What Research Says About…
Tracy A. Huebner
Differentiated Instruction
Today’s classrooms are filled with diverse learners who differ not only culturally and linguistically but also in their cognitive abilities, background knowledge, and
learning preferences. Faced with such diversity,
many schools are implementing differentiated
instruction in an effort to effectively address all
students’ learning needs.
What We Know
Researchers at the National Center on Accessing
the General Curriculum define differentiated
instruction as
a process to approach teaching and
learning for students of differing
abilities in the same class. The intent
is to maximize each student’s growth
and individual success by meeting each
student where he or she is . . . rather than
expecting students to modify themselves
for the curriculum. (Hall, 2002)
Although experts and practitioners
acknowledge that the research on
differentiated instruction as a specific
practice is limited (Allan & Tom-
linson, 2000; Anderson, 2007; Hall,
Moreover, a growing body of research shows
positive results for full implementation of differ-
entiated instruction in mixed-ability classrooms
(Rock, Gregg, Ellis, & Gable, 2008). In one
three-year study, Canadian scholars researched
the application and effects of differentiated
instruction in K– 12 classrooms in Alberta. They
found that differentiated instruction consistently
yielded positive results across a broad range of
targeted groups. Compared with the general
student population, students with mild or severe
learning disabilities received more benefits from
differentiated and intensive support, especially
when the differentiation was delivered in small
groups or with targeted instruction (McQuarrie,
McRae, & Stack-Cutler, 2008).
There is no one-size-fits-all
model for differentiated
instruction.
students challenged in heterogeneous classrooms. In this study, preassessments prior to
a three-week unit on statistics and probability
indicated that high-performing students brought
greater levels of prior knowledge to the start of
the unit. Those students who were taught using a
differentiated curriculum that supplemented the
textbook curriculum and were placed in various
groups according to their performance level
demonstrated significantly higher achievement
on the post-test than did high-performing
students who were taught using the textbook
curriculum and whole-class instruction. She concluded that revising and differentiating the curriculum, along with creating purposeful flexible
grouping, may significantly improve students’
mathematics achievement, especially for gifted
students.
Lawrence-Brown (2004) confirms that differentiated instruction can enable students with a
wide range of abilities—from gifted students to
those with mild or even severe disabilities—to
receive an appropriate education in inclusive
