional ways of teaching a classroom (George 2005, 186).

            Often teachers are afraid to begin to try to differentiate their classrooms because they are afraid that they will not be able to meet the state and local standards (Anderson 2007, 49).  The fact remains though, that teachers that differentiate their classroom correctly address all of the standards by pushing and leading their students along the way (Anderson 2007, 50).  Some teachers were not addressing the needs of all of their students correctly and schools were subsequently lowering their standards so that all students could reach them (Rock, Gregg, Ellis, and Gable 2008, 32).  As a result the federal government passed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001 and IDEA in 2004 (Rock, Gregg, Ellis, and Gable 2008, 32).  Both of these acts create high expectations for all students (Gregory and Chapman 2007, 4).  Teachers can not just teach to the whole class and hope that everyone understood the concepts any longer (Gregory and Chapman 2007, 4).  By using differentiated instruction in the classroom schools are better able to equally distribute their teaching talent and other valuable resources in most, if not all, classrooms and to get all of their students to reach the higher standards that the government has set for them (George 2005, 187-188).

            Students in need of “special education” services are often, today, incorporated into the regular classroom and receive special services while in the regular classroom by being pulled out or something along those lines (Rock, Gregg, Ellis, and Gable 2008, 32).  This creates a difficult situation for the teacher and student a like if differentiated instruction is not happening.  Differentiating classrooms will allow these students to learn at their own pace and use their individual learning styles and interests to motivate them (Tomlinson 2001, 57).

            Students that are not put into special “gifted” programs and are taught along side their peers are often “overlooked” by their teachers because they can be counted on to do well (George 2005, 189).  Students pulled out and put into “gifted” programs can suffer psychological problems, however, because they often only compare themselves to their other “gifted” peers and not to the abilities of the rest of the student body (George 2005, 188).  This can be a discouragement to students and can, instead of motivating them, disengage students.  By differentiating instruction teachers can challenge their most gifted students and still keep the curriculum dulled down enough for their slowest learner (George 2005, 189).  Differentiating instruction can circumvent many of the dangerous and harmful effects of labeling students as high or low too early and can open the opportunity to students to flourish later on in their academic careers (George 2005, 187). 

            Obviously, differentiating instruction in the classroom has many purposes and all of them are beneficial to both the student and the teacher alike.  Students are better able to express themselves and teachers are better able to assess them in return.  There is no reason why teachers should not differentiate.

 Work Cited

Anderson, Kelly M. (2007). Tips for Teaching: Differentiating Instruction to Include All   Students. Preventing School Failure, 51(3): 49-54.

George, Paul S. (2005). A Rationale for Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom.       Theory into Practice, 44(3), 185–193.

Gregory, Gayle H. and Carolyn Chapman. Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size            Doesn’t Fit All (2^nd ed.). California: Corwin Press - A Sage Publications Company.

Rock, Marcia L., Madeleine Gregg, Edwin Ellis, and Robert A. Gable (2008). REACH: A            Framework for Differentiating Classroom Instruction. Preventing School Failure, 52(2):     31-47.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms (2^nd ed.).       Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).