Running head: DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION TRAIN-THE-TRAINER

MANUAL

Differentiated Instruction Train-the-Trainer Manual

Krista Jackson
CUR/518
July 27, 2015
Thomas Martin

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION TRAIN-THE-TRAINER MANUAL

Differentiated Instruction
Training Manual

Differentiated Instruction Trainer Manual

Starbucks has been evolving exponentially with new products, drinks, coffee beans, and
many other changes. Now it is time to change our training to grow in new ways while training.
Differentiated instruction has shown to be an effective teaching and learning tool for the learners
and the trainers. The new training will revolve around our employees' ways of taking in

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION TRAIN-THE-TRAINER MANUAL

information. Differentiated instruction is what will be the primary focus of this training manual,
and how to effectively use this training strategy with the employees.
What is Differentiated Instruction?
Differentiated instruction is when teaching or training is used for the learners' particular
strengths to help them learn new material (Bush, 2006). Every person including the learners is
different, and they deserve the same individualized teaching or training to help them succeed in
their training. The same training will not work as effectively for each person because of the
different ways that people learn. The differences can be from age, race, intelligence, and gender
to culture, background, diversity, and disability. Each characteristic can be the key when trying to
learn how the employees learn. When the trainers can solve the puzzle of how each of the
employees learns it will be easier to train them. When training is quicker, then that reduces your
labor, and the learners can always come back for more questions on any specifics.
Differentiated instruction is teaching the trainers how to capture needs and put those
particular needs into a training education that the employees can learn (Bush, 2006). At the same
time, the workers are learning in a new and different way that they may not be aware. New ways
of learning more specified for the employees can bring more interest and motivation while
learning the information. If the employees are interested, then they are more likely to retain the
information they received during the training. The different ways of learning for them can be one
of the most effective ways of learning for themselves. The three major components of
differentiated instruction are content, process, and product. The learners need to be interested in
the substance of the material being learned. The process of training these individuals should be
thought out for each person. The product shows you that the content was determined, and the
process chosen worked, (Bush, 2006).

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION TRAIN-THE-TRAINER MANUAL

What are some differentiated strategies to help the diverse and multicultural employees?
First off, the trainers need to address what makes a person varied and multicultural so that
the learners can understand the strategies better. Diversity is everything about each that is
different: race, color, gender, age, background, disabilities, ethnicity, and intelligence levels,
(Masullo, 2013). Multiculturalism is delving into the aspects of different cultures. The different
cultures can reveal some of the learning characteristics and understanding their culture and
letting them embrace it during training can help with their motivation, (Masullo, 2013). Trainers
should have done research and should know about diversity and multiculturalism. If the trainers
need, more information has them do their research on the topics. The trainers need to understand
their learners thoroughly.
A central strategy for diverse and multicultural employees is keeping an assessment to
map out the employees learning characteristics. The map will help the trainers while training the
employees. Keeping a record of everything and seeing how their learning style increases or
changes are necessary to keep up with individualized training. The next two strategies would be
giving them choices in their learning and flexibility to experiment with different ways of learning
their material. If they already have a good idea of how they learn the best then communicate with
the learner and get their opinion before just trying random strategies and activities. Give the
employees flexibility while training them in case they want to try a new type of training.
Different tasks could have better ways of training for the employee. Any diverse strategy that
they mention that the trainer may not be familiar with they should ask questions. The questions
give them new ideas on training they had not thought of or had found in research.
Scenarios and Examples of Differentiated Instruction:

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION TRAIN-THE-TRAINER MANUAL

First, an important example is an individual with a disability because you have to follow
the American's with Disabilities Act. Every trainer should have a proper understanding of the
rights of disabled workers to avoid any legal issues.
Scenario: You are training an employee on the differences in coffee, but the employee is having
trouble retaining the information because of a disability. Verbal training is not as effective with
this training, so it is good to have options. The employee may do better-writing notes, so giving
them the extra time to write would be helpful. Another alternative is a booklet that has the
information about the different coffee beans. The booklet also gives them something to go back
to instead of asking questions often, so the booklet also helps every employee in general. The
trainer can also provide the employees the information in different ways to help them remember.
The trainer could group together and explain the coffee beans from light, medium, and then to
bold and describe their regions and flavors. The trainer could group together and define the
regions they come from, and then the light, medium and bold, and their flavors. The trainer
chooses the booklet, offers the employee to write notes, and groups and explains the coffee beans
in both ways. The trainer then followed up with the employee for the next month to check on
their retention of the information. Following up shows that the trainer understands, helping their
disability, so the employee has the same chances as anyone else. The different strategies the
trainer chose were helpful, verbal training, visual training, memorization, reading, and reviews.
The trainer could have easily accepted verbally explaining each one, and not focused on how to
deliver the information to the diverse employee. The example shows how differentiated
instruction can be helpful in situations with diversity.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION TRAIN-THE-TRAINER MANUAL

Any diversity can be a possible issue while training employees because training the
employees needs to be effective for each of them. Multiculturalism is another matter because
different cultures learn differently than we sometimes do in our culture.
Scenario: The trainer is training an employee from Germany, and their cultural background in
German. The trainer is polite, calm and is helping step-by-step each process with minimal
feedback because they do not want to offend their employee. The trainer is just training the
employee on how to call out drink orders inside. Germans are more blunt and direct than
Americans, so when they are trained they want you to be direct with directions, and they do not
wish you to hold back on feedback. The trainer realizes this after discussing why the employee
seems a little frustrated. Communicating with each will give the trainers a better idea on how to
move on to effective differentiated instruction. If they are not saying the order right or talking
loud enough then you need to let them know. Motivation to learn will come from the way the
trainer trains the German employee. If the trainer is more direct with feedback, the employee will
be more willing to listen and not get bored. The German employee will see the trainer as treating
them like a child in a professional business environment. The negative feelings will affect how
the learner retains and is willing to learn the information presented.
Just a small issue with not being direct or blunt enough can affect an employee's
motivation. Communication is a big problem to realize when training people with diversity and
multiculturalism. If the trainer does not communicate effectively, then the employee could be
lacking in the training because their learning style is different. When the issue is addressed, the
trainer can change their techniques to accommodate because you never want to offend someone.
Other cultures can get offended because they know more about your country and culture than

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION TRAIN-THE-TRAINER MANUAL

most of the people they interact with daily. Doing research into different cultures, and trying new
ways of training will help the trainer and the employees.
A few examples to point out that will help beginners with this new idea of differentiated
instruction and diversity:
- Do not use hand gestures like the thumbs up or a backward peace sign. Hand gestures
can have different meanings to other cultures, and also an employee's background may relate the
gesture as offensive.
- If the employee asks for a religious holiday off during training, the trainer should
accommodate and make the training for the day after. The employee cannot go without the
training, and it would be offensive to not care about the religion they practice. Accommodating
makes them happier and motivated and ready to learn when they come in the next day.
- Take the employees experience and age into consideration while training them. An age
difference could be a problem when you are dealing with technology. The trainer may have to get
creative to help older adults fully understand the technology.
- If the trainer uses groups then, do not group them according to race, gender, or age. The
diversity in the groups helps the employees learn, and they could each benefit from learning
more about diversity and the material.
Differentiated Instruction Activities while Training
Activities are at the heart of differentiated instruction because the activities are numerous
and can cater to each. Different activities will help the diverse employees understand the
training more efficiently. If just one activity is used then, the training is biased to those types
of learners, and with the differentiated instruction Starbucks is trying to change this issue in

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION TRAIN-THE-TRAINER MANUAL

the training department. There are a few examples of activities the trainers could consider for
their instruction:
- Divide employees into teams for group training because this will help the employees learn
the material and learn from each other. Example: An extremely intelligent employee from a
different culture is having trouble interacting with other employees. Incorporate this employee
into a team that has different cultures, ages, and intelligence. The diverse team will help the
highly intelligent culturally diverse employee by showing the team how to do an objective.
- Tactile learning activity can be very helpful in this environment because they will have to
learn how to do these tasks. Describing and showing the employees how to steam milk is a good
example. Then the employee must do the task themselves, and compare the differences between
the trainers and their steamed milk pitchers. Getting the feel of how to make the perfect foam is
necessary in their training.
- Use a variety of activities on the same task to create their assessment for further training.
The assessment will keep track of the learning activities, ways of learning, and background
information for their next training sessions. Try a descriptive activity where the trainer only
verbally explains the idea. Then a visual activity, so they only learn the idea by visually seeing it.
Next memorization verbally or on paper as a test to see if standardized testing is a strength.
There are many ways to test their learning styles, but the company should keep track of the
assessments to accommodate each diverse individual.
If you have any further questions before or after the activity, ask anytime. After each trainer
will have a one-on-one to assess that they are ready to train employees with differentiated
instruction.

DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION TRAIN-THE-TRAINER MANUAL

References
Bush, G. (2006). Differentiated instruction. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 23(3), 4345. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/237135798?accountid=458
Logan, B. (2011). Examining differentiated instruction: Teachers respond. Research in Higher
Education Journal, 13, 1-14. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/889136509?accountid=458
Masullo, A. (2013). The Importance of Diversity and Multiculturalism in the classroom!
Retrieved 2015, from Andre Masullos Professional Art Education Portfolio:
https://www.uvm.edu/~arted/AndreaMasullo/?page_id=738
Starbucks Logo Vector. (2015). Retrieved from imageKB: http://www.imagekb.com/starbuckslogo-vector