1. Differentiated Instruction
Nick James Eastern Michigan University 11/3/2015

2. Differentiated Instruction What it is…1.
Differentiated Instruction What it is…
Differentiated instruction-
“a method of designing and delivering instruction to best reach each student.”

3. Differentiated Instruction
Students have needs and obstacles to learning. We as educators differentiate for the purpose of overcoming those obstacles.

4. Differentiated Instruction2.
Differentiated Instruction
Two Forums
1. Intuitive Differentiation
2. Intentional Differentiation

5. Differentiated Instruction2.
Intuitive Differentiation- Differentiation without planning or thinking about it.
Some examples are:
Giving students choice
Explanations of concepts from multiple perspectives
Homogeneous grouping of students based upon similar traits or needs.

6. Differentiated Instruction2.
Intentional Differentiation- Planned utilization of differentiation that brings in learners' gifts and needs into the planning.
Examples of Intentional Differentiation
Readiness: Form homogenous groups based on common skill needs, such as Guided Reading or a tiered math activity.
Interests: Provide choices that allow students to self-select the form or type of tasks to be executed, such as learning-center activities or reading circles.
Learning profiles: Plan different approaches for making sense of content or crafting products. These should allow learners to process understanding in different ways, such as Think Dots or Robert Sternberg's Triarchaic Theory-based product options.

7. Differentiated Instruction
Differentiation is really about providing multiple forms of instruction on a flexible platform that addresses the individual needs of each learner.
In Literacy that may look like…
-Talking to the text, conferring and questioning
-Recreating or summarizing a text
-Analyzing or contextualizing new vocabulary

8. Differentiated Instruction
New Perspective on Teaching
Implementing differentiated instruction is quite different in the area of literacy.
Teachers Must Adopt a Coaching Mentality
As students engage in different activities the teacher must be engaging various students, delivering support, posing challenging questions and encouraging students to work through each literacy challenge.

9. Differentiated Instruction3.
4 Key Strategies
Tiered Instruction- Making slight adjustments within the same lesson to meet the needs of students. All students learn the same fundamental skills and concepts but through varying modes and activities.
Menus- A menu offers students a way to make decisions about what they will do in order to meet the requirements. A menu could be for a single lesson, a week-long lesson, or even a month-long period of study.
Cubing- requires students to look at a topic from six different angles. Teachers often create a visual cube that serves as a starting point when they want students to analyze or consider various aspects of a topic.
Tic-Tac-Toe- Creates choice boards give students the opportunity to participate in multiple tasks that allow them to practice skills they’ve learned in class or to demonstrate and extend their understanding of concepts. From the board, students either choose or are assigned three adjacent or diagonal tasks to complete.

10. Works Cited
Weselby, C. (2014, October 1). What is Differentiated Instruction? Examples of How to Differentiate Instruction in the Classroom. Retrieved November 4, 2015, from
Mccarthy, J. (2015, February 6). Differentiation Is Just Too Difficult: Myth-Busting DI Part 3. Retrieved November 3, 2015, from
Preszler, J. (2006). Strategies That Differentiate Instruction Grades Retrieved November 4, 2015, from
Photos and images, Courtesy of Google Images.