Differentiated Instruction Strategies

Many of you would have faced the term differentiation in their life. For example, at curriculum planning meetings, parent gatherings, conferences, differentiation is thrown like a Frisbee. Most of the teachers nod blankly when this term approaches their ears because there is nothing else to do. The meaning of the term differentiation is taken for granted and therefore, no one ever stops, to give the definition of differentiation. However, this article will not only provide you with its definition but will also provide differentiation instruction strategies.

In simple words, differentiation or differentiated instruction is a method in which lesson planning and instructions are offered to students with a vast range of techniques to increase their study skills. Hence, differentiated instruction strategies are necessary for the students to be able to learn.

The first strategy of them all is to understand that all the students are different. All the students differ with each other in size, shape, and social development. Hence, a teacher teaching some lesson in a single way can't be sure that each student has gotten it completely. The teacher has to keep in mind each student interests, preferences, readiness, and needs. Therefore, the teacher must also create such a high challenging and low threatening environment in which each student will be able to gain knowledge and strive towards success.

Further strategy is to know the learner. The teacher must understand all the characteristics of each learner, like a fashion designer knows the fabric and style to create a garment for a customer; exactly, the teacher must be able to know the strengths and uniqueness of a student. Hence, after the teacher is able to understand its student, feedback is necessary to check constantly the level of understanding between the teacher and the students. Pre-assessment is really necessary for the teachers as it guides the teacher about what its student already knows, what are they able to learn, and what they need and want to learn. This strategy helps in the learners not getting bored by repeating the history as well as moving onto new learning without any past frame of reference.

A strategy which follows the previous strategy is to adjust the teacher's worksheet according to the student's needs, preferences, past experiences, skills, and knowledge. Hence, the teacher also needs to pay attention on how the brain of the student's work, and how and what should be presented to the class from the worksheet. It is necessary to do deep research before putting forward any lesson in front of the learners as you don't want to face a group of students in the next lesson who didn't get the point from the previous lesson.

Finally using examples is another good strategy, which explains the lesson to the learners in a particularly familiar stance. With using all the mentioned differentiated instruction strategies the instructor is able to finish its curriculum with the widest number of learners possible who have their baskets full of knowledge, which was gained by different differentiated instruction strategies in your entire curriculum.