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Johnny Hughes
Capella University
Every student is capable of success, and the schools and teachers must create classroom
environments that enable the students to achieve their highest potentials. To do so, teachers must
consider each student’s abilities and learning preferences and create a classroom that provides
those opportunities. The following essay will entail the reasons for and methods to creating a
States. Teachers are trained to give different levels of material in other subjects but tend to follow
a mathematics textbook to keep the students in the same topic on the same general level. All
students are on different levels with different learning preferences and abilities, and the they
should be given tiered material rather than being taught to the middle (Willis & Mann, 2018).
“Equity does not mean that every student should receive identical instruction; instead, it demands
that reasonable and appropriate accommodations be made as needed to promote access and
Multiple factors must be considered as one is creating differentiated instruction for the
classroom. One of many factors is disadvantaged students are often given the same low-level
work each year, which leads to a greater gap in ability level compared to their on-grade level
peers. These students are often poor, nonnative speakers of English, disabled, or members of
racial or ethnic minority groups. These students have a long history of trouble overcoming their
situations. Tiered and leveled instruction in the classroom can be a step which leads to academic
Methods
Correct and proper creation of differentiated instruction is crucial to the success of the
students. To create an appropriately tiered curriculum, a teacher must follow several steps. The
teacher must:
Identify the grade level, subject, and corresponding mathematics lesson to be taught.
Ensure the students have the appropriate previous knowledge to be able to learn the new
material.
Determine which part of the lesson should be tiered and what type of differentiation
should be done.
Finally, develop the lesson based on the above information (Adams, C. & Pierce, R.,
2004).
Once appropriate curriculum has been created, the teacher can further enrich the material
by using open questions and parallel tasks. Open questions allow the students to approach the
mathematical problems in ways that make sense to them on a personal level. The students can
frame the questions in ways and methods that appeal to them personally, thus making the lesson
more individual and personable. This makes the students feel part of the lesson rather than
Parallel tasks are a second way of presenting tiered material. This is when two or three
different methods are presented to the students that achieve the same goal or end desire. The
students are allowed to choose which way they prefer. This method leads to classroom discussion
and chances for the teacher to relate mathematics to real-world situations and examples. This
method is also a next step for students who are more comfortable with the material. The
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW 4
instructor could start the class with open questions then move to parallel tasks as they progress
Potential Problems
While those methods have proven advantages, there are issues that must be named and
addressed. The first is lack of training for educators. Ongoing education for teachers benefit the
teachers and ultimately, the students. Professional development (PD) gives the teachers new sets
of skills and teaches them new ways to teach and educate their students (Social Solutions,
(2018). Schools and school districts must provide PD to teachers for them to be trained on how
Another major problem with differentiated lessons is the increase in teacher workload.
Educators are already stretched to the limit, which is one of many reasons teachers are quitting
the profession in record numbers (Guardian News and Media Limited, 2018). If a teacher were to
properly use tiered lessons in his or her classroom, that teacher would have to create
individualized lessons for every student in the room. Classrooms can have 30 or more students,
and that is a huge amount of work for one person to properly do. This could be addressed by the
use of grade-level teaching teams and curriculum teams, however. Each team or group could
band together to create multiple types of differentiated instruction that could be tailored to each
Potential Outcomes
properly applied in the classroom. Gifted students benefit as much as lower level students. Gifted
students are often ignored with most effort being put into pulling lower students up, and this
would further enrich their academic experience. Also, fewer disciplinary problems are reported
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW 5
in such classrooms (Weselby, 2014). Safer classrooms with less disruptions help all students
involved.
Conclusion
Every student deserves a proper education, and for them to receive that, the material must
be presented in an individualized manner. Teachers and educators must assess each student’s
needs and create or choose a method that best enables him or her to learn what is needed.
Mathematics teachers must stay abreast of new methodologies and use them correctly and
efficiently to help each student achieve his or her personal best. While often daunting, teachers
References
Adams, C. & Pierce, R. (2004). Tiered lessons: one way to differentiate mathematics
instruction. gifted child today. Vol. 27, Issue 2, pp. 50-65
Asia-Pacific Economics Blog, (2018). Pros and cons of differentiated instruction. Retrieved from
https://apecsec.org/pros-and-cons-of-differentiated-instruction/
Guardian News and Media Limited, (2018). Burned out: why are so many teachers quitting or
off sick with stress? Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/
may/13/teacher-burnout-shortages-recruitment-problems-budget-cuts
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). (2000). Principles and standards for
school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). (2018) Closing the opportunity gap in
mathematics education. https://www.nctm.org/Standards-and-Positions/Position-
Statements/Closing-the-Opportunity-Gap-in-Mathematics-Education/
Small, M. & Lin, A. (2013). More good questions: great ways to differentiate secondary
mathematics instruction. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?
id=aW6uDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false
Social Solutions (2018). How professional development for teachers benefits students. Retrieved
from http://www.socialjusticesolutions.org/2015/04/22/how-professional-development-
for-teachers-benefits-students/
Willis, S. & Mann, L., 2018. Finding manageable ways to meet individual needs. Retrieved from
http://www.ascd.org/publications/curriculum-update/winter2000/Differentiating-
Instruction.aspx