Differentiated instruction is an important concept for teachers to implement in their

classrooms, but is unfortunately often pushed to the wayside due to the fact that the
perception of differentiation is that it will take too much time or is too labor-intensive to
create effective results. The bad news is that differentiation does require a bit more work at
the start but as with much of teaching, time will be lost at the beginning only to be gained
back at the end. There are three different curricular demands for differentiation,
differentiating for content, differentiating for process, and differentiating for product.
The first, and often most obvious to most teachers, is differentiating for content.
Differentiating for content includes, students learn[ing] different material based on their
ability level (Sandergeld & Schultz, 2008). As a first year teacher, this terrified me.
However, differentiating for content can be as easy as using Webbs Depth of Knowledge (DOK)
for each of the three levels of student content knowledge. First, for the lowest level students,
including a worksheet that is knowledge DOK level one based. This includes recall of
definitions and facts. For the mid-level students, a DOK level two application activity, allowing
them to draw on their concrete knowledge and apply it to an activity. Finally, for the highest
level gifted students, a DOK level three exploration/evaluation activity, allowing the students
to use their knowledge and apply it to a real-world problem (Sandergeld & Schultz, 2008). I can
see myself using this in my science classroom after I have taught a concept and formatively
assessed the concept. For the students who seem to have absolutely no idea, I would give the
knowledge activity. For the students who have a general idea but some misconceptions, I would
give the application activity (and clarify misconceptions during the lab), and for the students
who have a solid grasp on the concept the exploration and evaluation activity.
The second type of differentiation that can be applied in classrooms is differentiation
for process. This is the use of diverse activities that are varied to meet student interests or
preferences for learning (Sandergeld & Schultz, 2008). In my classroom, differentiating for
process means providing unique experiences from which students can draw knowledge. For
example, for any given concept, I will introduce the concept using a video or demonstration
(visual and auditory learners). I will then provide a lab experience for inquiry (kinesthetic
learners). Finally, I will provide a reading for the students to tie their knowledge together.
After the reading, I will have leveled comprehension questions for the students to discuss to
solidify their understanding. I will then give a constructed response or some other type of
formative assessment to assess the students understanding.
The third type of differentiation is often the easiest to begin implementing for a
teacher who has not differentiated in the past, in my professional opinion. This is
differentiation by product. Differentiation by product means, students have some choice in
how they will show the teacher, the class, or other audience what they have learned

(Sandergeld & Schultz, 2008). This is as simple as allowing the students a choice at the
summative assessment. The students can either: write an essay, create a presentation, or any
other number of options to show that they understand the content. I see this as being easiest
to implement in the sense that the teacher can design everything that must be included in the
final assessment, and it is up to the student to create a product to show their knowledge. This
is not only a great way to differentiate, but when students are creating something (versus the
teacher creating and grading a multiple choice test), a higher level of cognitive demand is
reached.
Differentiation to many teachers is a scary concept. What teachers, especially relatively
new teachers, need to understand, is that differentiation is a process, not a concept to be
mastered in one year. Differentiation will be a practice cultivated over many years. The key
with differentiation is to start small and continue to add in concepts where it is appropriate.
My goal when I began differentiating lessons was to add in one differentiated element per
week. I then worked up to two per week, and so on. It allowed for students to be far more
engaged and gave lower-level students something to strive for everyone wants to be doing the
fun project rather than the lower level knowledge activity!

References
Sondergeld, T. A., & Schultz, R. A. (2008). Science, Standards, and Differentiation: It Really
Can Be Fun!. Gifted Child Today, 31(1), 34-40.