Embracing student diversity in the classroom: meeting the needs of each learner through differentiation

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to investigate teacher perceptions of differentiated instruction as a framework and set of strategies to meet increasingly diverse needs in the classroom. Carol Ann Tomlinson’s model of differentiated instruction (2001) was used in the current study as a frame of reference and to provide participants with a general idea of the core of differentiated instruction. Forty-five secondary school teachers were given a survey to complete (Appendix A). The surveys were distributed in October of 2013 and teachers were given three weeks to complete and return the survey. Thirteen of forty-five surveys were completed and returned. The data that was collected indicated that teachers have an understanding of what Tomlinson’s model of differentiated instruction means, but that obstacles such as time, resources, and training prevented differentiation strategies from being adopted and used on a consistent basis.