Differentiated Instruction
Instruction that both responds to the various needs of a diverse group of students
and is precisely tailored to the unique needs of each student can be achieved on the
basis of the principles and guidelines of three instructional approaches: Universal
Design for Learning (UDL), differentiated instruction, and the tiered approach to
prevention and intervention.
Used in combination, UDL and differentiated instruction enable teachers to respond
effectively to the needs of all students. UDL provides the teacher with broad
principles for planning instruction for a diverse group of students, whereas
differentiated instruction allows them to address specific skills and difficulties (Raynal
& Rieunier, 1998). The two approaches overlap, sharing certain goals and strategies,
such as providing a range of instructional strategies, resources, activities, and
assessment tools in order to meet the different strengths, needs, readiness, and
learning styles or preferences of the students in a class.
* Much of this section is taken or adapted from Education for All: The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy and Numeracy Instruction for Students With Special Education Needs, Kindergarten to Grade 6 (Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Education,2005), pp. 9–18, 60 and TIPS (Targeted Implementation and Planning Supports): Developing Mathematical Literacy (Toronto: Ontario Ministry of Education, 2004).
The tiered approach to ongoing prevention and intervention embodies principles of
UDL and differentiated instruction, offers a systematic method for the early
identification of students who are experiencing particular difficulties and, through
ongoing monitoring of their progress, provides the precise level of support those
students need.
All these approaches help improve student achievement because they rely on greater
personalization and precision in instruction. Their success depends on teachers’ clear
understanding of who their students are, what kinds of learners they are, their
readiness to learn in a given subject at a given time, and the kinds of activities that
are likely to engage their interest, and stimulate their thinking.
Each of the three approaches is summarized below.
1. Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Universal Design is not just a technique for special education; rather it is a technique to
enhance the learning of all students.
Turnbull, Turnbull, Shank, Smith, & Leal, 2002, p. 92
In a diverse classroom, no single method can reach all learners. Multiple pathways to
achieving goals are needed.
Hitchcock, Meyer, Rose, & Jackson, 2002, p.18
UDL was inspired by work in architecture on the planning of buildings with a view
to accessibility for people with physical disabilities (Turnbull et al., 2002). Architects
observed that the added improvements facilitated access for all users, not just people
with physical disabilities. An access ramp, for instance, provides a person using a
wheelchair with easier access to a building, but it also makes it easier for a parent
with a child’s stroller, a cyclist, or someone using a walker.
The notion that assistance targeted at a specific group can help everyone, bolstered
by evidence from research, found its way into the field of education. Educators
began to realize that a teaching strategy or pedagogical materials that respond to the
special needs of a specific student or group of students can also be useful for all
students. For example, the use of visuals to support the learning of an English
language learner or a student who is hard of hearing will also enhance learning for
all students who have a visual learning style. The aim of UDL, then, is to provide
access to the curriculum for all students, and to assist educators in designing products
and environments to make them accessible to everyone, regardless of age, skills, or
situation.
The core concepts of UDL can be summarized as follows:
Universality and equity. UDL is intended to ensure that teaching will meet the needs
of all students. The “universal” in UDL does not imply that there is one optimal
solution for everyone; rather, it reflects awareness of the unique nature of each
learner and the need to accommodate differences, creating learning experiences that
suit individual learners and maximize their ability to progress (Rose & Meyer, 2002).
This does not mean planning instruction for students with average achievement
levels, and then making after-the-fact modifications to meet the special needs of
certain students.
UDL encourages teachers to develop a class profile and then plan, from the beginning, to
provide means and pedagogical materials that meet the needs of all students and not only
those with special education needs.
Flexibility and inclusion. The planning of teaching and the time teachers allocate to
students’ activities and needs must be sufficiently flexible to provide real learning
experiences for all the students, regardless of their performance level. Students are
accommodated through:
- a variety of teaching strategies and pedagogical materials that make use of all
the senses and vary in form, level of difficulty, and manner of presentation;
- a variety of suitable technological media/software
- different types of assessment strategies, involving a range of media, formats,
and response options (Note: During assessments, students have access to the
same supports that they have during instruction unless those supports
undermine the purpose of the assessment.)
- various ways of using space.
An appropriately designed space. Teachers can make sure that:
- all students have a clear line of sight
- resources such as dictionaries and texts are within comfortable reach
of all students
- there is adequate space for the use of assistive devices or the presence of
teacher’s assistants.
Simplicity. Teachers avoid unnecessary complexity and minimize distracting
information by:
- communicating consistent and achievable expectations
- sharing the learning goals of a lesson in student-friendly language
- arranging information sequentially to clarify its relative importance
- breaking instructions down into small steps
- providing descriptive feedback during the learning.
Safety. Classrooms must be safe, with minimal hazards and no elements that might
cause accidents. The assessment of safety might depend on the specific students in
the classroom. If a student has a safety plan or protocol, every adult in the school
needs to be aware of it and able to act on it.
One of the keys to ensuring success when following UDL principles is to provide
assessment and feedback to students and to adjust instruction as necessary to
maximize learning
2. Differentiated instruction
Differentiated instruction is based on the idea that because students differ
significantly in their interests, learning styles and readiness to learn, it is necessary
to adapt instruction to suit these differing characteristics. Teachers can differentiate
one or a number of the following elements in any classroom learning situation
(Tomlinson, 2004):
- the content of learning (what students are going to learn, and when)
- the process of learning (the types of tasks and activities)
- the products of learning (the ways in which students demonstrate learning)
- the affect/environment of learning (the context and environment in which
students learn and demonstrate learning).
The approach, driven by an understanding of the student, may facilitate high levels
of both achievement and student engagement (Caron, 2003; Tomlinson, 2004).
Differentiated instruction draws on the theories of Lev Vygotsky, in particular on the
theory of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Within the ZPD, the student
may not yet be capable of solving a particular kind of problem on his or her own,
but can do so with assistance, and is thereby supported to move on to another level
of knowledge. The instructional approach that provides such support at the right
times in the student’s cognitive development – that is, at the times that the student is
“ready to learn” – is called “scaffolding.” In differentiated instruction, teachers scaffold
and tailor instruction to individual students’ needs and understanding, providing the
emotional support and opportunities for practice that students may need.
“Readiness” does not refer to the student’s general ability level, but to the current
knowledge, understanding and skill level a student has in relation to a particular
sequence of learning. “It reflects what a student knows, understands, and can do today
in light of what the teacher is planning to teach today” (Tomlinson & Eidson, 2003,
emphasis indicated). Differentiating instruction based on student readiness involves
knowing where particular students are on the learning continuum, then planning
program features and instructional strategies, resources, and supports to meet them
where they are and move them along this continuum. Some students may require
remediation or modified expectations; others may need extensions or opportunities for
independent study
(TIPS: Developing Mathematical Literacy, 2004, p. 4)
In differentiating instruction according to students’ interests, a teacher attempts to
increase the likelihood that any given lesson or project is highly engaging and
personally meaningful for each student in the class. Teachers who know students’
interests can vary projects, themes and examples used in instruction to reflect those
interests.
Students’ learning styles and preferences influence their “learning profile.”
Understanding how students learn best enables teachers to differentiate instruction
effectively. Students may be better at internalizing, processing and communicating
information through auditory, visual, tactile or kinesthetic modes or learning styles.
In his Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1993), Howard Gardner
identified eight types of intelligence – verbal/linguistic; logical/mathematical;
visual/spatial; musical/rhythmic, bodily/kinesthetic; interpersonal; intrapersonal; and
naturalist – which strongly influence the ways in which students learn best.
A key strategy in differentiated instruction is the use of flexible groupings, which
allows teachers to assign different tasks to different students, individually or in small
groups, based on interests, learning styles or readiness. Students may be grouped by
interest, but may also have activities set at different levels of complexity (questioning
levels/abstract thinking processes) resulting in varying products that employ students’
preferred learning modality (auditory, visual or kinesthetic) (Theroux, 2004).
It is important to note, however, that the approach does not exclude instruction and
activities in which all students are working on the same learning task at the same
time, whether individually, in groups or as a class.
Ongoing assessment, and then adjustment of strategies and resources according to
assessment results, is critical to sustaining the effectiveness of a differentiated
instructional approach.
Differentiated instruction includes:
- providing alternative instructional and assessment activities
- challenging students at an appropriate level
- using a variety of groupings to meet student needs.
Differentiated instruction does not include:
- doing something different for every student in the class
- disorderly or undisciplined student activity
- using groups that never change, or isolating struggling students within the class
- never engaging in whole-class activities with all students participating in the same endeavour.
(TIPS: Developing Mathematical Literacy, 2004, p. 1)
Source: Education for All K-12 (Draft Document)
