Differentiated instruction

Differentiated instruction and assessment, also known as differentiated learning or, in education, simply, differentiation, is a framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing students different avenues for understanding new information in terms of acquiring content, processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas, and developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that students can learn effectively regardless of differences in their ability.

Differentiated instruction means using different tools, content, and due process in order to successfully reach all individuals. According to Carol Ann Tomlinson, it is the process of "ensuring that what a student learns, how he or she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he or she has learned is a match for that student's readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning."

According to Boelens et al., differentiation can be on two different levels; the administration level and the classroom level. The administration level takes the socioeconomic status and gender of students into consideration. At the classroom level, differentiation revolves around content, processing, product, and effects. On the content level, teachers adapt what they are teaching to meet the needs of students, which can mean making content more challenging or simplified for students based on their levels. The process of learning can be differentiated as well. Teachers may choose to teach one student at a time, or assign problems to small groups, partners or the whole group depending on the needs of the students. By differentiating the product, teachers can decide how students present what they have learned. This may take the form of videos, graphic organizers, photo presentations, writing, and oral presentations.

When language is the factor for differentiation, the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) strongly supports and guides teachers to differentiate instruction in English as ESL learners who have a range of learning ability levels—beginning, intermediate and advanced. Here, differentiated instruction entails adapting a new instructional strategy that teachers of typical classrooms of native English speakers would have no need for.

Differentiated classrooms have also been described as responding to student variety in readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles. Such classrooms include all students and allow all of them to succeed. To do this, a teacher sets different expectations for task completion for students, specifically based upon their individual needs. Teachers can differentiate through content, process, product, and learning environment based on the individual learner. Differentiation stems from beliefs about differences among learners, how they learn, learning preferences, and individual interests, so it is therefore an organized and flexible way to proactively adjust teaching and learning methods to accommodate each child's learning needs and preferences in order to help them achieve maximum growth.