Hannah Porter Differentiated Instruction Research Dr.

Brilhart 10/20/13 Differentiation in the early childhood classroom is an essential element to modern day instruction, and should occur on a daily basis. Long gone are the days where a teachers approach to instruction could be a one-method lesson, where students are expected to all learn the material in the same manner, and tests are administered exactly the same. It is essential to get to know your students on a personal level, and figure out what they need from your instruction in order to gain knowledge to the best of their abilities. In the first article, Differentiated Instruction: Principles and Techniques for the Elementary Grades (Melinda E. Good, 2006) Ms. Good looked at the importance of differentiation in the modern day classroom, which is brimming with students of diverse backgrounds, varying native languages, learning abilities, and different approaches to addressing these needs. Never will one be able to walk into a classroom entirely composed of white, English- speaking children with the same learning abilities. Rather, you will be faced with students who have never had certain experiences one might take for granted (playing with Playdoh, for example.) This is why it is essential for teachers to know their students backgrounds and experiences. Good also made it clear that differentiated instruction and individualized instruction, though similar, are indeed very different. Individualized instruction places students at the head of their instruction, deciding their own ability levels and learning goals. Whole class instruction and group interactions were unfortunately hindered by this type of instruction. Differentiated instruction, however, is viewed as more manageable because teachers are proactively teaching

materials; this meaning that instead of planning something different for each individual child and seeing whether or not the lesson worked, the teacher would plan several different lessons for the different learning needs of the class. There are also several different ways to differentiate by curriculum: content, process, and product. The best method to be used is situational, and requires the teacher to know their students needs and abilities. Differentiation can also be categorized according to student differences: student readiness, interests, and learning profiles. Once again, these different methods are of no use if there is not already background knowledge about the students. In the second article, The Impact on Student Achievement within Small Groups Based on Learning Styles, Interest, and Student Readiness (Katie Moyer, 2011) I was able to take the above information and look at a smaller portion (differentiation based on student differences) more in depth. Moyer looked at the impact of small groups on student on student achievement, specifically five questions: 1.) Are students on task 2.) Are groups completing the task with no interruptions 3.) Are all students participating 4.) Was the task completed 5.) Did the students understand the new concept? Students were grouped according to the three different categories (learning styles, interest, and student readiness) and were observed by the teacher during the small group activities. From this, Moyer could see how successful each of the different groupings worked for the students . Results showed that children benefitted from the different groups (as they were not usually the same exact children in each group, every time), and students were more motivated to work together and complete the task at hand. No one type of grouping is more successful than another, but rather grouping itself is the best approach to improving student motivation and achievement. Each type of grouping offers different benefits and should be implemented accordingly.

Lastly, the article Differentiation and Explicit Teaching: Integration of Students with Learning Difficulties (France Dub, Lyne Bessette, Catherine Dorval) reemphasizes the importance of flexible grouping according to student differences. This adheres to Vygotskys socio- constructivist theory, which says that students can greatly benefit academically from their peers. Grouping is very efficient in the early childhood classroom as long as the group is flexible. That is the most important factor to grouping, in my opinion. If students are always in the same exact group, without change, they are less apt to make progress. Students feed off of one another, and can make the most progress through small group interaction with many different peers on a regular basis. In conclusion, I believe that differentiation is an essential component to the modern elementary school classroom, and is a very successful method for driving student achievement. All students deserve the same educational opportunities- and should be provided all supports necessary for them to reach their upmost potential.

Works Cited Good, Melinda E. (2006). Differentiated Instruction: Principles and Techniques for the Elementary Grades. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED491580.pdf Moyer, Katie. (2011). The Impact on Student Achievement within Small Groups Based on Learning Styles, Interest, and Student Readiness. Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED523517.pdf

Bessette, L., Dorval, C., Dub, F. Differentiation and Explicit Teaching: Integration of Students with Learning Difficulties. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED528358.pdf