Differentiated Instruction

• What Is Differentiated Instruction?
• Why Differentiate Instruction?
• How Can Lessons from the ORC Collection Be Differentiated?
• Additional Resources on Differentiated Instruction and Related Topics

What Is Differentiated Instruction?

Differentiation is how we maximize instruction in the ways students learn best in order to optimize their learning and enhance overall achievement.

Integral to differentiation are the following related ideas:

1. Acknowledgment of student diversity.



2. Willingness to assess and understand students’ varied learning needs and abilities based on this diversity.



3. Infusion of appropriate challenges into the curriculum in conjunction with the needed learning supports to help students meet these challenges.



4. Use of multiple modes of teaching where appropriate so that all students can access the curriculum, retain fundamental concepts, and demonstrate their understanding of these concepts.


5. Recognition that there is a middle ground between one-size-fits-all teaching approaches and individualized instruction; while some students certainly need individualized instruction, the practice of tiered lesson planning (grouping students together with similar learning styles and needs in order to receive a particular level of instruction with supports) is much more common and doable.

In sum, differentiated instruction is about creating access to the general curriculum for all students. It is related to the concept of universal design for learning.

To learn more about what differentiation is and how to apply it, visit the following ORC resources:

1. The AdLIT In Perspective (February 2007) issue entitled Differentiating Instruction in Secondary Classrooms



2. Standards-Based Instruction for Adolescents with Special Needs: Looking for Ways to Turn All Students into Engaged Readers and Capable Writers, by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss



3. Incorporating Multisensory Approaches in the Secondary General Education Classroom, by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss

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Why Differentiate Instruction?

Differentiated instruction can help to optimize student learning. Thinking about how different students learn and allowing for that in lesson planning and implementation can have a positive impact on student achievement and classroom engagement. At the very least, differentiation promotes student investment in, and some ownership over, the learning process through the offering of choices about how to learn and express knowledge, while concurrently providing instructional scaffolds to support learning when it becomes challenging. This approach is of substantial benefit to students who may be struggling in the classroom, including students with documented disabilities, students who are not identified as having a disability but who are academically struggling, and students in general who find reading and writing occasionally difficult.

Differentiated instruction is also responsible teaching in that it acknowledges not only the strengths and differences among learners, but also the increasing diversity in the modern classroom and the ethnic, cultural, and linguistic factors that can influence learning. Through the incorporation of group work, tiered lessons, multimodal techniques and study aids (e.g., graphic organizers, hands-on activities, guided practice and discussion, oral presentations, technological supports), and varied methods of assessment, students from culturally diverse backgrounds and/or who speak English as a second language can have equal opportunities to participate in, and benefit from, the instructional process alongside their peers.

For more information on why differentiation is necessary, visit the following research and best practice resources listed in the ORC collection:

1. ORC record #6625: The Differentiated Instruction Mind-Set: Rationale and Definition



2. ORC record #6025: What Do I Do About the Kid Who?....50 Ways to Turn Teaching into Learning



3. ORC record #4184: Critical Issue: Addressing Literacy Needs in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms



4. ORC record #5842: What About Me? Strategies for Teaching Misunderstood Learners [excerpt]: Numbers and Letters, Stand Still! chapter 2



5. ORC record #3672: Seeing Themselves as Capable and Engaged Readers: Adolescents and Re/Mediated Instruction



6. ORC record #6741: Never Too Late: Approaches to Reading Instruction for Secondary Students with Disabilities



7. ORC record #6743: Differentiating the Language Arts for High Ability Learners



8. ORC record #3661: Adolescents and Literacy: Reading for the 21st Century

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How Can Lessons from the ORC Collection Be Differentiated?

Lessons can be differentiated using Lenz and Deshler’s SMARTER planning model. Below are some examples of lessons that have been differentiated by Ohio educators. To see the original lesson, follow the link to the ORC record. To see the differentiated lesson, follow the link to the SMARTER plan.

The lessons are differentiated using the SMARTER planning model and include teaching-learning practices and techniques to address the possible learning challenges students may face, especially students who are struggling with reading, writing, and/or research.

1. ORC record #3814: "Press Conference for Bud, Not Buddy"
   SMARTER plan: SMARTER Plan for "Press Conference for Bud, Not Buddy" by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss



2. ORC record #3812: "Persuasive Writing: Environmental Issues"
   SMARTER plan: SMARTER Plan for "Persuasive Writing: Environmental Issues" by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss



3. ORC record #3804: "Choosing, Chatting, and Collecting: Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy"
   SMARTER plan: SMARTER Plan for "Choosing, Chatting, and Collecting: Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss



4. ORC record #1395: "Understanding Fluency Through Oral Interpretation"
   SMARTER plan: SMARTER Plan for "Understanding Fluency Through Oral Interpretation" by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss



5. ORC record #4427: "Authentic Persuasive Writing to Promote Summer Reading"
   SMARTER plan: SMARTER Plan for "Authentic Persuasive Writing to Promote Summer Reading" by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss

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Additional Resources on Differentiated Instruction and Related Topics

The following are direct links to AdLIT research and best practice folders containing resources for additional learning on differentiated instruction, its benefits and relevance, and its classroom applications:

• Differentiated Instruction



• Intervention Strategies



• Reading Disabilities

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