We know that students come into our classrooms and schools with different backgrounds and cultures, but their cognitive abilities, assets, and experiences are just as wide ranging. Sometimes the only thing students have in common is their age! When students feel alienated, alone, and unsure about what is going on in school it is difficult for them to be able to adapt to and perform in the classroom. In an age where drama rules the day (check out reality TV!), it is important to remember students will be more ready and willing to learn when they feel positive about their classroom experience. Our strategies set the stage for that to occur.
Differentiated Instruction Beliefs
- All students are different
- DI is the implementation of strategies to reach multiple learning styles and intelligences.
- Students should be taught content in the best way that they learn.
- DI is for all learners! Big or small, experienced or young, all learners deserve the best opportunity to learn.
- DI should be used in every lesson we teach!
- In order to be fair to all students we must differentiate their learning and our instruction.
- Students have different modalities of learning.
- Depth of knowledge is as important as breadth of knowledge.
- Students need a reasonable amount of pressure to perform at peak academic levels.
- Not all kids learn the same information at the same time or even at the same rate. Not all teachers teach the same and not all curricula can be taught the same. (Robinson, 2008)