Differentiated Instruction: Abstracts
Carol Ann Tomlinson. “Differentiation Instruction in the Elementary Grades.” Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. August 2000.
Research Problem:
In elementary classrooms, some students struggle with learning, while some are beyond the level of other learners, and the rest fit somewhere in between. Furthermore, each of these students learns in different ways. Teachers must figure out how to reach all types of learners and they do this by differentiating their instruction.
Research Questions:
What is differentiated instruction? Why differentiate instruction in Elementary classrooms? What makes differentiation successful? What is the best way to begin differentiation?
Data Collection Procedures:
The author uses a variety of resources including articles and books, written on the topic of differentiation to answer her research questions.
Findings:
Teachers can differentiate instruction in four ways in the elementary classroom: content, process, product, and learning environment. Differentiation is essential to maximizing each student’s potential. According to Vygotsky, it is important for students to be taught at the appropriate level, which requires differentiation since no two students are alike. Meaningful, ongoing assessment, flexible grouping, and the creation of “respectful activities” that are worthwhile for all students are important factors in successful differentiation.
Jay McTighe and John L. Brown. “Differentiated Instruction and Educational Standards: Is Détente Possible?” Theory into Practice. Vol. 44, No 3 Summer 2005. 234-244.
Research Problem:
Teachers have a hard time meeting high-stakes standards and addressing the needs of diverse learners. The practices teachers must employ in order to meet NCLB are often at odds with instructional practices recommended by educational research. Teachers feel that they must choose between meeting standards and reaching a diverse body of learners.
Research Questions:
How can teachers address required content and grade-level performance standards while remaining responsive to individual students? Can differentiation and standards coexist? How do teachers maintain standards without standardization?
Data Collection Procedures:
The authors look at the success of the backward-design process to help educators plan to meet standards with content and the learners in mind.
Findings:
McTighe and Brown found that the backward-design method of planning lessons aligns with the goal of providing every student with a rigorous education in line with standards that promote understanding. They found that curriculum planning requires the development of big ideas, controlling themes, and conceptual organizers that make learning experiences more meaningful. Ongoing assessment is an important part of this differentiating instruction. A commitment to respectful work is also highlighted as a key component of differentiating instruction. Differentiation and standards can coexist, and standards must not lead to standardization. There are many different paths to reaching the same standard and what works for one student may not work for another.
Carol Ann Tomlinson. “Deciding to Teach Them All.” Educational Leadership. Vol. 61, No 2 October 2003. 6-11. Print.
Research Problem:
A teacher in a center-based school for students with IQs above 140 decides to try the curriculum in a general education classroom. She teaches in a diverse classroom and must adapt her lessons to the new environment and students.
Research Questions:
Do I intend to teach each individual child? How do I support each student’s persistent movement towards excellence and expertise?
Data Collection Procedures:
A teacher moves from a school where she taught students with IQs over 140 to a school where she has a diverse classroom of learners. She uses the same curriculum in her new classroom and Tomlinson reports on the teachers’ strategies and findings.
Findings:
It is paramount to foster excellence and equity in a diverse body of learners. The way the teacher featured in the article framed her questions about her students changed the way she approached the solutions to these questions. Rather than asking “what labels do my students have?” she asked “what are their particular interests and needs?” She allowed these needs and interests to guide her instruction rather than their labels. “Principles for Fostering Equity and Excellence in Academically Diverse Learners,” is a chart at the end of the article that summarizes the teaching practices that Tomlinson found to foster differentiation. These practices include: good curriculum, tasks that respect the learners, teaching up, using flexible grouping, ongoing assessment, and focusing grades on growth.
