My understanding of differentiated instruction is the process of modifying a lesson or group of lessons to help better fit the needs of gifted or below level learners. According to Tomlinson "The model of differentiated instruction requires teachers to be flexible in their approach to teaching and adjust the curriculum and presentation of information to learners rather than expecting students to modify themselves for the curriculum. Many teachers and teacher educators have recently identified differentiated instruction as a method of helping more students in diverse classroom settings experience success". In the classroom that I am student teaching in we have differentiated reading and math groups. A few of the students are also in LLI Leveled Literacy Intervention to help them catch up with their peers that are at grade level. In this class there are a wide variety of learning levels we have some readers that are still at or below grade levels and some that are a 6th grade reading level. I have been doing the lesson planning with the help of my site teacher for the last two weeks and it is challenging to say the least. We have guided reading groups three times a week and the lesson plans for those groups are very extensive, especially for the higher level reading groups. I have really enjoyed teaching I have taken over full teaching and planning for the class for the last two weeks. It is very important to differentiate instruction because not all students are at the same learning level. All students deserve to be challenged and to be taught at a level that they can understand.
Bibliography:
Tomlinson, C. A., (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. (2nd Ed.) Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
