Essay Example on the Impact of Differentiated Instruction on Student Learning

The accomplishment of the study involved four hundred and thirty-four students from two different institutions over one semester. Differentiated instruction was applied in half of the students, while the other half went through the whole class instructional approach. There is a continued push for more research on the concept of differentiated instruction since most institution does not have experience on the way to integrate the concept in their classrooms. In most cases, teachers teach their students without paying attention to their varied abilities. Differentiated instruction is the solution to be adopted to ensure that students are variance is addressed (Joseph, 2013). Challenges faced include students' perception of the concept and its viability in future classroom application. Differentiated instruction utilizes strategies such as modification of ways through which students' access to learning materials.

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The key elements of differentiated instruction include student readiness, interest, learning profile, content differentiation, process differentiation, modeling differentiation, and modeling differentiation. Research by Vygotsky's (1978) suggests that teachers are supposed to provide support to their students to adjust to differentiated instruction curriculum. Student existing interest shapes implementation of differentiated instruction since it motivates them to learn something they are already in their interest. Process differentiating are the effective strategies put in place to ensure that different levels of student complexities are addressed. Students variance is understood when learners are given a chance to work in groups, pairs, or alone. Giving students a chance to learn on their own makes it possible for them to be empowered hence increased interest in their coursework (Anderson, 2007).

According to (Joseph, Thomas, Simonette & Ramsook, 2013), the result of the research showed that adopting differentiated instruction by the institution are likely to create success compared to challenges. Differentiated instruction concept is still under its early stages of research, making it possible for researchers to continue research work on ways to reduce the time of its implementation. The modern students are positive about differentiated instruction concept since it makes it possible for them to carry their studies without having to be in the shadow of their teachers. The results from the research showed that at the end of the study, students who were under differentiated instruction outperformed their counterparts who were under the regular curriculum. There, therefore high chances that differentiated instructional approach is the future of tertiary learning.

References

Anderson, K. M. (2007). Tips for teaching: Differentiating instruction to include all students. Preventing School Failure, 51(3), 49-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/PSFL.51.3.49-54

Joseph, S. (2013). Differentiating instruction: Experiences of pre-service and in-service trained teachers. Caribbean Curriculum, 20, 31-51.

Joseph, S., Thomas, M., Simonette, G., & Ramsook, L. (2013). The Impact of Differentiated Instruction in a Teacher Education Setting: Successes and Challenges. International Journal of Higher Education, 2(3), 28-40.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.