What is “differentiated instruction”?

Differentiated instruction refers to the practice of tailoring educational experiences to meet the diverse needs of individual students. This approach recognizes that students come to the classroom with varying backgrounds, learning styles, abilities, and interests. By adapting content, processes, products, and the learning environment, educators can better engage each student and facilitate their learning process effectively.

Implementing differentiated instruction might include offering varied reading materials at different levels of difficulty, utilizing different teaching strategies to accommodate visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners, or providing choices in how students demonstrate their understanding of the material. This method fosters an inclusive classroom environment where all students have the opportunity to succeed based on their unique strengths and challenges.

In contrast, standardizing the curriculum does not recognize individual differences among learners and can lead to disengagement for those who struggle or those who require more challenging material. Restricting learning to traditional methods fails to embrace the variety of strategies that can engage students effectively. Focusing solely on group assignments can overlook the necessity to address individual learning needs, as not all students thrive in collaborative settings or may require different levels of support.