This chapter offered guidelines for differentiating instruction to address the diverse learning strengths and challenges of your students. As you review the questions posed in this chapter, remember the following points:
How Can I Differentiate Instruction for Students?
You can tailor your curricular goals and teaching strategies to the individual strengths and challenges of your students and your learning environment. It is also important to use individualized curricular, teaching, and instructional materials accommodations, and universally designed materials. You also can provide personal support and address students' learning styles and preferences and sensory abilities, and consider the acceptability of your strategies.
How Can I Differentiate Instruction for Students Who Have Difficulty Reading and Gaining Information from Print Materials?
You can use a variety of teacher- and student-directed strategies. In addition, you can make materials more readable by modifying them, reducing their linguistic complexity, incorporating the principles of typographical design, and using instructional technology.
How Can I Differentiate Instruction for Students from Diverse Cultural and Language Backgrounds?
You can use a multicultural curriculum, multicultural instructional materials, culturally relevant and responsive teaching strategies, reciprocal interaction, and effective ESL techniques. You can also encourage students to respond.
How Can I Use Instructional Technology and Assistive Devices to Differentiate Instruction for Students?
Recent developments in instructional technology allow you to create differentiated, interactive, motivating, and contextualized learning environments for students by using computer-based instruction, hypertext/hypermedia, videocassettes, CDs, and DVDs, digital cameras, caption television and liquid crystal display projection panels, presentation software, virtual reality, and the Internet. You also can use assistive devices to help students learn, communicate with others, use technology, be organized, take notes, increase their range of movements and mobility, read text, hear sounds, and learn a second language.
