A Guide to What Is Differentiated Instruction?

Differentiated instruction is a specific instructional strategy that varies the level of difficulty and/or challenges for students in order to meet their individual learning needs. It was pioneered by Dr. James Tooley in the 1970s and is now used in a variety of settings, from elementary classrooms to post-secondary institutions.

Differentiated instruction is typically implemented in two ways: differentiated content and differentiated instruction. Differentiated content involves dividing the material a student is learning into different categories, such as math problems that are algebra-based, problems that are geometry-based, and so on. Differentiated instruction focuses on the individual needs of the student, such as using visual aids and calculators during math problems that are algebra-based, providing more challenging vocabulary words during vocabulary work, and so on.

Differentiated instruction has a number of benefits. First, it can help students who are struggling to understand the material or who are not performing as well as they would like. Second, it can help students who are bored or unmotivated in class. Third, it can help students who are not meeting the expectations of their peers. Fourth, it can help students who are underperforming in school or who have difficulty transferring their learning to other settings.

Differentiated instruction is not without its challenges, however. One potential issue is that differentiating content and instruction can be difficult to do effectively. Another issue is that not all students will respond well to differentiated instruction, especially if it is too difficult or if it is not tailored to their individual needs. Finally, differentiating instruction can be expensive, especially if it is implemented in a large classroom setting.

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