Maximizing Students’ Learning Through Differentiated Instruction

As teachers, we know that every student has a different background, unique characteristics and personalities, as well as different ways of learning, meaning students does not learn a subject in the same way or share the same level of ability.

With that said, we as educators should be well-informed about Differentiated Instruction which is a method of designing and delivering instruction to best reach each student.

Differentiated instruction involves giving students choices about how to learn and how to demonstrate their learning. It is the way in which a teacher anticipates and responds to a variety of students' needs in the classroom.

To meet students' needs, teachers differentiate by modifying the content (what is being taught), the process (how it is taught) and the product (how students demonstrate their learning). Having choice helps boost student engagement in the classroom. Differentiating instruction may mean teaching the same material to all students 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 student.

Teachers who practice differentiation in the classroom may design lessons based on students’ learning styles, group students by shared interest, topic or ability for assignments, assess students’ learning using formative assessment, manage the classroom to create a safe and supportive environment, and continually assess and adjust lesson content to meet students’ needs.

Furthermore, we must also encourage our students to explore big ideas and expand their understanding of key concepts, through offering them choice in their reading and writing experiences and in the tasks and projects they complete. By negotiating with students, teachers can create motivating assignments that meet students’ diverse needs and varied interests.

As a part of the education sector, I believe that it makes sense to provide different avenues of learning for students to reach the same destination. During discussion, I can also see that when students are given more options on how they can learn, they take on more responsibility for their own learning.

To conclude, I want to encourage my fellow teachers to explore and try new ways to teach and guide our students. I believe that Differentiated Instruction should be widely considered best practice as it seeks to meet the needs of all students who deserves nothing but the best education. And maybe, opening ourselves to this way of teaching can help us develop and refine ourselves along the way. Indeed, a teacher is not always meant to teach, but also to learn.