Differentiated Instruction and Adaptive Learning Infographic

Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. There is a wide variety of reasons that make differentiated instruction a necessity in the teaching pedagogy. The Differentiated Instruction and Adaptive Learning Infographic provides an overview of what differentiated instruction is all about and sheds some light on key concepts related to this instructional method. It also shows ways new adaptive learning technology can help teachers differentiate their instruction.

Aims of Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction aims to:

inspire a love of learning
increase engagement
improve learning outcomes
help students learn more efficiently and with deeper understanding
increase self-awareness

Why Differentiated Instruction?

Classrooms are filled with students who:

have differential needs
come from different educational backgrounds
have different attention spans
have different language abilities
have different cultural backgrounds

Differentiated Instruction in Schools

Hardworking teachers today are differentiating instruction according to factors such as:

what they know already
what they need to learn
engagement level
personal and course goals
learning patterns
strengths
weaknesses

The process is beneficial to students but difficult and time-consuming for teachers. How many personalized course packets, projects, and reading lists can one teacher make?

Differentiated Instruction at Scale

Adaptive learning technology can augment teachers' work by:

recommending which concepts to focus on with a learner or an entire class
providing instructors, parents and learners themselves with information about their concept-level strengths and weaknesses
determining how well different instruction and assessment content works for different students
helping instructors zero in on learners who are struggling, inactive, or moving ahead

Technology enhanced differentiated instruction can be highly effective, ensuring that students are learning the most at any given point, freeing up more classroom time for: