Mastering Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction is a strategy used where teachers adapt instruction to meet the needs of all students in the classroom  ( How Differentiated Instruction Can Help You Reach Every Student in Class , 2020) . Each student is unique in their own way; they have their own experiences, conditions, and needs that affect their academics. When teachers implement differentiated instruction, students are provided with a variety of resources for understanding and mastering a learning concept in the way that works best for them, depending on their needs.  Differentiating Instructional Strategies Students approach learning based on their readiness, interests, and learning style. Therefore, when choosing instructional strategies, the content being taught must be differentiated. Differentiating content includes using a variety of delivery formats such as YouTube videos, excerpts or read-alouds, or audio (McCarthy, 2014). In this lesson, students learned to preview a nonfiction text a...

Understanding the interconnection of' learning styles and students' personal developments can help educators better understand their students. Teaching and learning are shaped by students' behavioral and social factors, such as physical development, cognition, social interactions, motivation, and communication ( Lucariello et al., 2016 ). A student's learning style refers to their preferred way of interpreting, processing, comprehending, and retaining information. The learning styles fall into three categories: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic ( 2U, 2022 ). Therefore, a student's preferred method of learning has an influence on their behavior and academic performance. Learning Styles Inventory & Analysis Last week, I conducted a learning styles inventory with a small group consisting of four students. The students in the small group have been struggling to understand a priority math standard in our Decimal Fractions unit: 4.NF.6 - Use decimal notation for frac...

Differentiation is crucial in classroom instruction. Differentiation refers to teachers attending to students' individual needs by adjusting instruction. For example, the classroom teacher can differentiate instructional content students will be learning, giving students choice for how to make sense of new content, and products students will use to demonstrate their knowledge  (Tomlinson, 2000) . With the use of technology, students are given the opportunity to receive individualized instruction accommodated to their needs  (Stern, 2015) . 3 Technologies Supporting Differentiated Instruction 1. i-Ready  i-Ready is an online program developed by Curriculum Associates that offers differentiated instruction for students in both math and reading  (Smart Ed, 2020) . At the beginning of each trimester, students take the adaptive i-Ready Diagnostic, which offers teachers rich data to better understand their students' individual needs. For students, the adaptive diagnostic r...