What is Differentiated Instruction?
Differentiated Instruction is based on the
following beliefs:
- Students differ in their learning profiles
- Classrooms in which students are active
learners, decision makers and problem solvers are more natural and effective
than those in which students are served a "one-size-fits-all"
curriculum and treated as passive recipients of information
- "Covering information" takes a
backseat to making meaning out of important ideas.
The key to a differentiated classroom is that
all students are regularly offered CHOICES and students are matched with tasks
compatible with their individual learner profiles.
Curriculum should be differentiated in three
areas:
1. Content: Multiple options for taking in
information
2. Process: Multiple options for making sense
of the ideas
3. Product: Multiple options for expressing
what they know
DIFFERENTIATION FOR ADVANCED LEARNERS
Differentiation for the advanced learners
involves the adjustment of curriculum and instruction by using one or more of
the following four dimensions:
1. Depth
Depth refers to the concept of challenging
learners by enabling them to venture further, deeper, and more elaborately into
the area under study.
Questions related to the dimension of depth:
- What details further the understanding of
this area of study (i.e., theme, concept, topic, generalization, issue,
theory, or principle)?
- How can study of the known be directed
towards the unknown, the concrete directed towards the abstract, and the
familiar directed towards the unfamiliar?
- What facts, concepts, generalizations,
principles, and theories are related to the area of study?
- What patterns and/or trends exist within the
area of study?
- What structure(s) and rule(s) characterize
the area of study?
2. Complexity
Complexity refers to the concept of broadening
the learner's understanding of the area or areas under study by asking him/her
to make connections, relationships, and associations between, within, and across
subjects and disciplines.
Questions related to the dimension of
complexity:
- What new relationship can be made within,
between, or among the area of the study and any other areas of study?
- How can this subject be viewed from many and
varied perspectives? What are the problems and issues within this area of
study?
- What might be multiple solutions to a
problem identified within the area of study?
- What are the prevailing themes related to
the area of study?
- What influence has "time" had on
knowledge related to the area of study?
3. Novelty
Novelty refers to the concept of gaining a
personal understanding of the area under study or constructing meaning of
knowledge in an individualized manner.
Questions related to the dimension of novelty:
- How can knowledge in the area of study be
interpreted personally?
- How can one restate or express in personally
important ways knowledge from this study?
- What type of investigation or experiment can
be designed to learn more about the area of study?
- What type or original investigation or
experiment can be developed to prove or disprove an idea about this area of
study?
4. Acceleration or Pacing
Acceleration refers to the concept of altering
the pace or speed of learning and providing more sophisticated resources for
learning in order to challenge learners.
Questions related to the dimension of
acceleration:
- What advanced resources can be used to
enhance understanding of the subject under study?
- What are the strategies needed to study the
subject at a more sophisticated level?