Differentiated Instruction: Making Informed Teacher Decisions

• Published in: The Reading teacher 2012-12, Vol.66 (4), p.303-314
• Main Authors: Watts-Taffe, Susan, (Barbara) Laster, B.P., Broach, Laura, Marinak, Barbara, McDonald Connor, Carol, Walker-Dalhouse, Doris
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: and materials; Assessment; Authentic; Childhood; Children; Classroom management; Classroom Techniques; Comprehension; Comprehension monitoring; Content literacy; Decision Making; Educational environment; Elementary School Teachers; English as a second language; English for speakers of other languages; English language learners; English language learners, English learners, English as a second language, English for speakers of other languages; English learners; Grade 1; Grade 4; Grouping (Instructional Purposes); Individualized Instruction; Informational text; Instructional intervention; Instructional Materials; Instructional strategies; Instructional strategies, teaching strategies; Intervention; Language learners; Learning; Literacy; Literacy Education; Literacy programs; Mathematical differentiation; methods; Ongoing assessment; Pedagogy; Questioning; Reader Text Relationship; Reading comprehension; Reading instruction; Reading strategies; Response to Intervention; Responses; Rubrics; Strategies; Strategies, methods, and materials; Struggling learners; Summarizing; Teacher Effectiveness; Teachers; Teaching; Teaching Methods; teaching strategies; Text features; Text features, text structure; text structure; Text types; Text types, text features; To learners in which of the following categories does your work apply?
• ISSN: 0034-0561; 1936-2714
• DOI: 10.1002/TRTR.01126

This article addresses approaches to differentiating instruction to meet the needs of students whose literacy needs, interests, and strengths vary widely. This article was designed to support classroom teachers who understand the importance of differentiating instruction, but are unsure of how best to design and implement differentiation within the parameters of the classroom. The article begins by defining differentiated instruction and discussing its importance, including the role of differentiation with respect to diversity and with respect to Response to Intervention (RTI). The remainder of the article describes in detail two examples of differentiated instruction in classroom contexts. Each example is followed by a discussion of the research and decision‐making underlying the teacher's approach to differentiation. The article concludes with common characteristics of effective differentiation.