Techniques for Differentiating Instruction
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To manage effectively the differentiation of process, teachers need to employ a range of instructional strategies (Tomlinson, 1999), such as:
- Setting up stations in the classroom where different learners can work simultaneously on various tasks. Such stations naturally invite flexible grouping.
- Having students set agendas, or personalized lists of tasks to complete in a specified time, usually two or three weeks.
- Structuring problem-based learning to have students actively solve problems, either individually or in small groups, much the same way that professionals perform their jobs (this also supports building a community of learners).
- Assigning tiered activities to allow learners to work on the same concepts but with varying degrees of complexity, abstractness, and open-endedness.
- Using entry points (
- Using choice boards from which learners can select one of several work assignments that are printed on cards and affixed to the choice boards.
- Employing compacting: teachers assess learners’ knowledge and skills before beginning a specific unit of study and allow learners who do well on the preassessment to move on to more advanced work.
- Chunking, or breaking assignments and activities into smaller, more manageable parts, and providing more structured directions for each part.
- Encouraging students to use different tools to perform the same task: paper/pencil, manipulatives, computer.
- Using flexible pacing to allow for differences in students’ ability to master the key concepts.
- Encouraging independent study for students who want to work on their own on topics of interest to them.
- Using portfolios as a means for reflecting on student growth over time.
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