Why did you become a teacher? For the money? (Feel free to laugh out loud…) For fame? (Continue laughing…) For the summers “off”? (Define “off” please…) For the kids? Ahhh…now we got it. We as educators do what we do to help students succeed, and that is our bottom line. Throw in a pandemic and various new learning modalities and this be comes a more daunting task than in the past. So, how do we make sure we teach and reach each individual student? Although there isn’t simply one right answer, at least one strategy to guiding our students along the bumpy road to success is differentiated instruction.
Now, stay with me a little longer… I can hear the hamster turning the wheel inside your brain. What are your thoughts? “Differentiated Instruction is too hard.” “I don’t have the time for that!” “I have 25 kids in just one class! Am I supposed to make 25 lesson plans?” The good news is you can have your hamster do some yoga and be calm because Differentiated Instruction is easier than you think. It’s time to break the mold!
So how do you differentiate your instruction in the world of face-to-face, hybrid, and totally virtual instruction? By doing what you’re already doing… getting to know your students and playing to their strengths. By allowing students flexibility in how they learn the content and how they show you what they’ve learned.
Some ways to accomplish this:
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Use “choice menus” to give students “choice and voice”
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Vary the reading levels of content to help struggling or advanced readers
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Present content in different ways like videos, audio, guided notes, and text, etc…
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Allow students options to demonstrate their learning like creating a video, making a drawing, or writing an essay
Want to learn more about how to use Differentiated Instruction in your classroom, no matter what kind of classroom it is?
Join our FREE webinar, “Breaking the Mold of Differentiated Instruction”, Tuesday, December 15th at 10:00 AM CST.
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