Special Education Office
Differentiated Instruction
Getting to know your students helps plan for instruction that is meaningful, impactful, and responsive to their needs. At this point in the school year, you may have also engaged in relationship building activities to foster positive learning experiences for your students. In thinking about your level of responsiveness and planning for instruction, the concept of differentiation should be an intentional practice in lesson planning. This allows you to leverage what you already know about students and plan supports that promote their success in the classroom.
Differentiated instruction is an approach that provides all students with multiple options to learn and make sense of information and ideas. It involves tailoring and adapting instruction to meet the needs of all students. Differentiation is beneficial to the ongoing progress of all students; therefore, educators should be proactive to ensure that learning is student-centered. In getting to know students through various assessment measures, educators can develop learning goals and make appropriate adjustments where needed. Differentiated instruction is not individualized instruction with separate lesson plans for each student. Differentiated strategies are strategically considered to address the diverse needs and profiles of students and to ensure they are making progress.
4 areas to consider for differentiation
Content: What students are learning
Process: How students are engaging in activities to make sense of the content
Product: Creating multiple opportunities for students to “show what they know’
Learning Environment: the “mood,” feeling, or tone of the classroom
These considerations should be based on students’ learning profiles, readiness, and interest levels. Take a quick look at Differentiation in Action! Additional examples can be found here.
As indicated, differentiation supports all student learners in your classroom. Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) involves making instructional decisions to address the individual needs of students with disabilities, as indicated on their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Instruction is customized and developed based on current student performance, against grade level standards to help close the academic performance gaps. Instruction is delivered by a special education teacher or related service provider. Specific skills are targeted to work towards or master annual goals and can address various areas of individual need such academic, social, behavioral, social, communication, and functional. It provides students with opportunities to make progress in the general education curriculum. This guidance document can provide specific examples of SDI.
As we enter the spring season, it is important to continue to learn, grow, and engage in professional learning opportunities. Also, take this time to reflect on the growth of your students. We encourage you to take advantage of workshops offered by the Special Education Office. You will find applicable opportunities to extend your learning on these topics.
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