Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction is meant to bridge the gap between students’ learning and achievement. Through differentiated instruction, students understand content on a deeper level. When teachers integrate the use of technology for differentiation within their classroom, students learn 21st century skills. When students feel as though they can achieve, they are more motivated and invested within their learning. Differentiation provides that success.

Sarah Sparks states in her article Differentiated Instruction: A Primer: “Differentiated instruction”—the process of identifying students’ individual learning strengths, needs, and interests and adapting lessons to match them” (Sparks 2015). Differentiation is effective because it is meeting every

Their readiness with the content, gender, learning style, interest and culture are a few ways students learn. Through differentiation we are able to piece all these puzzle pieces together to create a whole learning opportunity for each student. Allowing a student to express their knowledge through a variety of tools is one. Changing process or product of what students are learning creates an environment where students feel safe to take risks. Changing the product means changing the way students show what they know. Process changing includes how they make sense of what they learn by changing the working conditions. These changes promote self-confidence within students. When students feel as though they can achieve, they achieve. I am a firm believer in differentiation through changing the process or product for

One major modification is the size of the structure that needs to be created. The groups are creating a structure that holds 2000 students, however, a modification for differentiation is having the students create a structure that holds 400 students. This number is closer to the size of their actual high school therefore, making it more concrete and visual. Another modification is the calculations involved. While I have the groups decide what scale they want to use for their scale model, I provide a specific scale and example calculations for groups that need differentiation. Additionally, I have a template created for students for their written proposal. Modifications for students with mild to significant disabilities include no presentation and/or a private presentation, no scale model, and no site map. Depending on the student’s disability, more or less accommodations may need to be made. All students will receive check-ins throughout the project on their progress, along with mentoring for professional architects. When students can see how the math we learn in class is connected to the world around them, they are invested. Further, having professionals come into the classroom and provide a real world connectedness to the project is