Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated Instruction (DI) is a strategy for providing appropriate learning opportunities to all students. Rooted in the philosophy that students learn differently and therefore need different teaching, DI involves adjusting the instructional content, process, and/or product in response to student readiness, interest, and/or learning profile.

As pioneered by educator Carol Ann Tomlinson, DI works within the standards-driven, universal curriculum to ensure that all students have appropriate learning opportunities that allow them to meet those standards. Variation in the content, process, or product of learning can be based on what students already know, understand, and can do; what students are interested in or want to do; and/or the students’ learning styles.

Three aspects of the curriculum can be differentiated: the content, the process, and/or the product. In other words, students may be learning about different topics; they may be take differing pathways to learning; and/or they may be assessed in different ways. But regardless of what they are learning, how they are doing it, and how they are being assessed, the standards and essential goals remain the same and all students must have the opportunity to be proficient in key criteria.

Differentiated instruction is the appropriate response to the range of student learning needs in Chittenden Central Supervisory Union. Differentiation in response to student readiness, student interest, and/or student learning profile ensures greater equity in learning outcomes for all students. Because students’ abilities, interests, and learning styles can range so widely, differentiation offers varied learning opportunities so that students can make continuous progress in meeting and exceeding standards.