Differentiated Instruction: Success for All Learners?

I found an article on EBSCOhost titled Differentiated Instruction: Can Differentiated Instruction Provide Success for All Learners? by Olga N. De Jesus.

Olga N. De Jesus attempts to answer the following questions in her article using Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn't Fit All by Gregory and Chapman:What is Differentiated Instruction? What is the research background for this method? How does it work? what are the recommended instructional strategies?

The concept of differentiated instruction began with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1997. Providing the least restrictive environment for students could now apply to ALL students, regardless of if they have a disability or not. An interesting note that De Jesus makes is that a study done in 2004 (Noble) states that "both the special education and gifted education literature call for a differentiated curriculum to cater for the wide range of student differences in any classroom"(6). They define differentiated as "the practice of modifying and adapting materials, content, student projects and products, and assessment to meet the learning needs of students" (6). I think as teachers, the one thing we have the most control over is the WAY we teach our curriculum. We can absolutely use differentiated instruction and cater to those students who might need a little variation to enhance their learning experience. It's important to focus on each student's particular skills to learn material, they have a better shot at being successful.

De Jesus also gives us various instructional strategies that can be used to differentiate instruction: cooperative learning, project based learning and multiple intelligences and utilizing different learning styles. I like how she points out that teaching to all learning styles is possible, even though it may seem daunting at first. Of course she also uses a large section of this article to focus on the importance of discussion. It always comes back to that concept, doesn't it?

When it comes down to it, being able to differentiate instruction effectively requires us to understand both our students and subject matter intimately. We must not be afraid of change and modify, and be flexible every year with every class. It's also important to distinguish between "different" and "differentiated." De Jesus states "using the principles of differentiation, teachers design work that is based on students' needs - assembling choices, without attention to their suitability for particular learners, offers options that may be interesting but are grounded neither in the principles of differential education nor representative of purposeful approaches to learning"(10).

I think this article not only showed ways to differentiate instruction, but also the importance of it in the most simple terms.