Differentiated instruction aims to create multiple paths for students of varying abilities and interests to learn effectively. It involves proactively planning varied approaches to content, process and products based on formative assessments of student needs. The goals are for every student to make continuous progress at their level and become lifelong learners. Teachers differentiate by modifying content, process and products based on student readiness, interests and learning profiles to increase the likelihood that each student learns as much as possible.

2. Differentiating instruction is doing what’s fair for
students. It means creating multiple paths so that
students of different abilities, interests, or learning
needs experience equally appropriate ways to learn.
Let’s Define Differentiated Instruction

3. Definitions of Differentiated
Instruction (DI)
refers to a systematic approach to
planning curriculum and instruction for
academically diverse learners.
It is a way of thinking about the classroom
with the dual goals of honoring each
student’s learning needs and maximizing
each student’s learning capacity
(Carol Ann Tomlinson)

4. In a DI class...
a teacher proactively plans varied
approaches to what students need to
learn, how they will learn it, and/or how
they will express what they have learned
in order to increase the likelihood that
each student will learn as much as he or
she can.

5. The Goals of Differentiation
 Every student will make continuous progress
no matter how old she is or at what level her
knowledge and skills are as she begins the
unit of study.
 Every student will become a lifelong learner,
the long-term goal for all children and young
people.
-Julia A. Roberts and Tracy F. Inman

6. Different levels
of readiness
Different Interests
The Rationale for Differentiated
Instruction

7. Different Ability Levels
Different Cognitive Needs
The Rationale for Differentiated
Instruction

8. do a formative assessment
create an individual profile of each of
his/her student in each class he/she is
handling.
BUT assessment should be on-going and
diagnostic for these assessments
provides teachers a day-to-day data on
their students.
How to start?

9. Assessment is today’s means of
understanding how to modify
tomorrow’s instructions.
 Using the results of the assessment, teachers can
modify/differentiate content, process or product along with
the learning area.
 The differentiation should be based on the students’
Readiness, Interest and Learning Profile.
Remember that

10. Interest refers to a child’s
affinity, curiosity or passion
for a particular topic or skill.
Interest

11. Learning profile has to do with
how the students’ learn.
It may be shaped by
intelligence, preferences,
gender, culture, or learning
style.
Learning Profile

13. 
Laying the Foundation for
Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction does not happen
by accident. It requires planning,
commitment, and acknowledgment of the
fact that diverse abilities, experiences, and
interests have a tremendous impact on
student learning.

14. If you are considering using differentiated
instruction in your classroom, the three steps below
provide a place to start.
1. Get to know your students.
 Identify the level at which individual students are working in
your subject area. Standardized test scores and other
information found in student records can help determine
this information.
 Administer a learning style inventory to determine how your
students best learn. An instrument can be obtained through
the guidance department at your school.
 Determine student interests. On a regular basis, ask students
to identify topics that interest them and activities that
occupy their non-school time.

15.  2. Identify areas of your curriculum that could
be adapted to differentiated instruction.
 Study the instructional goals and objectives for your
subject established by the department of education.
Identify the major concepts, principles, and skills students
should learn.
 Choose one or two broad concepts or skills that lend
themselves to being taught at different degrees of
complexity.
 Brainstorm ideas for activities, tasks, and assessments
that address a specific concept or skill. Ideas should cover
a range of learning preferences, abilities, and interests.

16. 3. Examine your role as teacher in the
differentiated classroom.
 Develop a general plan for facilitating time, space,
and materials in your classroom. On any given day,
not all students will be working on the same
assignment at the same time. You must have a plan
for student access to necessary materials, where
individuals or groups will work, and how much time
can be allotted to specific tasks.
 Identify alternative methods of assessing student
performance and understanding. Assessment results
should increase teacher understanding of students'
abilities, interests, and needs, and should be
incorporated into future planning.

17. The content
The process
The product
Teachers can differentiate according to
….

18. Content is input.
It is what a student should come to
know (facts), understand (concepts
and principles), and able to do
(skills).
Content

19. Differentiating Content
 Determine the
Ability Level of Your
Students
 Survey Past
Records, Look at
Their Chums
 Align Tasks and
Objectives to
Learning Goals
 Survey Student
Interests
 Interest
Inventories,
Interview/
Conference,
Respond to Open-
Ended
Questionnaire
with Questions

20. Differentiating Content
What are Your
Students Multiple
Intelligences &
Learning Styles?
What are Your
Student’s
Preferences and
Motivators?
 Instruction is
Concept-Focused
and Principle-Driven
 What do Brain-
Based Research say?
Ultimately,
teachers need
to Know THEIR
Students.

21. Differentiating Content
Sample Activities
 Use Reading
Materials at Varying
Readability Levels
 Put Text Materials
on ppt, mp4 or mp3
format
 Use Spelling/Vocab.
Tests at Readiness
Levels of Students
 Use Reading
Buddies
 Meet with Small
Groups to Re-Teach
an Idea or Skill for
Struggling Learners,
or Extend the
Learning

22. Process is the opportunity for
students to make sense of the
content.
Part of process is the activities
in the lesson. They should be
well-thought of.
Process

23. Reciprocal teaching
Graphic organizing
Scaffolding
Webbing
Self Talk
Web Quests
Guided Notes
Differentiating Process

24. have a clearly defined instructional
purpose
focus students squarely on one key
understanding
cause students to use a key skill to work
with key ideas
ensure that students will have to
understand (not just repeat) the idea
help students relate new understandings
and skills to previous ones, and
match the student’s level of readiness.
Effective ONLY if they ...

25. Product is a vehicle through which a
student show (and extends what he or
she has come to understand and can do
as a result of a considerable segment of
learning.
It is something students produce to
exhibit major portions of learning.
Product

26. These are culminating projects
that ask the student to
rehearse, apply, and extend
what he/she has learned in a
unit.
Product

27.  Initial and on-going assessment of student readiness and
growth are Essential
 Authentic Assessment is a must.
 Students should be trained to be active and responsible
explorers.
 Teachers should vary expectations and requirements for
student responses
 For outcomes, teachers should consider each student’s
multiple intelligences and learning styles
Remember...

28.  Give Students Options of How to Express
Required Learning
 Create a Puppet Show, Write a Letter, Develop Mural with Labels
 Use Rubrics that Match Student’s Varied Skill
Level
 Use RubiStar.com
 Allow Students to Work Alone (or) in Small
Groups
 Performance -Based Assessment
 Student Portfolios
 Knowledge Mapping
How do we do that?

29. Teachers should look at the
level of readiness of their
students as they
differentiate content,
process or product.
Keep in mind...

30.  someone to help them identify and make-up
gaps in their learning so they can move ahead;
 more opportunities for direct instruction or
practice;
 activities or products that are more structured
or more concrete, with fewer steps, closer to
their own experiences and calling on simpler
reading skills; or
 a more deliberate pace of learning.
Students with less–developed
readiness may need:

31. a student needs it and
modification increases the
likelihood that the learner will
understand important ideas and use
the important skills more
thoroughly as a result.
Modify a curricular element
only when

32. What Differentiation Is …
 Student Centered
 Best practices
 Different approaches
 3 or 4 different activities
 Multiple approaches to
content, process, and
product
 A way of thinking and
planning
 Flexible grouping

33. What Differentiation Isn’t
 One Thing
 A Program
 The Goal
 Hard questions for some
and easy for others
 35 different plans for one
classroom
 A chaotic classroom
 Just homogenous grouping

34. What Differentiated Instruction Means for Teachers
Teachers DO Teachers DON'T
 provide several learning options, or
different paths to learning, which help
students take in information and make
sense of concepts and skills.
 develop a separate
lesson plan for each
student in a
classroom.
 provide appropriate levels of challenge
for all students, including those who
lag behind, those who are advanced,
and those right in the middle.
 "water down" the
curriculum for some
students.

35. What is fair isn’t always equal…
and
Differentiation gets us away from “one size fits
all” approach to curriculum and instruction that
doesn’t fit anyone
In Summary…..

36. EVERY MAN is in certain respects
a. like all other men,
b. like some other men,
c. like no other man.
-Murray, H. A. & C. Kluckhohn, 1953