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The IDEAS (Inclusion, Design, Engagement, Evaluation, Assessment, and Support) Framework for online teaching and learning highlights best practices for before, during, and after the delivery of an online course to help instructors deliver high-quality courses and improve learner experience and outcomes.

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Explore this resource site-a collection of all EDUCAUSE resources related to online teaching strategies.

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Differentiating Teaching and Instruction: What, How, Why

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There are multiple videos on this page by the same author.

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In this series of videos, veteran teachers Larry Ferlazzo and Katie Hull Sypnieski explain what it means to differentiate instruction, provide tips for doing so with English-language learners, and detail the questions they ask themselves when planning a lesson for students of all levels.

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As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread, schools around the globe are shifting to online learning in an effort to slow the spread of the disease.

Members of ISTE's professional learning networks have been hard at work identifying key practices for successful online learning. Here are some of the best ideas from educators from around the world, many of whom have already been teaching during coronavirus closures.

Prepare and practice

1. Ensure digital equity.

Equity is the biggest obstacle in preparing for online learning, and the first thing you should be thinking about. If your district is not 1:1 and does not have devices to send home with everyone, survey teachers and families ahead of time to figure out who will need devices and bandwidth.

Jenna Conan, technology integration specialist at All Saints' Episcopal School in Fort Worth, Texas, points out that most families don't have one computer per person. During a school shutdown, parents may also be working from home, meaning several people could be competing for one or two computers. Therefore, make sure all online apps work on mobile devices in case a laptop is not available.

For teachers or students who don't have Wi-Fi at home, districts must figure out how to buy or rent Wi-Fi hotspots and then have a plan for distributing both devices and hotspots. If you have advance warning that a shutdown is imminent, districts can send devices and hotspots home with students before the closure. If a shutdown happens abruptly, plan a pick-up time and location, and arrange to deliver devices and hotspots to those who cannot pick them up.

Keep in mind that students who have individual education plans (IEPs) need to have access to their specific accommodations during the closure, including video access to aides and logins for apps.

2. Practice.

Schools that regularly have digital learning days - and have worked through home-connectivity and device issues - are already ahead of the game, says Michael Flood, ISTE Digital Equity PLN Leader. But if your school has not laid the groundwork, consider this to be an opportunity.

Teachers not already using a learning management system regularly, need to dive in now so that there will be no interruption in communication in the wake of a sudden closure. Teachers should train themselves and their students on the apps and technology tools they may need to use in the event of closure. Practice in the classroom and then send students off to try using the tools from home, says Sandra Chow, director of innovation and digital learning at Keystone Academy in Beijing.

Chow, who has been teaching online since coronavirus shut down her school in early February, says educators won't regret spending time on this.

"None of this learning will go to waste moving forward," she says, "as many of the skills learned during the online learning period will be equally beneficial in a regular classroom."

3. Provide clear expectations to staff and parents.

During a closure, communication between administrators, staff, parents and students is more important than ever.

"In an online environment, everyone's anxiety is high and channels of communication need to be frequent, clear and succinct," Chow says.
For big-picture communications, prepare an FAQ outlining all the details of how the school will operate during a closure so staff and parents are on the same page.

David Lowe, a parent and former assistant principal whose children's district in Washington state switched to remote learning on March 9, recommends the FAQ include where to find the daily assignments; a list of sites and tools the students will need, how to log in and what to do if the technology doesn't work; and, finally, the expectations of parents. "There's a lot of information to sift through and parents are working hard to make sure they're clear on what they should be doing to best support their students."

In addition to posting and distributing FAQs, schools should set up communitywide texting to communicate quickly and then advise people where to find follow-up messages via email or on your website.

Next, prepare a step-by-step guide on how to access and use online learning tools and curriculum. Make sure you present this information in various formats including video and text and include screenshots and screen-casting tutorials.

Ask families to make sure all students - especially the youngest learners - know how to log in to the apps and know their passwords. Teachers need to know how to take attendance. Provide extra tech support and make sure parents and teachers know how to ask for help.

4. Take time to plan.

If a shutdown occurs before your staff is ready to teach online, invest some time - even if it's just a day or two - to prepare before rolling out online learning with the students. The brief delay in starting online lessons will pay off in the long run. In the Washington district where Lowe's three children attend, staff spent time getting ready for an impending closure.

"The district took a whole day for all the teams to get together to create a plan for online learning," he said. "It was a really smart move."

Teams divvied up and tackled everything from logistical issues, like the setup of Zoom meetings, to instructional ones, like different home support models, and then reported out to the larger group. When the district shut down two days later, teachers got two planning days before fully jumping into online learning with the students. The team and individual planning days helped smooth implementation.

Even if a closure is sudden and offers no time to plan before schools are shuttered, it is still prudent to plan before beginning online lessons.

5. Pack your bag.

Make sure you have access to everything you need from home in case you are not able to return to school or bring home your school computer and move your files into the cloud.

Implementation

6. Establish daily schedules.

Expectations should be clear about when teachers and students need to be logged on. A full day in front of a screen is a lot for kids and teachers, especially for families who may be sharing one device. Many schools are choosing two check-in times - a morning meeting and an afternoon check-in - and then allowing families flexibility about how they organize the at-home school schedule.

Other schools are reorganizing the school schedule, by spreading one school day over two days. Students attend three classes in the morning and have the afternoons to work independently and interact with those teachers during "office hours." The next day, they attend the rest of their classes online in the morning and then have office hours with those teachers in the afternoons.

Sometimes it can be difficult to anticipate the roadblocks that students might face while navigating this new territory. Nadine Bailey, teacher librarian and technology integrator at the Western Academy of Beijing, suggests picking one student per grade and monitoring their "expected" path throughout the day from tool to tool to make sure everything is working as it should. If not, be flexible and make changes along the way.

It can be trickier handling specialty classes like PE, robotics or art. Adam Hill is a blogger and teacher at Victoria Shanghai Academy in Hong Kong, which has been closed since Jan. 22 and began offering remote learning on Feb. 5.

Hill's school found that students were struggling to make time each day for specialist instruction so they decided to allocate one day per week for all elective activities.

7. Provide robust learning.

In extreme circumstances like an impromptu closure, it's tempting for teachers to upload worksheets for students to complete and return. But online earning during a closure - especially during extended closures - should be at least as engaging as the classroom experience (if not more) or students will suffer.

Educator Alison Yang developed an online learning guide, which stresses that online learning should never be an excuse to assign busy work, but rather to address clear engaging learning objectives. Bailey, the Beijing teacher-librarian, adapted Yang's guide into one for parents to help them understand the objectives.

For key principals that ISTE recommends are:

Break learning into smaller chunks.

Be clear about expectations for online participation.

Provide immediate (or at least frequent) feedback through online knowledge checks, comments on collaborative documents and chat to keep students motivated and moving forward.

Include virtual meetings, live chats or video tutorials to maintain a human connection.

Chow's leadership team in Beijing met virtually to design an online learning plan, which included training for video production and other tools, online learning pedagogy as well as social-emotional training.

She stressed that the community will need time to adjust. Provide manageable and achievable goals to work on each week, listen to feedback and communicate frequently, she says.

8. Design independent learning.

Keep in mind that parents might either be at work or working from home and unable to help much. It's important to design learning that does not require a lot of support from parents who might already be overwhelmed.

Lowe, the parent from Washington state, said expectations about parental support might be the biggest issue for him and his wife. Providing guidance for parents on how they can be supporting their kids in an online learning model is also helpful.

"It feels similar to homeschooling right now," Lowe said. "The biggest challenge is parents supervising what their kids are supposed to be doing and at what time."

Lowe acknowledges that his family is lucky. He's a consultant who can work from home and his wife is a teacher, so they are available to pitch in. Not all parents will be able to cope as easily, especially those with small children who can't work from home.

"One of the best things our schools have done to support parents is streamlining information by creating one place for all the assignments, schedules and expectations," he said. "The closer to a checklist you can make these resources, the better."

9. Address the emotional toll.

Check in with students and coworkers, especially those who are less comfortable with digital tools to see if they need any help or someone to talk to. Being sequestered at home can be isolating and exacerbate the fear of dealing with a global crisis. Taking time to check in about feelings of anxiety is just as important as checking on academics.

In his guide to online learning, Rushton Hurley, an ISTE member and founder of Next Vista for Learning, shares a story from expat teachers in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus. After weeks of largely being confined to their apartments, teachers began calling each other and leaving the lines open, even if they weren't talking. They simply wanted the comfort of being able to speak up and have someone hear their voices. If a closure lasts for a long time, you will miss your students, and they will miss you and each other, Hurley said.

While it may seem fun to work from home, it can be challenging to keep to a regular schedule. Some things that can help include:

Take regular breaks.

Making time to exercise.

Keep to a regular sleep schedule.

Limit distractions when possible (turn off social media notifications, for example).

Set daily and weekly goals.

Make time to socialize, even if it's virtually.

10. Choose the right tools and stick with them.

A wide variety of technology tools, many free, are available to help. Jason Reagin, edtech consultant and teacher in Incheon, South Korea, has put together a Wakelet of apps offering free upgrades during the global crisis.

With so much out there, it can be tempting to try to use everything. Instead, limit the number of tools, apps and platforms so students and their parents are not overwhelmed.

It may be a little harder for students to follow classroom assignments when you are not there face to face. Some ideas from Arizona State University for helping kids focus are using different colored fonts on-screen to help learners distinguish important ideas. Try to keep online instructions short, simple and clear. Consider making video instructions instead of text.

Videoconferencing will take you and your students into each other's homes so it's important to consider privacy. Some programs let users blur your background. Dress as you would for attending school and expect students to do the same.

Online learning also presents a great opportunity to review digital etiquette and embed digital citizenship into online collaboration activities.
Jennifer Snelling is a freelance writer based in Eugene, Oregon. Diana Fingal is ISTE's director of editorial content.

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10 strategies for online learning during a coronavirus outbreak

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As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread, schools around the globe are shifting to online learning in an effort to slow the spread of the disease. Members of ISTE's professional learning networks have been hard at work identifying key practices for successful online learning.

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An educator with experience in distance learning shares what he's learned: During the pandemic, keep it simple, and build in as much contact as possible.

The coronavirus has caused widespread school closures for an unknown duration. Teachers are scrambling to find ways to support students from afar through distance and online learning. If you're feeling overwhelmed by this daunting task, you're certainly not alone.

I've also struggled to reach students outside of class. For several years, I taught in communities where students struggled to attend school consistently. To help absent students access my courses, I developed a blended, self-paced, mastery-based instructional model that empowered all my students to learn, whether they were in my room or not. Today, I run The Modern Classrooms Project, where I help other teachers do the same.

Through teaching students and training educators, I've learned a lot about how to effectively create and implement digital instruction and self-paced learning. I'll share a few tips below, and if you're looking for further support on developing effective distance learning beyond what I discuss in this piece, explore the resources on our website or start our free online course, Building Modern Classrooms.

Here are some pointers that can help you create a sustainable and engaging distance learning experience for your students.

1. Simplicity Is Key

Every teacher knows what it's like to explain new instructions to their students. It usually starts with a whole group walk-through, followed by an endless stream of questions from students to clarify next steps. While this process can be frustrating at times, students can always rely on each other and the teacher in the room when they're stuck.

One of the challenges of distance learning is that you and your students are no longer in the same room to collectively tackle misconceptions. Instead, the large bulk of learning time is inevitably going to be driven by tasks that require a high level of self-direction.

As a result, simplicity is key. It is critical to design distance learning experiences that have very clear instructions and utilize only one or two resources. It's also best, when possible, to provide resources like readings as PDFs that students can always access.

Keep in mind that simple structures can still require rigorous work: Tasks with few instructions often lead to the greatest amount of higher-order thinking, as students figure out what to do within defined parameters. Distance learning should push educators to think about how they can be leaner and more concise with their delivery of new information.

2. Establish a Digital Home Base

In the spirit of simplicity, it's vital to have a digital home base for your students. This can be a district-provided learning management system like Canvas or Google Classrooms, or it can be a self-created class website. I recommend Google Sites as a simple, easy-to-set-up platform.

You need a single digital platform that your students can always visit for the most recent and up-to-date information. It can be tempting to jump around between all the cool edtech applications out there-especially as so many of them are offering free services right now-but simplicity and familiarity are invaluable. Students need to feel comfortable going to the same place to access the same tools. The farther away you are from your students, the more important it is to cultivate stability and practice norms.

Additionally, if attendance was a challenge before, distance learning is going to magnify it. So students need a place to go when they fall out of the loop. Filling in gaps is only going to get harder when the teacher cannot quickly engage in individual or small group instruction. Your students are going to need to take control of their own learning. Your goal is to create a clear framework that allows them to do that. You might want to check out a unit I created on probability and statistics to see how I provided instructions and set up checkpoints for my students.

3. Prioritize Longer, Student-Driven Assignments

Efficiency is key when designing distance learning experiences. Planning is going to take more time and require a high level of attention to detail. You will not be able to correct mistakes on the fly or suddenly pivot when kids are disengaged.

To effectively manage your time and sanity, you will want to prioritize longer, student-driven assignments and tasks that buy you time to keep planning future units-and that get your students off the computer. Focus on building toward long-term projects where students have autonomy and a clear set of checkpoints and deadlines that need to be met. When possible, create opportunities for students to discuss what they're learning with their families and include an element of student choice to really build engagement.

Check out a project set up by Modern Classrooms' co-founder, Robert Barnett, that integrates choice and family engagement: Demographer Challenge.

4. Individual Touchpoints Are Game-Changers

What your students will miss the most is the human connection that is cultivated in your classroom. The little interactions you have with them in the hallways, before and after class or during breaks in lessons, are irreplaceable. While it can be tempting to focus on content in your distance learning assignments and instructional videos, what matters more is creating structures for personalized touchpoints with your students.

You can create these touchpoints through any medium you like: emails, video messages, phone calls, messages through your learning management system, comments on shared documents, etc. Create a structure and stick to it. Your students will see your investment and know that you care about them.

It's important to bear in mind that cultivating an engaging distance learning experience is hard. It takes time and an incredible amount of patience. If you are new to the experience, you're probably going to feel like a first-year teacher again. That's OK! Tackle the challenges step by step, keep your students updated on your progress, and stay positive. You can do this!

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4 Tips for Teachers Shifting to Teaching Online

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An educator with experience in distance learning shares what he's learned: Keep it simple, and build in as much contact as possible.

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If you are making a choice board for your activity, you can start here.

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If you are making a storyboard for your activity, you can start here.

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Storyboard That: Free Online Storyboard Creator

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Storyboard That: Create free storyboards online with ease. Design visuals, comics, and graphic organizers. Try it now and start creating!

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Use as many of the webquest links as you need to feel comfortable with differentiation and distance learning

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Use as many of the webquest links as you need to feel comfortable with differentiation and distance learning

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Leadership, Technology, Innovation, Learning | SETDA

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Transitioning to eLearning Days requires training to effectively use digital tools and applications. Sustainable professional learning models, geared specifically to support teachers for eLearning will positively impact the teaching and learning experiences.

Professional Learning for Teaching Online

Below are free resources for educators and administrators to better understand how to teach online. The

Online Learning Key Terms and Definitions, Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance

Teachers Guide to Online Learning, Michigan Virtual

Guide to transitioning from face-to-face to online learning while maintaining an engaging experience, D2L

Creating an online course: A step-by-step guide, D2L

Collection of Webinars to Implement Online Learning,edWeb

Planning for Expectations and Attendance, FiveStar

Quality Virtual Learning Lesson Design, FiveStar

Feedback & Grading, FiveStar

NH Learns Alliance Webinar Schedule, The NH Learns Alliance is offering daily webinars for teachers and administrators on how to implement eLearning days.

Virginia Virtual: series of 3 webinars over the next few weeks for all Virginia public educators at no cost.

The Effective Online Teaching Course from Georgia Virtual is focused on the basic skills necessary to be an effective online instructor.

Idaho Virtual eDays for Teachers, webinar helping prepare teachers to utilize online resources to facilitate learning for their students.

ESRI Webinar: Learn How to Teach with GIS When School is Disrupted

Maryland Department of Education Teacher Resources

Resources to meet the needs of students with disabilities, Educating All Learners

Online Learning Teaching Tools

Guides for various tools to keep online learning interactive

Articles and Blog Posts

Interactive Tools

Variety of interactive tools with website and app suggestions

Mindmapping: Graphic organizers can be created using these apps.

Presenting: Create presentations using these apps.

Publishing: Publish web pages and interactive books with these tools.

Reflecting: These apps encourage reflection and commenting.

Scanning: Digitize documents from your iOS device using these apps. Notes and Files are built into your iPad!

Video/Whiteboards/Screencasting: Create videos and demonstrate concepts using these apps.

Writing/Drawing/Annotating: Make drawings, annotate images, and more with these apps.

This list of resources provides examples of various digital tools that teachers may choose to leverage when teaching online. Resources provided by Lucy Grays' Online Teaching Resources

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Transitioning to eLearning Days requires training to effectively use digital tools and applications. Sustainable professional learning models, geared specifically to support teachers for eLearning will positively impact the teaching and learning experiences. Below are free resources for educators and administrators to better understand how to teach online.

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Use as many of the webquest links as you need to feel comfortable with differentiation and distance learning

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Use as many of the webquest links as you need to feel comfortable with differentiation and distance learning

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Use as many of the webquest links as you need to feel comfortable with differentiation and distance learning

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contributed by Christina Yu, knewton.com

Differentiated instruction, the tailoring of educational experiences to meet individual learner needs, is nothing new.

Hardworking teachers have always recognized the diverse needs of students and adjusted their instruction to account for them. Through one-on-one coaching sessions, small group activities, individualized course packets, reading assignments, and projects, teachers are addressing a range of student levels, interests, strengths, weaknesses, and goals in their classrooms today.

Differentiated instruction is difficult and time-consuming work, however, and class sizes are increasing all the time, making individualized learning harder to achieve. New adaptive learning technology can assist teachers and augment their efforts by recommending which concepts to focus on with a learner or an entire class and by providing instructors and students themselves with information about their concept level strengths and weaknesses.

These advancements allow teachers to make the most of class time, leaving students neither overwhelmed nor bored.
5 Examples Of Differentiated Instruction
Varying sets of reading comprehension questions to answer for a given book (either chosen by the teacher or student).

A personalized course packet with individualized remediation or enrichment materials.

An adaptive assessment that gets easier or harder depending on how a student is performing.

One-on-one coaching with a student, designed around his/her specific challenges.

Students grouped into small groups, which are designed around their strengths and weaknesses so that they can tutor each other.
5 Non-Examples Of Differentiated Instruction
Assigning 'advanced' students to teach 'struggling' students.

Giving 'advanced' students no homework.

Grouping students into different classes based on their ability.

Letting advanced students out of class early or giving them more free play time.

Simply allowing students to choose their own books to read off of a list.

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What Is Differentiated Instruction? 10 Examples & Non-Examples

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What is differentiated instruction? Examples include varied reading comprehension questions, adaptive assessments, and 1-on-1 coaching.

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Use as many of the webquest links as you need to feel comfortable with differentiation and distance learning

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essentials tutorials | Stanford Online High School

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Winter 2000
Differentiating Instruction

Finding Manageable Ways to Meet Individual Needs

Scott Willis and Larry Mann

Differentiated instruction is a teaching philosophy based on the premise that teachers should adapt instruction to student differences. Rather than marching students through the curriculum in lockstep, teachers should modify their instruction to meet students' varying readiness levels, learning preferences, and interests.

Differentiated instruction is not a new concept, experts say. Back in the days of the one-room schoolhouse, when students ages 6-16 learned together, differentiated instruction "was how they did school," notes Carol Ann Tomlinson, an associate professor at the University of Virginia and author of the 1999 ASCD book The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners.

The need to differentiate instruction is obvious, proponents say. "We want to accommodate the full diversity of academic needs" that students bring to the classroom, says Susan Demirsky Allan, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Grosse Pointe, Mich., public schools. "We know those differences are out there, and we have to recognize that reality," Allan says. "Teachers can't assume they have 25 clones sitting in front of them." Without differentiated instruction, any child who varies from the norm will suffer, she contends.

Traditional schools are "designed for organized, left-brain learners who are book lovers," says Donna Strigari, principal of Frank J. Smith School in East Hanover, N.J., and cofacilitator of ASCD's network on differentiated instruction. This type of learner, however, represents only one-quarter of the population, Strigari says. To meet the needs of all students, educators need to "break the old patterns" of teaching and change perceptions of what school should be like, she asserts.

Living Our Beliefs

Nearly all teachers believe that it's better to differentiate instruction, experts agree-but the challenge lies in translating that belief into action. According to Tomlinson, teachers can differentiate three aspects of the curriculum: content, process, and products.

Content refers to the concepts, principles, and skills that teachers want students to learn. All students should be given access to the same core content, Tomlinson believes. Struggling learners should be taught the same big ideas as their classmates, not given watered-down content.
"Teachers should address the same concepts with all students but adjust the degree of complexity," Tomlinson emphasizes. "The same concept can be explained in a way that's comprehensible to a very young child or in a way that challenges a Ph.D. candidate." To illustrate this point, she cites the example of a professor whom she observed teaching Shakespearean sonnets-with great success-to 1st graders.
Content also refers to the means teachers use to give students access to skills and knowledge, such as texts, lectures, demonstrations, and field trips. Teachers can vary these vehicles as well, Tomlinson says. For example, a teacher might direct an advanced learner to complex texts, Web sites, and experts to interview, while providing a student of more modest capacity with reading buddies, videos, demonstrations, and "organizers that distill information and make it more accessible."

Process refers to the activities that help students make sense of, and come to own, the ideas and skills being taught. Teachers can modify these activities, Tomlinson advises, to provide some students with more complexity and others with more scaffolding, depending on their readiness levels. (Examples of scaffolding include step-by-step directions, reteaching, and additional models.) Like content, process can be varied by student interest and learning preferences as well.

Products refers to culminating projects that allow students to demonstrate and extend what they have learned. Products reveal whether students can apply learning beyond the classroom to solve problems and take action. Different students can create different products, Tomlinson suggests, based on their readiness levels, interests, and learning preferences. For example, some students might work alone on a product, while others might work in groups.

This approach-differentiating content, process, and products-requires teachers to be "crystal clear" about what they are trying to teach, Tomlinson says. "Often, that's where we miss the boat."

Moreover, the curriculum needs to be based on broad concepts, Allan says. If it's based on "factoids," then differentiation will be very difficult, she cautions.

What Are the Strategies?

Teachers who differentiate instruction rely on a number of strategies to make it feasible, experts say. "There's not one miracle thing that works for every child," says Patricia Woodin- Weaver, an education consultant and counseling psychologist from East Hanover, N.J., who cofacilitates ASCD's network on differentiated instruction. "You need a range of strategies." Network members have used strategies such as cooperative learning, multi-age grouping, and addressing multiple intelligences, Woodin-Weaver says.

Flexible grouping is essentially a must, experts agree. "If you don't use flexible grouping, it's almost impossible to differentiate instruction," Allan says. Trying to vary instruction without grouping students is simply too "unwieldy."

Teachers can vary whole-class instruction by teaching small groups or individual students, Tomlinson suggests. Students can be grouped based on readiness, interest, or learning profile. And, she points out, groups don't necessarily have to be homogeneous. A teacher might group students with a similar readiness level (e.g., for reading instruction) or with a dissimilar one (e.g., to discuss a book they all love).

Another helpful strategy is using "tiered activities," where the teacher keeps the concepts and skills the same for all students but provides "routes of access" that vary in terms of complexity, abstractness, and open-endedness, Tomlinson says. Other strategies include using stations, compacting, and agendas (see box, "Strategies for Differentiating Instruction").

Strategies for Differentiating Instruction

Stations. Using stations involves setting up different spots in the classroom where students work on various tasks simultaneously. These stations invite flexible grouping because not all students need to go to all stations all the time.

Compacting. This strategy encourages teachers to assess students before beginning a unit of study or development of a skill. Students who do well on the preassessment do not continue work on what they already know.

Agendas. These are personalized lists of tasks that a student must complete in a specified time, usually two to three weeks. Student agendas throughout a class will have similar and dissimilar elements.

Complex Instruction. This strategy uses challenging materials, open-ended tasks, and small instructional groups. Teachers move among the groups as they work, asking students questions and probing their thinking.

Orbital Studies. These independent investigations, generally lasting three to six weeks, revolve around some facet of the curriculum. Students select their own topics, and they work with guidance and coaching from the teacher.

Entry Points. This strategy from Howard Gardner proposes student exploration of a given topic through as many as five avenues: narrational (presenting a story), logical-quantitative (using numbers or deduction), foundational (examining philosophy and vocabulary), aesthetic (focusing on sensory features), and experiential (hands-on).

Problem-Based Learning. This strategy places students in the active role of solving problems in much the same way adult professionals perform their jobs.

Choice Boards. With this strategy, work assignments are written on cards that are placed in hanging pockets. By asking a student to select a card from a particular row of pockets, the teacher targets work toward student needs yet allows student choice.

4MAT. Teachers who use 4MAT plan instruction for each of four learning preferences over the course of several days on a given topic. Thus, some lessons focus on mastery, some on understanding, some on personal involvement, and some on synthesis. As a result, each learner has a chance to approach the topic through preferred modes and also to strengthen weaker areas.

In the Elementary Classroom

Teachers from kindergarten to 12th grade are making use of these strategies in their classrooms, experts say. At the elementary level, teachers are using differentiated instruction to ensure that all of their students learn foundational skills.

First grade teachers Gail Canova and Lena Contey at Frank J. Smith School in East Hanover, N.J., use supported reading activities to help young learners of various abilities strengthen reading skills. On Mondays, Canova and Contey read stories to the entire class but break the class into groups according to challenge levels for the next three days. On Fridays, the whole class reviews the story once more to measure improvement and reinforce learning.

To help students of differing abilities improve writing skills, Canova and Contey have established peer tutoring groups. In the groups, children read their work aloud and help one another with spelling and editing as they create their own books. A writing activity that differentiates on the basis of student interest is the monthly class newsletter, for which the children write stories independently on topics of their choice. Students love to see their names in print, both teachers note.

Pat Rutz, a 1st and 2nd grade teacher at Abbot Elementary School in Ann Arbor, Mich., differentiates for advanced learners by using curriculum compacting. If some of her students have mastered the concept of place value, for example, they can pursue higher-level math work independently while she works with the rest of the class, she explains.

To be ready for young learners whose abilities outrun the rest of the class or who need extra help, Rutz has prepared "math boxes" that offer activities aimed above and below grade-level expectations for each math concept. During any lesson, "everybody's doing the same work," she points out, "but at different levels of complexity. Everyone works on something that's going to move them ahead."

At Riverheads Elementary School in Staunton, Va., 4th grade teacher Laurie Biser differentiates math lessons according to processes. Some students work better with paper and pencils, some need manipulatives, and some learn best at the computer. "I have one student who uses a laptop computer all the time because of a writing disability," she says.

Because 4th graders must memorize multiplication facts and Biser knows that not everyone has the same skill at memorizing, she asks her students, "How do you think you could learn this best?" She finds that the activities students prefer are usually a key to how they learn most efficiently, so she often lets them choose whether to draw, write, use flash cards with a partner, or create three-dimensional models.

Biser also uses contracts as a means to differentiate instruction. Creating contracts requires a lot of advance work, she notes, but once the contracts are ready, students like them because they get to make choices according to interest and ability. For learning spelling words, Biser provides her students with contracts that list as many as 40 or 50 different activities, each worth between 10 and 20 points, depending on the level of activity. Students select their own spelling activities and have a week to complete their contracts with their work stapled to them. "This puts them in control of the grade they want to receive for their work," explains Biser.

Teacher Penny Shockley at Ephesus Elementary School in Chapel Hill, N.C., uses tiered assignments to engage her 5th graders at all levels of ability. When she begins the unit on perimeter, area, and volume, Shockley first presents a short, hands-on lesson that defines the whole-class objective and lays the foundation for individual practice. Together, she and the students measure various sizes of cereal boxes so that everyone is clear about definitions and processes.

Then, in groups of two, students receive activity packets. The more concrete learners receive packets with worksheets that direct them to measure their own desks and classroom furniture. In this highly structured activity, students practice calculating the perimeters, areas, and volumes of things they can actually see and touch. Shockley is on hand to offer help and to extend the activity, for those who are ready, by helping students find a way to arrange the desks so that they have the smallest possible perimeter.

Other students with greater abstract reasoning skills receive packets that direct them to design their own bedrooms. In this more complex and independent assignment, students use their creativity to define the dimensions of an imaginary bedroom and to create scale drawings. They also calculate the cost and number of five-yard rolls of wallpaper borders needed to decorate their rooms. From catalogs, they select furniture and rugs that will fit into their model rooms. These details provide extensive practice, beginning with such tasks as determining how many square feet of floor space remain uncovered. This open-ended assignment offers higher-ability students an opportunity to extend their learning as far as they want to take it.

"My job is to determine what each child needs, and it isn't the same for everyone," says Shockley. She notes that all students have the opportunity to earn A s within their own level of challenge.

At the Secondary Level

Teachers in middle schools and high schools are also using strategies for differentiating instruction, experts say. Wendy Raymond, 6th grade language arts teacher at Tappan Middle School in Ann Arbor, Mich., asks her students to select one of 30 thematically related books that she introduces. Then she groups students who are interested in the same titles, usually about four or five students per group, and teaches them how to function as a literature circle-students learn the roles of discussion directors, connectors (students who make connections to things in the real world), illustrators, literary luminaries (students who point out great figurative language), and vocabulary enrichers (those who identify words that most students might not know). With each new book, students regroup and jobs rotate, but each group sets its own schedule for discussions and assignments.

When Raymond's students come together for whole-class activities, they explore themes common to all of the books, followed by assignments that might require students to create their own short literary work that typifies the genre they have just studied. "The idea is to get kids to stretch themselves," says Raymond. "They can go as far with this as they want, and there are lots of different opportunities for achievement according to interest."

At Phillips Middle School in Chapel Hill, N.C., some of Rob Frescoln's 7th grade science students read at a 2nd grade level and others can handle college texts. To help all his students succeed with research papers, Frescoln provides science texts at several reading levels and uses mixed-ability groupings.

Each of five students in a mixed-ability group might research a different cell part by gathering information from books at her own reading level. Then groups split up so that all students with the same cell assignment compare notes and teach one another. Finally, students return to their original groups so that every member of each group can report to the others and learn about the other cell parts. "It's the coolest thing in the world to see a lower-ability kid teaching a higher-ability kid what he's learned," says Frescoln. This approach to differentiation helps motivate all students to push themselves just a little further, he says.

At Brownell Middle School in Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., science teacher Marie DeLuca offers tiered assignments to help her 8th graders understand the concept of density. To start everyone off on the same foot, DeLuca uses an introductory lab activity that allows the whole class to compare the differing weights of identical volumes of sand and oil. The object is to determine whether a ship could carry the same amount of sand as it could oil, and how this manifests the property of density.

From this starting point, DeLuca assigns students an Internet activity that explores the causes of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald-but at different levels of synthesis and analysis, depending on student ability. Homework assignments ask higher-ability students to design cargo boats, grade-level students to float an egg, and below-level students to determine which is more dense: a can of Classic Coke or a can of Diet Coke. They must perform a water displacement experiment to come up with the correct answer.

All students complete lab reports that DeLuca evaluates using a rubric. Analytical writing is the most important element of the rubric, but students can earn an A grade as long as they support their conclusions with evidence found in their own particular assignments. The tests DeLuca gives are also differentiated according to the tiered homework and lab activities. "It wouldn't be fair for everyone to do the same assignment and the same test," says DeLuca, "because everyone has different talents. The important thing is for everyone to have a certain degree of challenge."

At Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Md., social studies teacher Leon Bushe uses mock trials to differentiate instruction for 10th graders in his national, state, and local government class. Even though this is an honors class, Bushe finds that there is a wide variance in abilities, so he tries to differentiate instruction according to interest, task, and readiness. He finds that mock trials offer opportunities for all three modes of differentiation.

Dividing his class of 30 into three groups of 10, Bushe gives each group a court case involving a legal concept such as beyond a reasonable doubt. Students choose whether to be lawyers, witnesses, or defendants-whichever they feel most comfortable with. Every student has at least two roles, because each trial group also serves as the jury for another trial group. To prepare for their roles, students must complete individualized reading and writing assignments, but they all learn the basics of trial by jury.

One factor of Bushe's mock trials that heightens interest is that each jury deliberates in a fishbowl environment-that is, the rest of the class gets to observe the deliberations but may not speak or interfere. "When the jury goes off on a tangent or misinterprets something," says Bushe, "you see the lawyers on the edges of their chairs, almost ready to burst. But of course, they can't say anything."

The mock trials require a good deal of extra preparation because so many students have unique assignments and roles. But Bushe insists that by differentiating, "you're guaranteeing that more kids will understand what you're doing."

Making It Happen

Asking teachers to differentiate instruction raises a host of issues, experts freely admit- time, classroom management, and grading, among others. In the face of these challenges, how can an administrator encourage teachers to move in this direction?

"An administrator has to become knowledgeable about differentiation, both the philosophy and the classroom implications," says Allan. Administrators also need to provide "flexibility of funds" so teachers can use a variety of resources and are not stuck with one textbook. But "the critical factor is [sustained] staff development," Allan emphasizes. "You don't learn to differentiate instruction in a one-afternoon workshop."

At the school or district level, "you really need a person who guides the effort," Allan adds-someone who aligns staff development, curriculum, materials selection, and methodology. "It's a Herculean task administratively, but it's worth it," she says. "It's what we should be doing for kids."

In her role as staff development coordinator for the Rockwood, Mo., school district, Sue McAdamis has seen many teachers warm up to differentiated instruction. Three years ago, when she started pitching the idea to elementary teachers, McAdamis met with "terrible resistance." But when a cadre of interested teachers were trained and began doing peer coaching, "that really put it in place," she says. "Those people became our critical mass." Today, differentiated instruction is "business as usual" in the district's elementary schools, she says.

When McAdamis broached the idea to middle school teachers, "they almost threw me out," she recalls. The teachers objected, saying that they lacked time, that they were dealing with large class sizes, and that differentiation ran counter to the middle school philosophy. "They were worried about tracking," McAdamis explains.

Differentiated instruction is not a form of tracking, Tomlinson states; it is "intended to be the exact opposite." Teachers must give every child access to the curriculum and ensure that every child makes progress, she says.

McAdamis notes that some of the middle school teachers who were initially the biggest resisters have become the biggest supporters. One science teacher was dragged into differentiated instruction "kicking and screaming," she says. Then the teacher tried a tiered activity and was stunned by the outcome. "For the first time ever," the teacher said afterward, "all of my kids understood the concept."

Principals are the key to making implementation work, McAdamis says. Principals' attitudes and the amount of support they provide are critical. In her district, principals have found money to hire substitutes, allowing teachers to make school visits and do peer coaching. "It's very helpful if principals attend staff development training," she adds.

Bob Bateman, principal of Riverheads Elementary School in Staunton, Va., took a three-credit university course on differentiating instruction as part of his district's effort to ensure that all students would receive appropriate instruction. Two staff members from each school took the course, then led staff development activities at their respective schools, he says.

At Riverheads, each teacher was asked to create or modify a unit of instruction in keeping with the principles of differentiated instruction. Bateman gave the teachers feedback on their units, then met with them again after they had taught the units. "I tried to stay really involved with it," he says.

Bateman also helped develop two sample units-one on oceans, one on regions of the United States-that were given to teachers as a guide. Through creating these sample units, "we learned a tremendous amount," he says. Similarly, McAdamis has compiled a book of teacher-developed activities and lessons that represent "best practices" in differentiated instruction.

A Challenge Worth Meeting

No one claims that differentiating instruction is easy. "There's no question that it's a big challenge," Woodin-Weaver says, "but there's no bigger challenge than trying to insert kids in a one-size-fits-all [classroom] and then having to deal with the spillover of emotional and behavioral reactions. If kids are not in a place where they can learn, they let us know loud and clear," she says.

Teachers are inspired to persevere with differentiated instruction when they see the results, Allan says. Students are more engaged and make more rapid progress. Bright students are no longer bored, and struggling students are finding learning more accessible-and hence their sense of self-efficacy is rising. In response, "I see veteran teachers becoming energized, and new teachers becoming enormously excited," Allan says. As one veteran teacher told her: "This differentiation is exhausting, frustrating, and time-consuming-and I would never go back to the old way."

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Winter 2000 Differentiating Instruction Finding Manageable Ways to Meet Individual Needs Scott Willis and Larry Mann Differentiated instruction is a teaching philosophy based on the premise that teachers should adapt instruction to student differences. Rather than marching students through the curriculum in lockstep, teachers should modify their instruction to meet students' varying readiness levels, learning preferences, and interests.

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Every learner comes into your eLearning course with unique learning needs, skills, experience levels, and personalities. This makes it increasingly difficult to provide an individualized learning experience to each member of your audience unless you know the basics and best practices of differentiated instruction. In this article, I'll share 4 ways to identify the needs of individual learners and 5 tips on how to employ differentiated instruction in eLearning in order to increase the effectiveness of your eLearning course.

Differentiated Instruction In eLearning

Differentiated instruction in eLearning meets the individual needs of learners by custom tailoring not only the eLearning content, but also how the information is conveyed and how learners demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter. This allows us to perceive differentiated instruction in eLearning in terms of content, process, and final product, respectively.

Every online learner has their own interests, strengths, learning needs, and knowledge base. Differentiated instruction in eLearning gives eLearning professionals the opportunity to create eLearning courses that honor these differences, instead of trying to make the learner fit into a "typical learner" mold. In this article, I'll be highlighting the best practices of applying differentiated instruction in eLearning, sharing 5 tips that will help you use this highly effective approach in your next eLearning course.

4 Ways To Identify The Needs Of Individual Learners

There are many ways that eLearning professionals can cater to the individual needs of their learners. However, these are the main principles that are found in all successful differentiated eLearning courses:

1. Acknowledging diverse learning needs.
Different learners have different areas that may need improvement. Likewise, learners assimilate information at their own pace, and they have their own unique set of skills. Acknowledging and identifying learning needs is essential in the differentiated learning process.

2. Ongoing assessment.
must assess and identify learners' strengths and weaknesses throughout the eLearning course to determine if they need additional support.

3. Group collaboration.
In addition to self-guided online exercises, learners must also be able to participate in group collaboration online activities which give them the opportunity to observe different learning needs and benefit from the experiences of others.

4. Learners' empowerment.
Learners are given the power to create their own eLearning experiences by choosing which tasks they will complete and how they will approach the online task. This empowers them to become active participants, due to the fact that they have greater control over the learning process.

5 Tips for Applying Differentiated Instruction in eLearning

1. Give learners the opportunity to progress at their own speed.
Not every learner is going to be able to speed through the eLearning course. This is why it's important to give them the ability to progress through the eLearning experience at their own pace. Offer support along the way for those who may struggle with a topic or , and allow those who complete the task more quickly to move forward when they are ready. If you are going to be doing timed exercises, such as assessments or , then make sure that you leave enough time for reflection, critical thinking, and still offer enough challenge for more advanced learners.

2. Offer supplemental learning resources.
Providing supplemental resources, such as links to helpful guides, articles, or , is beneficial for all learning needs. Learners who may be struggling can click on the resource links when they need additional help with a topic, while advanced learners can use the resources to learn even more about a subject or idea that interests them. For learners who may need additional support, because they are finding the work too challenging or not challenging enough, offer them a place where they can find the help they need. For example, you can setup a contact form or provide them with an email address where they can get answers to questions or address their concerns. Create a forum where they can receive peer-based and support if an instructor is not available.

3. Create an individualized learning plan.
At the beginning of the eLearning course encourage your learners to create their own learning goals and objectives, then use them to develop a customized learning plan that will meet their individual learning needs. You can also ask them to create a which highlights when they would like to meet specific milestones. At the end of the eLearning course ask your learners to evaluate their learning plan to see if they successfully met their goals, or if they may require additional support to achieve the desired outcome.

4. Research the specific needs of your learners.
This is, without a doubt, one of the most crucial elements of a successful differentiated eLearning strategy. Before you can cater to the individual needs of your learner, you have to know what those needs are. You have to know what they need to get out of the eLearning experience, and what they hope to achieve by the time they've completed the eLearning course. Conduct and focus groups that identify what they need to know, and how the prefer to fill this learning gap. You can also assess your learners at the beginning of the eLearning course to get an accurate idea of their current knowledge base and which particular skills or information you may need to integrate into the curriculum.

5. Clarify expectations right from the start.
Regardless of their individual learning style or needs, every learner in your audience must know what is expected of them and which eLearning activities and delivery methods will be utilized throughout the eLearning course. On that same note, they should also be aware of what they can expect to receive by participating in the eLearning course. Develop a set of clear instructions that state what real world benefits the eLearning course can provide, as well as how they can apply the knowledge they will learn in real world settings.

It is impossible to create a unique eLearning experience for every member of your audience, but you can help them achieve their individual learning goals and meet their needs by using these differentiated eLearning tips and best practices when designing your next eLearning course.

Interested in learning more about customizing your eLearning course to meet the individual needs of your learners? Take a moment to read the article, Top 5 Benefits Of Learner-Centered Online Training which highlights the top 5 benefits of learner-centered online training.

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Differentiated Instruction In eLearning: What eLearning Professionals Should Know - eLearning Industry

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Every learner comes into your eLearning course with unique learning needs, skills, experience levels, and personalities. This makes it increasingly difficult to provide an individualized learning experience to each member of your audience unless you know the basics and best practices of differentiated instruction.