What Is Differentiated Instruction?
Differentiation is how we maximize instruction in the ways students learn best in order to
optimize their learning and enhance overall achievement.
Integral to differentiation are the following related ideas:
- Acknowledgment of student diversity.
- Willingness to assess and understand students’ varied learning needs and abilities based on
- Infusion of appropriate challenges into the curriculum in conjunction with the needed learning
supports to help students meet these challenges.
- Use of multiple modes of teaching where appropriate so that all students can access the
curriculum, retain fundamental concepts, and demonstrate their understanding of these
- Recognition that there is a middle ground between one-size-fits-all teaching approaches and
individualized instruction; while some students certainly need individualized instruction, the
practice of tiered lesson planning (grouping students together with similar learning styles and
needs in order to receive a particular level of instruction with supports) is much more common
In sum, differentiated instruction is about creating access to the general curriculum for all
students. It is related to the concept of universal
design for learning.
To learn more about what differentiation is and how to apply it, visit the following ORC
- The AdLIT In Perspective (February 2007) issue entitled
Differentiating Instruction in Secondary
- Standards-Based Instruction for
Adolescents with Special Needs: Looking for Ways to Turn All Students into Engaged Readers
and Capable Writers, by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss
- Incorporating Multisensory Approaches
in the Secondary General Education Classroom,
by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss
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Why Differentiate Instruction?
Differentiated instruction can help to optimize student learning. Thinking about how different
students learn and allowing for that in lesson planning and implementation can have a positive
impact on student achievement and classroom engagement. At the very least, differentiation
promotes student investment in, and some ownership over, the learning process through the
offering of choices about how to learn and express knowledge, while concurrently providing
instructional scaffolds to support learning when it becomes challenging. This approach is of
substantial benefit to students who may be struggling in the classroom, including students with
documented disabilities, students who are not identified as having a disability but who are
academically struggling, and students in general who find reading and writing occasionally
Differentiated instruction is also responsible teaching in that it acknowledges not only the
strengths and differences among learners, but also the increasing diversity in the modern
classroom and the ethnic, cultural, and linguistic factors that can influence learning. Through
the incorporation of group work, tiered lessons, multimodal techniques and study aids (e.g.,
graphic organizers, hands-on activities, guided practice and discussion, oral presentations,
technological supports), and varied methods of assessment, students from culturally diverse
backgrounds and/or who speak English as a second language can have equal opportunities to
participate in, and benefit from, the instructional process alongside their peers.
For more information on why differentiation is necessary, visit the following research and best
practice resources listed in the ORC collection:
- ORC Record #6625: The Differentiated Instruction Mind-Set:
Rationale and Definition
- ORC Record #6025: What Do I Do About the Kid Who?....50 Ways to
Turn Teaching into Learning
- ORC Record #4184: Critical Issue: Addressing Literacy Needs in
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classrooms
- ORC Record #5842: What About Me? Strategies for Teaching
Misunderstood Learners [excerpt]: Numbers and Letters, Stand Still! chapter 2
- ORC Record #3672: Seeing Themselves as Capable and Engaged Readers:
Adolescents and Re/Mediated Instruction
- ORC Record #6741: Never Too Late: Approaches to Reading Instruction
for Secondary Students with Disabilities
- ORC Record #6743: Differentiating the Language Arts for High Ability
- ORC Record #3661: Adolescents and Literacy: Reading for the 21st
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How Can Lessons from the ORC Collection Be Differentiated?
Lessons can be differentiated using Lenz and Deshler’s SMARTER planning model.
Below are some examples of lessons that have been differentiated by Ohio educators.
To see the original lesson, follow the link to the ORC Record. To see the differentiated
lesson, follow the link to the SMARTER plan.
The lessons are differentiated using the
SMARTER planning model and
include teaching-learning practices and techniques to address the possible learning challenges
students may face, especially students who are struggling with reading, writing, and/or
- ORC Record #3814: "Press Conference for Bud, Not Buddy"
Plan for "Press Conference for Bud, Not Buddy" by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss
- ORC Record #3812: "Persuasive Writing: Environmental Issues"
Plan for "Persuasive Writing: Environmental Issues" by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss
- ORC Record #3804: "Choosing, Chatting, and Collecting: Vocabulary
Plan for "Choosing, Chatting, and Collecting: Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy by Niki
Fayne and Adele Weiss
- ORC Record #1395: "Understanding Fluency Through Oral
Plan for "Understanding Fluency Through Oral Interpretation" by Niki Fayne and Adele Weiss
- ORC Record #4427: "Authentic Persuasive Writing to Promote Summer
Plan for "Authentic Persuasive Writing to Promote Summer Reading" by Niki Fayne and Adele
- ORC Record #9426: "Writing Persuasive Letters"
SMARTER Plan for "Writing Persuasive Letters" by Heather Barnett
- ORC Record #283: As Far As the Eye Can See
SMARTER Plan for "As Far As the Eye Can See" by Heather Barnett
- ORC Record #447: "Make a Model Cell"
SMARTER Plan for "Make a Model Cell" by Cary Coppert
- ORC Record #3367: "Exploring the Power of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Words through Diamante Poetry"
SMARTER Plan for "Exploring the Power of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Words through Diamante Poetry" by Heidi Miller
- ORC Record #4638: "Id, Ego, and Superego in Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat"
SMARTER Plan for "Id, Ego, and Superego in Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat" by Heidi Miller
- ORC Record #1360: "Leading to Great Places in the Middle School Classroom"
SMARTER Plan for "Leading to Great Places in the Middle School Classroom" by Karen Starling
- ORC Record #2387: "Shortcuts on the Number Line"
SMARTER Plan for "Shortcuts on the Number Line" by Karen Starling
- ORC Record #4754: "Exploring Satire with Shrek"
SMARTER Plan for "Exploring Satire with Shrek" by Melissa Tucker
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Additional Resources on Differentiated Instruction and Related Topics
The following are direct links to AdLIT research and best practice folders containing resources
for additional learning on differentiated instruction, its benefits and relevance, and its
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