Differentiating Instruction - Meeting the Needs of All Learners

In EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon, Diane Ravitch defines differentiating instruction as instruction that seeks to "maximize each student's growth by recognizing that students have different ways of learning, different interests, and different ways of responding to instruction. What that really means is that teachers need to adapt their teaching strategies to meet the needs of each student in their classroom. Ravitch goes on to explain, "Educators may vary learning activities and materials by difficulty, so as to challenge students at different readiness levels; by topic, in response to students' interests; and by students' preferred ways of learning or expressing themselves".

Differentiated instruction is not a program or package; it is a teaching strategy. Creating something different for each student in your classroom may seem unrealistic, but it is possible to provide a variety of levels as well as different means of delivering content. Additionally, not all students will excel with writing a report to demonstrate their understanding of a topic; however having the option for creating electronic presentations, oral reports, and even artwork will allow for learners of all types to communicate what they have learned effectively.

John McCarthy gives a very practical overview of differentiating instruction in his article, 3 Ways to Plan for Diverse Learners: What Teachers Do. He recommends focusing on three areas for differentiating: content, process, and product. The differentiation of content could include using varied delivery methods such as video, reading, lectures, or audio. According to McCarthy, “process is how students make sense of the content.” Some strategies he recommends for this are: Think-Pair-Share, Journaling, Partner talk, Save the Last Word, and Literature Circles. Differentiation of product is the most common form of differentiated instruction and is allowing a variety of options for the student to use to demonstrate their understanding. Teachers can provide options or choices for the student and then the student can choose to create a product that appeals to their learning style.

So, as you’re working through your next Pepper course, think about how you can differentiate the content, process, and product for your students. Pepper offers a variety of courses to meet the needs of its learners.

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