Differentiated Instruction 1

Differentiated Instruction

Haylee Caldwell

Regent University
Differentiated Instruction 2

Introduction

Differentiation of instruction should be a vital part of every classroom. We know that all

students have different strengths and weaknesses therefore, a teacher should do their best to meet

each student where they need to be met during instruction[ CITATION Lau20 \l 1033 ].

Differentiation has multiple forms in teaching. It can be used to teach in ways that appeal to

various learning styles. It can also be used in remediation for certain groups of students and

enriching things for other students. Differentiation launches itself from the concept that all

students are different and each needs different things to achieve the goals set out for them by the

state or by others.

Rationale

The first artifact I chose is a lesson plan on adjectives. This lesson plan has specific

elements in it that cater to different learning styles of the students. According to an article based

on Howard Gardener’s interpretation of multiple intelligences [ CITATION Lan \l 1033 ], there are at

least eighteen different ways to vary instruction for learners. The lesson plan I chose is

differentiated in various ways including visually, linguistically, with printed words and

sound[ CITATION Lan \l 1033 ]. As the book was read aloud, the students who prefer or learn best

from sound (or auditory learners) benefited. As the pictures were shown to the students along

with the printed words on the page the students who learn visually, linguistically, and through

printed words greatly benefitted. Additionally, when the students were able to write their own

stories of their days, this appealed to the learners who thrive when engaging in linguistic

activities. Overall, the lesson very simply appealed to various learning styles and the students

were able to perform well in their writing.

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Another artifact I selected is a worksheet from a math group I did with my fourth-grade

students. For this small group, I was differentiating the instruction by learning level. I worked

with the students who were struggling in a small group. This small group instruction came after

whole group instruction on the same day. I used the problems on the worksheet as a reference

and had them solve the problems step by step on their whiteboards. I used base ten manipulatives

to show how decimals were parts of a whole. By using the base ten units I was not only

differentiating by ability but also appealed to students who may have been kinesthetic learners or

visual learners. Once the students arrived at the correct answer, they would write it on their

worksheets. If I saw a student performing the problem incorrectly I would use a whiteboard or

the table to work the problem as I talked it out step by step with them. I believe that these two

artifacts show some of the ways I differentiated instruction for my students both by their learning

style and their learning ability.

Reflection

Each student is unique and has different ways in which they learn. The Bible states in

Psalm 139:14 that humans are, “fearfully and wonderfully made[ CITATION Hol116 \l 1033 ].” This

is just one example from the Bible where the discussion of how humans are carefully formed and

thought out by God. I believe God has created us all with our differences purposefully which is

beautiful. This is why the differentiation of instruction is so important. Students are different

from each other in many ways because that is how the Lord formed them to be. It is the job of

the teacher to instruct the students in a variety of ways to appeal to their different learning styles

and learning abilities.

Differentiation is not meant to be something that is not well thought out and should

certainly not be something teachers put less effort in to. Differentiation should be thoughtfully
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planned with the needs of each learner in mind[CITATION Car10 \l 1033 ]. Differentiation is not

something that happens for every student during the school day. The hope of a teacher with a

goal to differentiate well should be to address the needs of each learner at least once in a school

week. Since students are all formed uniquely by the Father in heaven, instruction must be

differentiated to suit each individual’s needs throughout a school week.

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References

Bafile, C. (2010). Differentiation strokes for little folks: Carol Tomlinson on differentiated

instruction. Education World.

Holy Bible. (2011). Psalm 139:14. Biblica Inc.

Lane, C. (n.d.). Gardener's multiple intelligences. Retrieved from https://learn-us-east-1-prod-

fleet01-xythos.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/5c2960be25208/3391923?response-content-

disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27Gardner%2527s

%2520Multiple%2520Intelligences.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-

Amz-A

Robb, L. (2020). What is differentiated instruction? Retrieved from Scholastic:

https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/what-differentiated-

instruction/