Differentiated Instruction: A Primer - Education Week

“Differentiated instruction”—the process of identifying students' individual learning strengths, needs, and interests and adapting lessons ... 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WhatisDifferentiatedInstruction? “Differentiatedinstruction”—theprocessofidentifyingstudents’individuallearningstrengths,needs,andinterestsandadaptinglessonstomatchthem—hasbecomeapopularapproachtohelpingdiversestudentslearntogether.Butthefieldofeducationisfilledwithvariedandoftenconflictingdefinitionsofwhatthepracticelookslike,andcriticsargueitrequirestoomuchtrainingandadditionalworkforteacherstobeimplementedconsistentlyandeffectively. DifferentiatedInstructionDefinition Theprocessofidentifyingstudents’individuallearningstrengths,needs,andinterestsandadaptinglessonstomatchthem Differentiationhasmuchincommonwithmanyotherinstructionalmodels:Ithasbeencomparedtoresponse-to-interventionmodels,asteachersvarytheirapproachtothesamematerialwithdifferentstudentsinthesameclassroom;data-driveninstruction,asindividualstudentsarefrequentlyassessedorotherwisemonitored,withinstructiontweakedinresponse;andscaffolding,asassignmentsareintendedtobestructuredtohelpstudentsofdifferentabilityandinterestlevelsmeetthesamegoals. Federaleducationlawsandregulationsdonotgenerallysetoutrequirementsforhowschoolsandteachersshould“differentiate”instruction.However,inits2010NationalEducationTechnologyPlan,theU.S.DepartmentofEducationlaysoutaframeworkthatplacesdifferentiatedteachingunderthelargerumbrellaof“personalizedlearning,”instructiontailoredtostudents’individuallearningneeds,preferences,andinterests.Thisframeworkassumesthatallstudentsinaheterogeneousclassroomwillhavethesamelearninggoals,but:“Individualization”tailorsinstructionbytime.Ateachermaybreakthematerialintosmallerstepsandallowstudentstomasterthesestepsatdifferentpaces;skippingtopicstheycanprovetheyhavemastered,whilegettingmorehelponthosethatprovedifficult.ThismodelhasbeenusediniterationsasfarbackasthelateRobertGlaser’sIndividuallyPrescribedInstructioninthe1970s,anapproachwhichpairsdiagnostictestswithobjectivesformasterythatisintendedtohelpstudentsprogressthroughmaterialattheirownpace.“Differentiation”tailorsinstructionbypresentation.Ateachermayvarythemethodandassignmentscoveringthematerialtoadjusttostudents’strengths,needs,andinterests.Forexample,ateachermayallowanintrovertedstudenttowriteanessayonahistoricaltopicwhileamoreoutgoingstudentgivesanoralpresentationonthesamesubject.Thatdistinctionisacceptedbysome,thoughfarfromall,inthefield.Theambiguityhasledtowidespreadconfusionanddebateoverwhatdifferentiatedinstructionlookslikeinpractice,andhowitseffectivenesscanbeevaluated. SeeAlso Openimagecaption Closeimagecaption ChrisWhetzelforEducationWeek Teaching Opinion DifferentiationDoesn'tWork JamesR.Delisle,January6,2015 • 5minread Remove Savetofavorites Forexample,a2005studyfortheNationalResearchCenteronGiftedandTalented,whichtrackedimplementationof“differentiation”overthreeyears,foundthatthe“vastmajority”ofteachersnevermovedbeyondtraditionaldirectlecturesandseatworkforstudents. “Resultssuggestthatdifferentiationofinstructionandassessmentarecomplexendeavorsrequiringextendedtimeandconcentratedefforttomaster,”theauthorsconclude.“Addtothiscomplexitycurrentrealitiesofschoolsuchaslargeclasssizes,limitedresourcematerials,lackofplanningtime,lackofstructuresinplacetoallowcollaborationwithcolleagues,andever-increasingnumbersofteacherresponsibilities,andthetasksbecomeevenmoredaunting.” EvolutionoftheConcept Differentiatedinstructionasaconceptevolvedinpartfrominstructionalmethodsadvocatedforgiftedstudentsandinpartasanalternativetoacademic“tracking,”orseparatingstudentsofdifferentabilitylevelsintogroupsorclasses.Inthe1983book,IndividualDifferencesandtheCommonCurriculum,ThomasS.Popkewitzdiscussesdifferentiationinthecontextof“IndividuallyGuidedEducation,…amanagementplanforpacingchildrenthroughastandardized,objective-basedcurriculum”thatwouldincludesmall-groupwork,teamteaching,objective-basedtesting,andmonitoringofstudentprogress.CarolAnnTomlinson,aco-directoroftheInstitutesonAcademicDiversityattheCurrySchoolofEducationattheUniversityofVirginia,andtheauthorofTheDifferentiatedClassroom:RespondingtotheNeedsofAllLearners,2ndEdition(ASCD,2014)andAssessmentandStudentSuccessinaDifferentiatedClassroom(ASCD,2013)arguesthatdifferentiationis,atitsbase,notanapproachbutabasictenetofgoodinstruction,inwhichateacherdevelopsrelationshipswithhisorherstudentsandpresentsmaterialsandassignmentsinwaysthatrespondtothestudent’sinterestsandneeds. DifferentiatedInstructionStrategies Intheory—thoughcriticsallegenotinpractice—differentiationdoesnotinvolvecreatingseparatelessonplansforindividualstudentsforagivenunit. Intheory—thoughcriticsallegenotinpractice—differentiationdoesnotinvolvecreatingseparatelessonplansforindividualstudentsforagivenunit. Ms.Tomlinsonarguesthatdifferentiationrequiresmorethancreatingoptionsforassignmentsorpresentingcontentbothgraphicallyandwithhands-onprojects,forexample.Rather,todifferentiateaunitonRome,ateachermightconsiderbothspecifictermsandoverarchingthemesandconceptsshewantsstudentstolearn,andofferaseriesofindividualandgroupassignmentsofvariouslevelsofcomplexitytobuildthoseconceptsandallowstudentstodemonstratetheirunderstandinginmultipleways,suchasjournalentries,oralpresentations,creatingcostumes,andsoon.Indifferentpartsofaunitstudentsmaybeworkingwithstudentswhosharetheirinterestsorhavedifferentones,andwithstudentswhoareatthesameordifferentabilitylevels. SeeAlso Openimagecaption Closeimagecaption ChrisWhetzelforEducationWeek Teaching Opinion DifferentiationDoes,inFact,Work CarolAnnTomlinson,January28,2015 • 6minread Remove Savetofavorites Duringthe1990s,teacherswerealsoencouragedtopresentmaterialdifferentlyaccordingtoastudent’s“learningstyle”—forexample,visual,auditory,orkinesthetic.Butwhiletherehavebeenstudiesthatshowstudentsremembermorewhenthesamematerialispresentedandreinforcedinmultipleways,recentresearchreviewshavefoundnoevidencethatindividualstudentscanbecategorizedaslearningbestthroughasingletypeofpresentation. RickWormeli,aneducationconsultantandtheauthorofFairIsn’tAlwaysEqual:AssessmentandGradingintheDifferentiatedClassroom,insteadsuggestsina2011essayinthejournalMiddleGroundthatteachersdifferentiatebasedon“learnerprofiles”:“Alearnerprofileisasetofobservationsaboutastudentthatincludesanyfactorthataffectshisorherlearning,includingfamilydynamics,transiencyrate,physicalhealth,emotionalhealth,comfortwithtechnology,leadershipqualities,personalinterests,andsomuchmore.” ImpactsofTechnology Differentiatedandpersonalizedinstructionalmodelshavealsoevolvedwithtechnologicaladvances,whichmakeiteasiertodevelopandmonitoreducationplansfordozensofstudentsatthesametime.Theinfluenceofdifferentiationonschool-levelprogramscanbeseenin“earlywarningsystems”andstudent“dashboards”thataimtotrackindividualstudentperformanceinrealtime,aswellasinitiativesinsomeschoolstodevelopandmonitorindividualizedlearningplanswiththestudent,hisorherteachers,andparents. SeeAlso Teaching DigitalToolsExpandOptionsforPersonalizedLearning KathleenKennedyManzo,January29,2010 • 8minread Remove Savetofavorites Advocatesofhybrideducationmodels,suchasthe“flippedclassroom”—inwhichstudentswatchlecturesandreadmaterialathomeandperformpracticethatwouldnormallybehomeworkduringclasstime—havesuggestedthiscouldhelpteachersdifferentiatebyrecordingandarchivingdifferentlecturesthatstudentscouldwatchandrewatchasneeded,andprovidingmoreone-on-onetimeduringclass. ProfessionalDevelopment Byanyaccount,differentiationisconsideredacomplexapproachtoimplement,requiringextensiveandongoingprofessionaldevelopmentforteachersandadministrators. Itrequiredteacherstoconfrontanddismantletheirexisting,persistentbeliefsaboutteachingandlearning... Inthe2005longitudinalstudythatfoundnoconsistentimplementationofdifferentiation,researchersnotedthat“manyaspectsofdifferentiationofinstructionandassessment(e.g.,assigningdifferentworktodifferentstudents,promotinggreaterstudentindependenceintheclassroom)challengedteachers’beliefsaboutfairness,aboutequity,andabouthowclassroomsshouldbeorganizedtoallowstudentstolearnmosteffectively.Asaresult,formostteachers,learningtodifferentiateentailedmorethansimplylearningnewpractices.Itrequiredteacherstoconfrontanddismantletheirexisting,persistentbeliefsaboutteachingandlearning,beliefsthatwereinlargepartsharedandreinforcedbyotherteachers,principals,parents,thecommunity,andevenstudents.”Inthe2009book,ProfessionalDevelopmentforDifferentiatingInstruction,CindyA.Stricklandnotesthatmostschoolsdonotprovidesufficienttrainingfornewandexperiencedteachersindifferentiatinginstruction. Ms.Tomlinsonsaidthatteacherscanbegintodifferentiateinstructionsimplybylearningmoreabouttheirstudentsandtryingtotailortheirteachingasmuchastheyfindfeasible.“Everysignificantendeavorseemstoohardifwelookonlyattheexpert’sproduct....Thesuccessofallthese‘seasoned’peoplestemmedlargelyfromthreefactors:Theystarteddownapath.Theywantedtodobetter.Theykeptworkingtowardtheirgoal.”Includingstudentsofdisparateabilitiesandinterestsalsorequirestheteachertorethinkexpectationsforallstudents:“Ifateacherusesflexiblegroupinglessonbylessonanddoesnotassumeastudenthaspriorknowledgebecauseheisa‘higher’studentbutreallyassessesandgroups,basedonneedsometimesandothertimesbyinterest,thestudentswillgetwhattheyneed,”MelindaL.Fattig,anationallyrecognizededucatorandaco-authorofthe2008bookCo-TeachingintheDifferentiatedClassroom,toldTeachermagazinethatyear. Critiques Inpractice,differentiationissuchabroadandmultifacetedapproachthatithasprovendifficulttoimplementproperlyorstudyempirically,criticssay.Ina2010reportbytheresearchgroupMcREL,authorBryanGoodwinnotesthat“todate,noempiricalevidenceexiststoconfirmthatthetotalpackage(e.g.,conductingongoingassessmentsofstudentabilities,identifyingappropriatecontentbasedonthoseabilities,usingflexiblegroupingarrangementsforstudents,andvaryinghowstudentscandemonstrateproficiencyintheirlearning)hasapositiveimpactonstudentachievement.”Headds:“Onereasonforthislackofevidencemaysimplybethatnolarge-scale,scientificstudyofdifferentiatedinstructionhasbeenconducted.”However,Mr.Goodwinpointedtothe2009bookVisibleLearning,whichsynthesizedstudiesofmorethan600modelsofpersonalizinglearningbasedonstudentinterestsandpriorperformance,andfoundthemnotmuchbetterthangeneralclassroominstructionforimprovingstudents’academicperformance.Bothinplanningtimeandinstructionaltime,differentiationtakeslongerthanusingasinglelessonplanforagiventopic,andmanyteachersattemptingtodifferentiatehavereportedfeelingoverwhelmedandunabletoreacheachstudentequally.Ina2010EducationWeekCommentaryessay,MichaelJ.Schmoker,theauthorofthe2006book,ResultsNOW:HowWeCanAchieveUnprecedentedImprovementsinTeachingandLearning,saysattemptstodifferentiateinstructionfrustratedteachersand“seemedtocomplicateteachers’work,requiringthemtoprocureandassemblemultiplesetsofmaterials”leadingto“dumbed-down”teaching. Likewise,someadvocatesofgiftededucation,suchasJamesR.Delisle,havearguedthatadvancedstudentsstillarenotchallengedenoughinadifferentiatedenvironment,whichmayvaryinthepresentationofmaterialbutnotnecessarilyinthepaceofinstruction.Hearguesthat“differentiationinpracticeishardertoimplementinaheterogeneousclassroomthanitistojugglewithonearmtiedbehindyourback.”“Thereisnoonebook,video,presenter,orwebsitethatwillshoweveryonehowtodifferentiateinstruction.Let’sstoplookingforit.Onesizerarelyfitsall.Ourclassroomsaretoodiverseandourcommunitiestooimportantforsuchsimplisticnotions,”Mr.WormelisaidinaninterviewwithEducationWeekbloggerLarryFerlazzo.“Instead,let’srealizewhatdifferentiationreallyis:highlyeffectiveteaching,whichiscomplexandinterwoven;nooneelementdefiningit.” SarahD.Sparks Follow Unfollow AssistantEditor,  EducationWeek SarahD.Sparkscoverseducationresearch,data,andthescienceoflearningforEducationWeek. twitter email RelatedTags: DifferentiatedInstruction Instruction AbilityGrouping Research TeachingResearch AversionofthisarticleappearedintheFebruary04,2015editionofEducationWeek MostPopularStories Openimagecaption Closeimagecaption MaryHassdykforEducationWeek Equity&Diversity Explainer WhatIsCriticalRaceTheory,andWhyIsItUnderAttack? 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