Differentiated Instruction Essay

1247 Words3 Pages

How Does Differentiated Instruction Influence Student Learning? Opening What is differentiated instruction? According to the book How to Teach Now: Five Keys to Personalized Learning in the Global Classroom, differentiated instruction is simply the customization, or personalization of instruction practiced by the teacher in order to captivate students that are at different levels in their learning process due to cultural, emotional, academic, gifts, gender, or social differences, but are all found in the same classroom (Powell & Powell, 2011). There is a lot of information and numerous documents that speak on the great significance of using differentiated instruction in the classroom. The concept of differentiated instruction has not been recently developed, but has become crucial and somewhat a difficult concept in our educational system (Watts-Taffe, Laster, Broach, Marinak, McDonald Connor, Walker-Dalhouse, 2012). The following questions arise as differentiated instruction is reflected upon here: How does differentiated instruction influence student learning? Does students’ performance increase in their content area when they are in classes where their instruction is differentiated? And, Is there a significant difference when differentiated instruction is applied according to gender? As the instructor in my classroom, I am responsible for making sure that my students reach the highest possible level of understanding in the subject area that I teach. I am obligated to meet students at their different levels of comprehension, so that I may help them succeed in learning. So how does a teacher challenge students that have various levels of preparation, content knowledge, are of different gender, and possess ... ... middle of paper ... ...n, T. (2002, January 1). Differentiated Instruction in the Foreign Language Classroom: Meeting the Diverse Needs of All Learners. . Retrieved June 24, 2014, from http://www.sedl.org/loteced/communique/n06.html Tomlinson, C., & ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, C. L. (2000). Differentiation of Instruction in the Elementary Grades. ERIC Digest. TÜMKAYA, S. (2012). The Investigation of the Epistemological Beliefs of University Students According to Gender, Grade, Fields of Study, Academic Success and Their Learning Styles. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 12(1), 88-95. Watts-Taffe, S., Laster, B., Broach, L., Marinak, B., McDonald Connor, C., & Walker- Dalhouse, D. (2012). Differentiated Instruction: Making Informed Teacher Decisions. Reading Teacher, 66(4), 303-314. doi:10.1002/TRTR.01126

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