Blog #6 - The More the Merrier

Some things are just better when there are multiple: scoops of ice cream; snow days; available parking spots; and lesson instructions. Just like one flavor of ice cream won’t please everybody, one instructions strategy is not going to benefit all your students. Differentiated instruction is important in all classrooms, but it is especially important in high school classrooms where students have varying levels of ability and knowledge. Differentiated instruction is not what you teach, but how you teach it (Hinchman, 2014, p. 332). There are three common approaches to differentiated instruction: multiple intelligences; universal design for learning (UDL); and sheltered instructional observation protocol (SIOP). In each of these strategies, students learn the same content, but through slightly different strategies.

The first common approach to differentiated instruction is the use of multiple intelligences. This model appeals to students’ strengths, allowing them to learn and present content in the way that makes the most sense to them. The nine intelligences are verbal-linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, visual-spatial, musical, logical-mathematical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, naturalistic, and existential (Hinchman, 2014, p. 333). One way that the multiple intelligences are commonly accessed in the classroom is through assessment in the form of projects. For example, after having read a novel, students may choose to write a paper summarizing the book, write and perform a skit summarizing the book, or create a short video summarizing the book. All of these projects require students to summarize the book, but the projects are very different from each other. When teachers tap into multiple intelligences, they present multiple ways for students to show their comprehension of the material (Hinchman, 2014, p. 334). Using multiple intelligences also presents students with the ability to choose how they would like to present their knowledge, making them feel more confident in their comprehension.

Universal Design for learning is another common model of differentiated learning. UDL focuses on using multiple means of representation, action and expression, and engagement (Hinchman, 2014, p. 335). In many classrooms, students may read a text as a class and complete a written homework assignment. In UDL, students may read half of a text as a whole class and finish it individually. For homework, students may choose to write a short summary of what they read, illustrating a comic strip, or creating an audio recording of themselves summarizing the text. In the element of choice, UDL is similar to the multiple intelligences. However, UDL differs from the multiple intelligences in that UDL was created with students in mind (Hinchman, 2014, p. 334) and the multiple intelligences originated to explain the different ways that intelligence may manifest itself (Hinchman, 2014, p. 333). Once again, we see that allowing students to choose from a predetermined list of multiple options is an advantage to their ability to comprehend.

The last common method of differentiated instruction is sheltered instructional observation protocol (SIOP). This model was originally created for English Language Learners (ELLs), but educators quickly realized that this was a model that was beneficial to all students. The aspect of “multiple” appears in two places in the SIOP approach. The first place is in the lesson objectives; because SIOP was created for ELLs, every SIOP lesson contains content objectives and lesson objectives (Hinchman, 2014, p. 336). The second place that SIOP lessons focus on “multiple” is the setting in which students are learning. Teachers using the SIOP approach are encouraged to think about if activities are best done individually, in small groups, or as a whole class (Hinchman, 2014, p. 336). Creating a variety of learning environments in a lesson allows students to begin comprehension in one way and deepen it in another.

All of these models have multiple aspects; they all can also be implemented into the classroom in different ways. Aspects of each approach can be interwoven with other teaching approaches or even with each other, so it is worth considering how you would implement these three models into your specific classroom.

Reference: Hinchman, K. A., & Sheridan-Thomas, H. (2014). Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction. New York, New York: The Guilford Press.