PrEd128n: Facilitating Learner-centered Teaching

Lesson 4.3: DIFFERENTIATED LEARNER-CENTERED

TEACHING

Learning Outcome
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
1. explain goals of differentiated learner-centered teaching;
2. describe the elements of differentiated learner-centered teaching; and
3. Identify effective strategies that enhance learning among diverse learners.

Discussion
“No two individuals are one and the same” – a stereotyped expression used to
emphasize that teaching should address diverse needs of learners. This concern is brought
by the fact that in most school classroom setting, teachers prepare one lesson with the false
idea that “one lesson fits all” mentality. Recent advocacies in education have presented
research evidences that debunk such mode of thinking by teachers. The concept of
differentiated instruction has evolved through the years as a way of remedying the
inadequacies of the traditional concept of teaching the whole class. In this lesson, you are
going to study the nature and characteristics of differentiated instruction in order for you to
address the concerns of your learners as you plan and implement the lessons as well as to
evaluate the outcomes of instruction.

Differentiated Instruction Defined

Flexible learning is a method of learning where learners are given freedom in how,
what, when and where they learn. Flexible learning environments address how physical
space is used, how learners are grouped during learning and how time is used throughout
teaching. With space, learners may be given dedicated breakout rooms to work
collaboratively. Schools may restructure traditional schedules to provide learners with time
for collaboration and other activities such as guest speakers or performances to assist their
understanding of a topic.
In addition, flexible learning refers to the ability to customize one’s pace, place and mode of
learning. With pace, for example, learners may take accelerated programs or engage in part-
time learning to ensure they have time to work on the side. Learning can take place in a
variety of settings, including in the classroom, at home via the Internet, while commuting or
as part of a work-study program. Mode refers to the way that content is delivered by
technology, typically through blended learning, fully online courses or technology-enhanced
experiences (https://tophat.com/glossary/f/flexible-learning/). It is also a broad term used
to describe the design and delivery of programs, courses, and learning interventions in such
a way as to cater for learner demands for variety, access, recognition of diverse learning
styles, and learner control over and customizability of the learning experience.

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Differentiating instruction may mean teaching the same material to all learners using
a variety of instructional strategies, or it may require the teacher to deliver lessons at varying
levels of difficulty based on the ability of each learner. Teachers who practice differentiation
in the classroom may:
 Design lessons based on learners’ learning styles.
 Group learners by shared interest, topic, or ability for assignments.
 Assess learners’ learning using formative assessment.
 Manage the classroom to create a safe and supportive environment.
 Continually assess and adjust lesson content to meet learners’ needs.

The Goals of Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction enhances learning for all learners by engaging them in

activities that better respond to their particular learning needs, strengths, and preferences.
The goals of differentiated instruction (Heacox, 2014) are:
1. To develop challenging and engaging tasks for each learner.
2. To develop instructional activities based on essential topics and concepts,
significant processes and skills, and multiple ways to display learning.
3. To provide flexible approaches to content, instruction, and products.
4. To respond to learners’ readiness, instructional needs, interests, and learning
preferences.
5. To provide opportunities for learners to work in varied instructional formats.
6. To meet DepEd performance standards for each learner.
7. To establish learner-responsive, teacher-facilitated classrooms.

Essentials of Differentiated Instruction

Effective differentiated instruction requires that educators take thoughtful and

deliberate actions to address the particular needs of learners and keep in mind a number of
essential concepts (www.edugains.ca › resourcesDI › Brochures):
 Knowledge of learners’ readiness to work with concepts, their interests and their
learning preferences and seeing all preferences as equally valid.
 Teachers use a repertoire of instructional and assessment strategies to meet the
needs of different learners.
 All differentiated instruction activities are equally engaging and respectful and take
approximately the same amount of time.
 Unless learners are on an IEP, all differentiated instruction is based on the same
curriculum expectations and all learners have opportunities to achieve the same high
standards of performance.
 Learners are assessed before, during and after their learning. Assessments inform
next steps for both teacher and learner.
 Even if learners have choices in the ways that they demonstrate their learning,
teachers are able to use a common assessment tool (e.g., a rubric) so that all
learners work is judged against the same assessment criteria.
 A defining characteristic of a differentiated classroom is flexibility. Learners work in
short-term, flexible learning groups and educators are flexible in creating and altering
instructional plans in response to learners.
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Pros and Cons of Differentiated Instruction

The benefits of differentiation in the classroom are often accompanied by the

drawback of an ever-increasing workload (Weselby, 2020). Here are a few factors to keep in
mind:
Pros
 Research shows differentiated instruction is effective for high ability learners as well
as learners with mild to severe disabilities.
 When learners are given more options on how they can learn material, they take on
more responsibility for their own learning.
 Learners appear to be more engaged in learning, and there are reportedly fewer
discipline problems in classrooms where teachers provide differentiated lessons.

Cons
 Differentiated instruction requires more work during lesson planning, and many
teachers struggle to find the extra time in their schedule.
 The learning curve can be steep and some schools lack professional development
resources.
 Critics argue there isn’t enough research to support the benefits of differentiated
instruction outweighing the added prep time.

Four DI Classroom Elements

Inclusive classrooms that include a diverse population of learners require teachers to

meet a wide range of needs. However, there are many low-preparation methods that work
with any grade level, subject, or classroom to keep learners ' learning goals consistent.
According to Tomlinson (2017), learners engage with instruction in three ways:
1. Readiness - refers to the learner’s starting point for learning, relative to the concept
being studied. It includes skill levels and prior knowledge.
2. Interests – refers to the choices and backgrounds of the learners. It enhances the
relevancy of learning by linking new information to learners’ experience and
enthusiasm.
3. Learning profiles are the many different ways in which learners prefer to acquire
process and work with information. Learning preferences are influenced by gender,
culture, the classroom environment, learning styles and multiple intelligences.

By attending, at various times, to a learner’s readiness, interests and learning

preferences, we increase the likelihood that learners will be able to build new learning
through connection to existing knowledge and preferred ways of working and that they will
be engaged in the learning.
With the knowledge of the learners’ readiness, interest, or learning profile, teachers
can differentiate instruction through four ways: 1) content, 2) process, 3) product, and 4)
learning environment (Tomlinson, 2001; Gunner, 2017; Weselby, 2020).
Content – what the learner needs to learn or how the learner will get access to the
information.

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Fundamental lesson content should cover the standards of learning set by the DepEd
educational standards. But some learners in your class may be completely unfamiliar with
the concepts in a lesson, some learners may have partial mastery, and some learners may
already be familiar with the content before the lesson begins.
What you could do is differentiate the content by designing activities for groups of
learners that cover various levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, a classification of levels of
intellectual behavior going from lower-order thinking skills to higher-order thinking skills. The
six levels are: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating
(discussed in Lesson 14). Learners who are unfamiliar with a lesson could be required to
complete tasks on the lower levels: remembering and understanding. Learners with some
mastery could be asked to apply and analyze the content, and learners who have high levels
of mastery could be asked to complete tasks in the areas of evaluating and creating.
Scaffolding, or building steps of gradually diminishing support into instruction, is a
helpful way to ensure that all learners have access to your classroom content. Here are
some ways to modify and scaffold the content in your classroom.
 Explicitly teach definitions of grade-level vocabulary words before reading a story.
 Play videos and presentations to fill in content gaps before introducing a new
concept.
 Use Bloom’s taxonomy to create a variety of assessment questions that reach all
learners.
 Increase the number of steps needed for assignments or projects (or decrease for
gifted learners).
 Highlight important information or key terms in a text.
 Bring graphic organizers into the classroom to help learners organize and understand
their own learning process.
 Using reading materials at varying readability levels;
 Putting text materials on tape;
 Presenting ideas through both auditory and visual means;
 Using reading buddies; and
 Meeting with small groups to re-teach an idea or skill for struggling learners, or to
extend the thinking or skills of advanced learners.
 Differentiate fact from opinion in the story.
 Identify an author’s position and provide evidence to support this viewpoint.
 Create a PowerPoint presentation summarizing the lesson.

Process – activities in which the learner engages in order to make sense of or master the
content.
Each learner has a preferred learning style, and successful differentiation includes
delivering the material to each style: visual, auditory and kinesthetic, and through words.
This process-related method also addresses the fact that not all learners require the same
amount of support from the teacher, and learners could choose to work in pairs, small
groups, or individually. And while some learners may benefit from one-on-one interaction
with you or the classroom aide, others may be able to progress by themselves. Teachers can
enhance learner learning by offering support based on individual needs.

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Examples of differentiating process or activities include the following:

 Using tiered activities through which all learners work with the same important
understandings and skills, but proceed with different levels of support, challenge, or
complexity;
 Providing interest centers that encourage learners to explore subsets of the class
topic of particular interest to them;
 Developing personal agendas (task lists written by the teacher and containing both
in-common work for the whole class and work that addresses individual needs of
learners) to be completed either during specified agenda time or as learners
complete other work early;
 Offering manipulatives or other hands-on supports for learners who need them; and
 Varying the length of time a learner may take to complete a task in order to provide
additional support for a struggling learner or to encourage an advanced learner to
pursue a topic in greater depth.
 Provide textbooks for visual and word learners.
 Allow auditory learners to listen to audio books.
 Give kinesthetic learners the opportunity to complete an interactive assignment
online.
 Play audio recordings of stories while learners read along to assist both auditory and
visual learners.
 Use learning apps that permit learners to work at their own pace.
 Allow learners to choose research topics by interest rather than assigning a prompt.
 Design jigsaw activities that enable higher-level learners to guide and assist their
peers.
 Create learning stations for groups to rotate through. Use an instructional aide at one
of the groups to check for understanding and help struggling readers.
 Permit learners who need more time to complete their work at home or in learning
centers.

Products – culminating projects that ask the learner to rehearse, apply, and extend what he
or she has learned in a unit.
The product is what the learner creates at the end of the lesson to demonstrate the
mastery of the content. This can be in the form of tests, projects, reports, or other
activities. You could assign learners to complete activities that show mastery of an
educational concept in a way the learner prefers, based on learning style.
What learners produce is a demonstration of what they have learned, also known as
an assessment. While some learners may succeed with straightforward worksheets, others
require a variety of assessment options. Use these ideas to change up your product
expectations in a differentiated lesson.
 Provide learners with options for final assessment projects, including portfolios,
music videos, plays, one-pagers, and blocks creations.
 Have small groups express the mood of a story or book with an art project or
interpretive dance.
 Vary timelines and deadlines based on learner needs and abilities.
 Customize scoring rubrics to match and extend different learner skill levels.
 Assign specific roles to members of groups based on strengths and areas that need
improvement.
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 Let learners choose which questions they would like to answer on an assessment
that varies in difficulty.
 Read and write learners write a book report.
 Visual learners create a graphic organizer of the story.
 Auditory learners give an oral report.
 Kinesthetic learners build a diorama illustrating the story.

Differentiating assessments is just as effective as differentiating instruction

(https://www.schoology.com/blog/differentiated-instructiondefinition-examples-and-
strategies).
It involves more formative assessments than summative assessments. These
should be small checkpoints throughout a unit to see how well learners are learning
material. These assessments provide a peek into what each learner knows. These formative
assessments can be exit tickets, Google Forms, Socrative, or myriad other strategies and
tools.
Differentiated assessment might also include a take home test. This only works for
complicated assessments where learners have to do more than remember an answer. A
take home test gives learners time to complete the task.
Learners could also create the test. Once everyone has learned the material, a
committee could be created that would create test questions and the answer key. They
would have to work together to check each other’s work. Those learners then would not have
to take the test later since they have already proven that they know the material.
Another option is exemption from tests. Learners who can show they have mastered
the material through homework assignments and grades as well as any formative
assessments could be exempt from taking the test.
Learning environment – the way the classroom works and feels.
The conditions for optimal learning include both physical and psychological
elements. A flexible classroom layout is key, incorporating various types of furniture and
arrangements to support both individual and group work. Psychologically speaking, teachers
should use classroom management techniques that support a safe and supportive learning
environment. Both of these factors can have a huge impact on educational success. Here
are some ways of modifying the learning environment for every learner in your class:
 Include standing desks and wiggle chairs as seating options in your classroom.
 Teach multicultural literature that represents the backgrounds of learners in your
class.
 Prominently list expectations and parameters for assignments on a classroom
poster.
 Take stretch breaks or play physical games during transitions.
 Design short lessons to maintain learner attention and interest.
 Keep classroom decorations to a minimum to avoid overstimulating learners.
 Check in with learners ' emotional health using classroom journals, one-on-one talks,
and behavior charts.
 Let learners decorate their own learning portfolios or book covers.
 Break some learners into reading groups to discuss the assignment.  Allow learners
to read individually if preferred.
 Create quiet spaces where there are no distractions.
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 PrEd128n: Facilitating Learner-centered Teaching

Classroom Scenarios Involving Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction is not individualized instruction. Instead, it involves

considering and selecting from a variety of instructional approaches and making frequent
use of flexible, short-term groups to address a variety of learner needs and preferences.
Some differentiated instruction involves prior planning and formalized structures (e.g.,
designing a choice board or a tiered assignment); some differentiated instruction requires
less prior planning or results from decisions made on the spot based on emerging learner
needs (e.g., choice of group size, thinkpair-share, note-taking options such as a web or
outline). The website www.edugains.ca › resourcesDI› Brochures presents classroom
practices that use differentiated instruction approaches.
Science
Learners participate in a class brainstorm of the possible factors that affect soil
composition and fertility. Learners individually select the factor that most interests them and
then design and conduct an investigation to examine their chosen factor. Mini-lessons are
provided on experimental design along with investigation recording forms that support
learners according to their needs for more or less structure.
English
Learners studying effective presentation techniques individually choose to focus on
a speaker’s use of images; inflection, pitch and pace; level of language and use of written
text; or body language. After listening to and viewing an oral–visual presentation, learners
work in like groups (e.g., interest, learning style) to prepare a list of what they observed.
Learners then meet in mixed groups to prepare a comprehensive list, graphic organizer, or
brief presentation summarizing effective presentation techniques.
Entrepreneurship
Learners choose an area of personal interest to develop a fictitious business. The
various forms of ownership are explained (e.g., sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation,
cooperative, franchise) and learners are asked to select the form they think would be best
suited to their business. Learners then work individually, with a partner or in a small group to
research their particular form of ownership and respond to the questions on a provided
template. This task might also be differentiated by readiness if questions of greater or lesser
complexity are scaffolded according to each learner’s needs.

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