Music Educators and Differentiated Instruction

In the modern classroom, one will find a mixture of varied levels of learners and their learning abilities. This diverse classroom setting has become the norm in the music education world as the varied learners mix together into one assorted learning environment. Music educators must then increasingly investigate methods of creating differentiated learning lessons to meet the needs of each of their individual learners. Differentiation describes the instructional planning techniques designed to incorporate all the assorted learning styles of a particular classroom into one larger lesson plan. Through the investigation of a mixture of psychological developmental theories, a music educator can determine which learning theories include successful applications for creating differentiated learning in the music classroom in regards with not only all learners. (I don't understand this part)

Differentiated Instruction Background and Planning

By first examining the makings of differentiated instruction, one can then decipher what elements of each developmental psychology theories work best in aiding differentiation in the classroom. Tomlinson describes differentiation as a method for educators to address the different learning styles of each individual learner in the classroom and to guarantee positive learning results are met by these learners by creating distinct instruction catered to the particular student (Tomlinson, 2004). Educators must first acknowledge that the students in their classroom have different learning approaches and adapt to new material or new methods differently.

Recognizing the diversity of learning styles found in the classroom can be achieved through pre-assessing the students in the classroom or th...

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