Differentiated Instruction

Introduction

Welcome to my wiki course on differentiated instruction. This course will teach you essentials on differentiating instruction: how to assess different learning styles, methods and strategies for differentiating instruction, and the importance of and how to apply differentiated instruction.

I'd like to introduce the topic by defining what differentiated instruction is.

First I'd like you to play a word association game

Write down the first three words that come to mind when you see the following words or phrases.

Differentiated

Instruction

Differentiated Instruction

Now that you've had a chance to look at the words and play around with their meaning I'd like to give an official definition of differentiated instruction.

Differentiated instruction means "tailoring instruction to meet the various needs of students." (Northey) It's main goal is to "ensure that teachers focus on processes and procedures that ensure effective learning for varied individuals."(Tomlinson and McTighe)

Unit 1

Unit 1 Assessing Learning Styles

Unit 2

Unit 2 Strategies for Differentiating Instruction

Unit 3

Unit 3 Importance and Application

Further Reading and Useful Resources

Northey, Sheryn Spencer. Handbook on Differentiated Instruction for Middle and High Schools. Larchmont, 2005: This is an excellent book that gives information on the topic including how to assess students, and strategies for differentiating.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann. How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. Alexandria, 2001: This book is a great resource for teaching in a classroom with mixed abilities.

Tomlinson, Carol Ann and McTighe, Jay. Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design. Alexandria, 2006: This book gives great information on how to combine the two teaching models.

Waterman, Sheryn Spencer. Differentiating Assessment in Middle and High School English and Social Studies. Larchmont, 2006: This is similar to the author's other book, only on the topic of assessment instead of instruction.

www.drrubenzer.com/RonB/RubSamples/brain10001.pdf Brain Scan

http://www.howtolearn.com/learning-styles-quiz learning styles inventory