What is differentiated instruction?
Differentiated instruction is not a way of teaching; it is a view of teaching. Differentiated instruction customizes teaching to meet the needs of individual learners. Students have unique strengths, weaknesses, and interests. Teaching your child in a way that is tailored to them capitalizes on their strengths, mitigates their weaknesses, and uses their interests to motivate them to learn. The strategies we use to adapt lessons to meet student needs can fall into three categories.
Direct Instruction
Direct instruction includes videos, lectures, or demonstrations which the student observes.
Example of Direct Instruction: When studying bacteria in Life Science, you could have your student watch a video that demonstrates how to use a microscope.
Interactive Instruction
Interactive instruction involves students working with peers, parents, or a sibling.
Example of Interactive Instruction: When studying family in Heritage Studies, students could work with a family member to learn about their family history.
Indirect Instruction
When students work by themselves, they’re engaging in indirect instruction.
Example of Indirect Instruction: Students can work independently to write a summary of a story’s plot.
As students learn, we want them to progress from direct to interactive to indirect instruction. This is how learning happens.
Why should I differentiate instruction?
Carol Tomlinson, an educator who has written many books on differentiated instruction, gives three different reasons to differentiate.
Types of Learning
Change how the student shows their learning. This differentiates the process or product of instruction. For example, instead of taking a quiz, a student could complete a table contrasting two different concepts in the chapter.
Level of Knowledge and Ability
Give more background and practice for students lacking knowledge and skills. Or give opportunities for gifted students to develop advanced knowledge and skills. This differentiates the content of instruction.
Students struggling with a concept can receive further instruction with BJU Press AfterSchoolHelp.
Interest
Change what a student researches, writes about, or presents to align with an area of interest while still sharpening needed skills. This differentiates the content or product of instruction. For example, students can pick an area of interest to write an informative essay.
How do I differentiate instruction?
See what your students know.
Before you can differentiate instruction, you need to see what your children already know. Tests and quizzes can help. Or you can rely on observations of and conversations with your children to provide insights.
Involve multiple senses.
You might think of your children as visual, auditory, or hands-on learners. That’s a place to start, but you need to be careful that you don’t limit the opportunities or ways your children learn. One reason why field trips and hands-on experiences in your homeschool are so effective is because they involve many senses. The key to memorable learning is to get as many senses involved in learning as possible.
Here’s an example:
Objective: Recall math facts.
One option: Drill your students using math facts flashcards (interactive instruction).
Better option: Students create their own math facts flashcards and take turns quizzing each other.
Involve multiple intelligences.
Think of the things your children are good at. These things might include math, language, music, sports, understanding people, or understanding themselves. Find ways to connect these intelligences to what they are learning.
Here’s an example:
Objective: Recall weekly spelling words.
One option: Have students copy words without context.
Better option: Students use technology that incorporate sounds and music with spelling words (musical intelligence, language intelligence).
Better option: Students trace spelling words in sand or use letter tiles to spell words (spatial intelligence).
Notice how all these examples line up the activity with the objective. We want students to have hands-on and brains-on learning.
Mix it up.
Switch up your routine. Try changing where your children sit when they do schoolwork. Changing the time of day that students learn about certain subjects may also help them learn better. For example, most people tend to be more alert and refreshed in the morning. Doing math in the morning may help students who have to work harder at math.
At BJU Press, we believe that you are the key to your children’s learning success. Resources in our Teacher Editions and Teacher Edition Companions equip you to customize your children’s learning experiences to their individual needs. Browse our curriculum to find products that work for your family!
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