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Comparison Activity – The activity provides an opportunity to apply what is being learned about Differentiation and UDL. Students will complete two IRIS Modules and create a resource comparing the two methods of instructional design based on course content (20 points).
Rulebrick
This section should only list characteristics of instructional design that are unique to differentiation. You may reference both the IRIS module and your texts.
This section should only list characteristics of instructional design that are unique to UDL. You may reference both the IRIS module and your texts.
This section should highlight elements of how these two methods of instructional design are similar. What do both have to offer teachers in planning, and provide for student growth.
Is the final product easy to read? Are the colors and font style professional looking, text is arranged well and not cramped together, spelling and grammar have been checked and are correct.
Differentiated Instruction: Maximizing the Learning of All Students
Differentiated Instruction: Maximizing the Learning of All Students
Reading
When you are learning to make a classroom or community easy to access for all learners, it can be confusing when so many different terms are thrown at you, and then you need to sort them all out. One of the biggest issues in education is the lack of common language, so it would be easy to think that when we talk about differentiated instruction (DI) and making learning accessible, and then you hear someone talking about universal design for learning (UDL) to make learning accessible, these terms are interchangeable. They are not! There are some commonalities or similarities between the two models, but there are differences too. WHAT ARE THEY? They are both positive, student-centered models of teaching. Both are designed to help students succeed by providing access to the content by using a variety of strategies and scaffolds.
Differentiated Instruction (DI)
DI is a model in which teachers are responsive to student needs and adjust instruction based on individual needs of students. These adjustments are usually made AFTER data is collected and trends are documented. The goal is to provide an optimal learning environment for those that struggle with traditional instructional delivery. The benefit of DI is teachers feel more “in control” of the learning environment as all strategies that students receive are chosen by the teacher.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
UDL is a model in which teachers design student-centered learning experiences full of options that are accessible for all learners. Students are encouraged to self-differentiate and choose the best path for themselves. The goal is to remove any barriers to learning so students can achieve and become in charge of their own learning. UDL calls for flexible goals, methods, materials, and assessments from the very beginning.
Both are focused on the standards and expectations of the content. There is flexibility in both lesson designs and student grouping options. Both use a variety of tools, technologies, scaffolds, and strategies to support student success. Both methods aim to be inclusive and responsive to student needs. It is best for creating inclusive schools when teachers proactively design learning and the learning environment using UDL and to use data to differentiate instruction as needed.
Figure 1: Novak Education (2021)
Differentiation and the Learning Environment
In chapter five, Tomlinson (2017) lays out the characteristics of an effective learning environment in a differentiated classroom and the elements comprise:
Everyone feels welcome and contributes to everyone else feeling welcome.
Mutual respect is a negotiable.
Students feel safe in the classroom (not just physically safe, but safe to take learning risks).
There is a pervasive expectation of growth.
The teacher teaches for success.
A new sort of fairness is evident.
Teacher and student collaborate for mutual growth and success.
The teacher sets the tone
These elements relate back to Chapter 1 where Tomlinson (2017) described what differentiation is and is not. Let’s look at how teachers can take multiple approaches to content, process, and product to create and sustain the characteristics of an effective learning environment.
Watch the following videos in different classrooms and jot down examples of specific components of what, how, and why.
The first example focuses on the Learning Environment.
Based on what you see (or hear) and don’t see, what do you think the teachers did to plan for their specific group of students?
Curriculum
Curriculum or curricula are often thought of as the pre-packaged materials developed by commercial publishers. Most of them address the curricular standards for a content and grade level adopted by a given state. However, they’re a means for exposing students to the curriculum and providing a cohesive and simplified way for teachers to provide opportunities to learn. Some curriculum packages are prescriptive, providing scripts for teachers as well as suggested activities for remediation and enrichment. It is still important for teachers to be clear about what the standards indicate as important; what students need to know, understand, and be able to do; and have a variety of tools to ensure students are learning.
Teaching is a continuous process, you are never really “done”. One stage leads to the next. In one of her earlier books, Tomlinson (2012) tells teachers the cycle of teaching should involve goal setting, lesson planning, instruction, and formative and summative assessment Consider the decision-making cycle depicted below.
Depending on the school district you enter, you might be expected to follow a particular scope (what you’re expected to teach) and sequence (the order you’re expected to teach) plan with a pacing guide (when you’re expected to teach). Some teachers find these restrictive, forcing them to cover content rather than teach their students. Think about this example:
Ms. Long’s class grasped multi-digit computation in six days rather than the 10 days set in the pacing guide. Ms. Long knows that the next unit on dividing fractions might be challenging based on pre-testing she conducted at the beginning of the year. If her principal comes to observe, she’s expected to be teaching multi-digit computation, but she’s ready to move on so her students have the additional time she anticipates they’ll need in the next unit.
Take a look at this example from Lake County Schools (click on image for full plan).
