This page provides a variety of resources to help teachers differentiate their classroom instruction to better meet the needs of students with diverse learning styles and ability levels.
Jump to ...| Brain-Related Info | Instructional Strategies | Additional Resources |
Background Information
- Intro to Differentiated Instruction(© CAST, 2006) – a quick overview of basic elements of DI
- Thinking about Differentiation – a PowerPoint presentation describing some key concepts on DI.
- Reconcilable Differences? Standards-Based Teaching and Differentiation(ASCD) – Standards-based instruction and differentiated learning can be compatible approaches in today's classrooms (includes case examples)
- Teaching in Mixed-Ability Classrooms – Teachers guide students down many paths to a common destination
- From Theory to Practice: The Challenges of Heterogeneous Classrooms
- Curriculum Differentiation – An overview of the research into the curriculum differentiation educational strategy
- Differentiated Instruction – Not all students are alike. Based on this knowledge, differentiated instruction applies an approach to teaching and learning so that students have multiple options for taking in information and making sense of ideas.
- What is "differentiated instruction," and how can I use it to help meet diverse student needs in my classroom? – concentrates on the idea of scaffolding with links to resources for specific strategies
Brain Research and Brain-Compatible Instruction
- 12 Design Principles Based on Brain-based Learning Research – nice, concise discussion of major implications for instruction based on current brain research; a briefer, similar discussion is here
- Brain Plasticity: What Is It? – though from a site called "Neuroscience for Kids", this is a quite good treatment of the concept of plasticity
- The Neuron – a quick presentation of how neurons function in the brain
- The Secret Life of the Brain – multimedia highlights from a PBS video series dealing with changes in the brain at various stages of a life (infancy, child, teen, adult, aging)
- Brain Backgrounders – well-done page with an image that shows the main areas of the human brain; you can click on the terms to find out more about each area.
Instructional Strategies
- Differentiating Instruction(ASCD) – Finding manageable ways to meet individual needs.
- Four Ways to Differentiate Instruction – Differentiation can occur in the content, process, product or environment in the classroom
- Strategies for Differentiating – Within the four ways for differentiating instruction there are embedded several other learning strategies which are used in conjunction with each other
- Tiered Curriculum Project – a collection of tiered lessons spanning K-12 in Math, Science, and Language Arts
- Instructional Strategies That Support Differentiation – a list of instructional strategies and techniques teachers can use individually or in combination in content areas to differentiate instruction in a mixed-ability class in order to meet the needs of all learners
- Connecting Brain Research with Dimensions of Learning(ASCD) – By linking what we know about how the brain works with a framework for teaching and learning, we can improve the likelihood that various education reforms will actually help students learn—including students with special needs (PDF file).
- How to Plan for Differentiated Instruction – After having read what the research has to offer on differentiated instruction, specifically, brain-based research on learning, learning styles and multiple intelligences, and authentic assessment, you are now ready to plan
- Instruction and Management Strategies for DI – chart gives description, rationale, and guidelines for many of the essential DI strategies (PDF file)
- DI: A Tool for All Students – a substantial PDF file that contains numerous useful resources for both teachers and students engaged in DI
- Differentiated Instruction – A hotlist of web sites
District Resources Available for Check-Out
Audio CDs:
- Differentiated Instruction: The Complex Issue of Academically Diverse Classrooms
- Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction: Partners in Classroom Success
- Assessment and the Brain: Measuring What Matters
- Diversity by Design: Differentiation and Integration in Classrooms That Work
- The Adolescent Brain: A Work in Progress
- Energizing and Sustaining the Move Toward Differentiated Classrooms
- Motivating Students Who Don’t Care
- 21 Tips to Ignite Powerful Learning
- Effective Strategies for Teaching Low SES Students
Books:
Gregory, Cynthia & Chapman, Carolyn. Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn't Fit All, Corwin Press, 2002.
Tomlinson, Carol Ann. How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms (2nd Ed.), ASCD, 2001.
Brooks, Jacqueline Grennon & Brooks, Martin G. In Search of Understanding: The Case for Constructivist Classrooms, ASCD, 1993.
Kaufeldt, Martha. Begin with the Brain: Orchestrating the Learner-Centered Classroom, Zephyr Press, 1999.
Stronge, James. Qualities of Effective Teachers, ASCD, 2002.
Tomlinson, Carol Ann & Demirsky Allan, Susan. Leadership for Differentiating in Schools & Classrooms, ASCD, 2000.
Tomlinson, Carol Ann & Eidson, Differentiation in Practice (Grades K-5), ASCD, 2003.
Tomlinson, Carol Ann & Eidson, Differentiation in Practice (Grades 5-9), ASCD, 2003.
Armstrong, Thomas. The Multiple Intelligences of Reading and Writing: Making the Words Come Alive; ASCD, 2003.
Simkins, Michael, et.al. Increasing Student Learning Through Multimedia Projects; ASCD, 2002.
Heacox, Diane. Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom; Free Spirit, 2002.
Smutny, J.F. & von Fremd, S.E. Differentiating for the Young Child, Corwin Press, 2004.
Chapman, Carolyn & King, Rita. Differentiated Instructional Strategies for Reading in the Content Areas, Corwin Press, 2003.
Feinstein, Sheryl. Secrets of the Teenage Brain, The Brain Store, 2004.
Benjamin, Amy. Differentiated Instruction: A Guide for Middle and High School Teachers, Eye on Education, 2002.
Foote, C.J., Vermette, P.J., & Battaglia, C.F. Constructivist Strategies: Meeting Standards and Engaging Adolescent Minds, Eye on Education, 2001.
Video:
At Work in the Differentiated Classroom: Planning Curriculum and Instruction (45min.), ASCD, 2001.
At Work in the Differentiated Classroom: Managing the Classroom (30min.), ASCD, 2001.
At Work in the Differentiated Classroom: Teaching for Learner Success (25min.), ASCD, 2001.
Instructional Strategies for the Differentiated Classroom: Learning Contracts (25min.), ASCD, 2003.
Instructional Strategies for the Differentiated Classroom: Intelligence Preferences (25min.), ASCD, 2003.
Instructional Strategies for the Differentiated Classroom: Tiered Assignments (25min.), ASCD, 2003.
Instructional Strategies for the Differentiated Classroom: Complex Instruction (25min.), ASCD, 2003.