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Find out more about CAST. We’re busting barriers to learning, until learning has no limits®.

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As a new teacher, I remember feeling overwhelmed by the wide range of abilities in my classroom. How was I supposed to meet all of my students' needs while simultaneously covering grade level content? As I learned more about differentiation, this became easier, but it still remained one of the most challenging aspects of teaching.

Now that I coach teachers in their first and second years, I can safely say that differentiation remains a huge challenge. I went out and asked the members of Teaching Channel's Coaching Think Tank to share their top differentiation strategies for new teachers. Check out these six tips for meeting the needs of diverse learners.

Equity Sticks

Autumn Bell, a math coach for Fresno Unified School District, recommends using equity sticks to randomly call on students during direct instruction. Autumn suggests that teachers plan a variety of different questions to ask. When calling on specific students, teachers can then ask them a question at their level. Autumn stresses that it's important to have high expectations for all students, but starting with leveled questions can help to build students' confidence in sharing their thoughts.

Sentence Frames

When supporting students to participate in discussions, Autumn shares how sentence frames can help students in answering questions. Michelle Rooks, an instructional coach for Teton County School District, also emphasizes the value of using sentence frames in both speaking and writing. The frames can give students a way to begin or access the task, and support all students' participation in the discussions and/or writing. Sentence frames also extend language skills and support organized thinking.

Multiple Ways to Express Understanding

All students are different, so why require them to all work on the same tasks? Stacy Davidson, an instructional mentor for Bellevue Public Schools, shares the importance of giving students different ways to respond to a task. Depending on their needs, students can respond verbally, through sketching, or by writing. When you're hoping to assess students' content rather than process knowledge, multiple ways of expressing understanding is key. Watch Learning Menus.

Share Air Time

During small group work, Stacy shares how teachers can use a colored cotton ball system to encourage equitable participation. Each student gets a set of colored cotton balls or cubes (one color per student), and put one of their balls in the center of the table every time they add to the discussion. Teachers can encourage groups to pay attention to the colors in the center, and to support each other in order to have a balance of colors. If a student hasn't contributed or has contributed very little, students can be supported to encourage their peer to join in. For example, they might say something like, "Amanda, do you have something to add?"

Excerpt Texts

According to Shelia Banks, an instructional coach for Jefferson Parish School District, excerpting texts can be a great way to meet the needs of diverse readers. Shelia shares how an excerpt from a complex text can be sufficient to give students access to the text. Struggling learners can work with shorter excerpts as long as the excerpt conveys the ideas and claims of the whole text. Shelia also shares how advanced learners can read longer texts, and suggests pairing those texts with additional texts representing contrary or similar information, expanding the students' access to claims and details.

Differentiate Rubrics

When creating rubrics to evaluate student performance, Shelia suggests differentiating rubric elements to meet the needs of all students. In one classroom, there will be a diverse mix of elements that need to be targeted for improvement. Some students may have mastered focusing on the task, but struggle with organizing their writing. Others may write well-developed papers, but lack focus. After identifying which rubrics elements certain students should focus on, Shelia suggests arranging students into homogeneous groups. These groups can work together to revise their papers using common rubric elements, and teachers can conduct mini writer's workshops based on what the groups need to grow.
What differentiation strategies have been working well for you?

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Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners: Six Differentiation Strategies

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As a new teacher, I remember feeling overwhelmed by the wide range of abilities in my classroom. How was I supposed to meet all of my students' needs while simultaneously covering grade level content? As I learned more about differentiation, this became easier, but it still remained one of the most challenging aspects of teaching.

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Differentiated instruction, also called differentiation, is a process through which teachers enhance learning by matching student characteristics to instruction and assessment. Writing instruction can be differentiated to allow students varying amounts of time to complete assignments, to give students different writing product options, and to teach skills related to the writing process.

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18 Teacher-Tested Strategies for Differentiated Instruction

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18 Teacher-Tested Strategies for Differentiated Instruction

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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8 Lessons Learned on Differentiating Instruction 

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8 Lessons Learned on Differentiating Instruction 

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My differentiation journey began in 2004 when my principal asked me to attend a weeklong summer conference on differentiated instruction. I was eager to please my principal so I quickly accepted her offer. I was also extremely curious about how I, one person, could possibly address the individual needs of 100 students.

By the end of the conference, I was totally overwhelmed with information: flexible grouping, assessment, inventories, tiered lessons, Carol Ann Tomlinson. My real work, though, didn't begin until after the conference, when I was expected to start using the training I'd received. I was expected to create four differentiated lessons that school year. My methods of differentiation were also observed three times by an administrator from my district. I worked extremely hard that year, but the experience taught me so much.

Throughout that year, I utilized a variety of management pointers for a differentiated classroom that had been presented during the conference. These guidelines helped me to begin integrating basic differentiation without losing my sanity. Here are some of those basic points to help you create a solid foundation for differentiation in your classroom:

Lesson 1

Differentiation does not take place overnight; think of it as a wonderful work in progress. Once I felt comfortable with one aspect of differentiation, I would begin to add something new. For example, I first explained to my students and their parents what would be taking place that year and how it would affect their learning in a positive manner. I then added small things such as allowing my students choices in their reading and writing.

Lesson 2

Like students themselves, differentiation can take on many forms. Differentiation can be accomplished in a number of ways:

Content: What the students learn

Process: Activities used to assist the learning

Products: Demonstration of learning

The methods you use should be based on the student's needs:

Readiness: Student's academic standing

Learning profile: How the student learns

Student's interest

Lesson 3

Learn everything possible about your students. This data assists you in designing your curriculum and lessons:

Administer surveys and inventories throughout the school year: multiple intelligences, reading, writing (PDF), interest, parent, etc.

Analyze prior standardized test scores and administer your own assessment to identify students' strengths and weaknesses.

Lesson 4

Before starting a new unit of study, pre-assess students' knowledge to find out what the students know and do not know about the content in your lesson. This helps you to identify misconceptions, modify instruction if needed, and set up your flexible groups. This assessment may be formal or informal. You may use a variety of techniques to pre-assess such as:

Lesson 5

Begin small. Creating a classroom where individual needs are met can start with one activity, such as allowing students choices. Choices give students a feeling of independence and ownership. Allow students to choose:

Lesson 6

Gradually add more difficult things, such as one differentiated lesson per nine weeks or semester, literature circles, or alternative assessments.

Lesson 7

Set expectations for yourself and your students.

Provide clear and concise directions to students. Students must know what you want them to understand and be able to do. At the beginning of the school year, teach students routines and procedures for entering classroom, turning in homework and class work. It is important that students know what they are doing, where to go, and when to go.

Take ample time to plan, plan, plan; create a schedule if needed.

Lesson 8

Stay up-to-date on best practices by:

Attending conferences or professional development on differentiated instruction.

Observing other teachers in your content area differentiating in their classrooms, and invite colleagues/administrators who are proficient in differentiated instruction to your classroom to observe you differentiating. The feedback is invaluable.

Read literature on differentiated instruction. Here's a brief list of recommended professional books:

The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners by Carol Ann Tomlinson

How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms 2 nd Edition by Carol Ann Tomlinson

Differentiated Instruction: Different Strategies for Different Learners by Char Forsten, Jim Grant, and Betty Hollas

Through the Cracks by Carolyn Sollman, Barbara Emmons, Judith Paoli

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8 Lessons Learned on Differentiating Instruction | Scholastic

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My differentiation journey began in 2004 when my principal asked me to attend a weeklong summer conference on differentiated instruction. I was eager to please my principal so I quickly accepted her offer. I was also extremely curious about how I, one person, could possibly address the individual needs of 100 students.