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03-02 Essential Elements

Differentiated instruction involves modifying content, process, product, and learning environment based on student readiness, interests, and learning profiles. Content refers to what is taught, and it can be differentiated by complexity, presentation format, integration across subjects, and real-world problems. Process involves how students make sense of ideas and demonstrate understanding, such as through flexible grouping, choice of activities and resources, pacing, and higher-order thinking skills. Product is how students apply and extend what they learn through varied modes of expression. The learning environment encompasses the physical space as well as psychological factors like student strengths and goal setting. Together, differentiation in these areas aims to maximize each student's potential.

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Jonathan Ken
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42 views

03-02 Essential Elements

Differentiated instruction involves modifying content, process, product, and learning environment based on student readiness, interests, and learning profiles. Content refers to what is taught, and it can be differentiated by complexity, presentation format, integration across subjects, and real-world problems. Process involves how students make sense of ideas and demonstrate understanding, such as through flexible grouping, choice of activities and resources, pacing, and higher-order thinking skills. Product is how students apply and extend what they learn through varied modes of expression. The learning environment encompasses the physical space as well as psychological factors like student strengths and goal setting. Together, differentiation in these areas aims to maximize each student's potential.

Uploaded by

Jonathan Ken
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Essential Elements of Differentiated Instruction

Content is knowledge, skills, principles, ideas, and concepts.


Differentiation: Ways to differentiate content:
Content • Elevate sophistication and complexity of content
• Use a variety of ways to convey key concepts
What is taught • Integrate complex problems
• Connect various subject areas in interdisciplinary studies
Process is how the learner interacts with the material presented.
Differentiation: Process involves methods of presenting material, activities, thinking processes, and questions asked.
Process Ways to differentiate process:
• Use flexible/cluster grouping
How students • Vary the options for the activity depending on the readiness of the learner
• Allow for student choice
make
• Vary the pacing
connections
• Offer different amounts of teacher support
and construct
• Incorporate higher levels of thinking, open endedness, exploration and discovery, reasoning, and transfer
meaning of learning
• Integrate problem-solving skills into the curriculum
• Include research and investigative skills
• Allow for independent study
Product is the result of student interaction with the content, the item used to demonstrate what the student has
Differentiation: learned.
Product Ways to differentiate product:
• Design product around essential questions, real problems, real audience
How students • Encourage critical and creative thinking
• Develop rubrics reflecting level of learning and expected outcome
demonstrate
• Allow for various forms of expression
what they have
learned
Learning environment is the setting/climate where learning takes place both physically and psychologically.
Differentiation: Ways to differentiate learning environment:
Learning • Allow opportunities for all students to use their strengths, interests, and abilities by differentiation of
Environment content, process, and product
• Develop supportive learning environments that enhance differentiated curricula and instruction
Establishing a
nurturing
learning
environment
Infusing critical and creative thinking skills into content instruction develops students’ capabilities for quality
Critical and thinking and learning.
Creative • Comparing and contrasting
Thinking • Problem solving
• Decision making
Establishing a • Making predictions
• Sequencing
foundation for
• Generating ideas
developing
• Analyzing and evaluating
higher-order
thinking
Rigor is the quality of the content.
Rigor • Focus on in-depth study of complex, abstract, and sophisticated content
• Incorporate metacognitive strategies
• Provide opportunities to develop highly specialized, real-world skills within a discipline
Enabling • Build upon interests, strengths, and personal goals of students
students to • Incorporate sophisticated investigations of materials, texts, interactive technologies and learning activities
develop their • Foster advanced critical and creative processes
• Utilize existing knowledge and create new knowledge
maximum
• Create life-long learners and thinkers capable of independent reflection, self-evaluation, and reasoning
potential
Adapted from Carol Ann Tomlinson’s and Mary S. Landrum’s work on differentiation and “The Non-Negotiables of Academic Rigor” from the
Exceptional Children Division of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

WCPSS AG Program 2009 Toolbox for Planning Rigorous Instruction Section 3: Differentiation - 2

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