Differentiated Instruction

Build lessons, develop teaching materials, and vary your approach so that all students, regardless of where they are starting from, can learn content effectively, according to their needs.

Differentiated Instruction
Playing to Students’ Strengths
A framework for giving students choice in demonstrating their understanding of course content.
Differentiated Instruction
Differentiation in a Rigid Curriculum
Four strategies for differentiating instruction to meet the needs of all students, within the constraints of a curriculum.
Blended Learning
Getting Rid of the Lecture Bottleneck
Getting rid of the lecture in math class means that students can work at their own pace while teachers differentiate instruction.
Teacher Leadership
6 Scaffolding Strategies to Use With Your Students
Support every student by breaking learning up into chunks and providing a concrete structure for each.
English-Language Learners
Do’s & Don’ts for Teaching English-Language Learners
In an excerpt from his book with fellow teacher Katie Hull Sypnieski, blogger Larry Ferlazzo looks at a few basic ways to reach students who are learning English as well as the subject at hand.
Differentiated Instruction
Station Rotation: Differentiating Instruction to Reach All Students
Rotation stations allow students to learn in a range of modalities, while making differentiation manageable for one teacher.
Teaching Strategies
Making Failure Harder Work Than Passing
A rigorous intervention pushes students who might be satisfied with a D to aim higher.
Differentiated Instruction
3 Ways to Plan for Diverse Learners: What Teachers Do
Every teacher already has the tools to differentiate in powerful ways for all learners.
Back to School
Dipsticks: Efficient Ways to Check for Understanding
Through alternative formative assessment, teachers can check for student understanding without falling back on the tedious or intimidating pop quiz.
Differentiated Instruction
Teaching a Class With Big Ability Differences
Techniques for meeting the needs of students with diverse abilities and interests.
Professional Development
Why Don’t We Differentiate Professional Development?
PD could be more effective if we differentiated it by gauging teachers' readiness, utilizing their interests, involving them in the process, and providing continual assessment opportunities.
Literacy
Creating a Dysgraphia-Friendly Classroom
Six ways to support students with dysgraphia—a learning difference that affects a person’s ability to produce written work.
Project-Based Learning
6 Strategies for Differentiated Instruction in Project-Based Learning
Project-based learning (PBL) naturally lends itself to differentiated instruction. By design, it is student-centered, student-driven, and gives space for teachers to meet the needs of students in a variety of ways. PBL can allow for effective differentiation in assessment as well as daily management and instruction. Here are some specific differentiation strategies to use during a PBL project.
Differentiated Instruction
Extending the Silence
Giving students several seconds to think after asking a question—and up to two minutes for some questions—improves their learning.
Differentiated Instruction
Succeeding With Differentiation
Differentiating instruction isn’t easy, but teachers and professional learning facilitators can work together to overcome the obstacles.