Inclusion and Accessibility
Differentiated Instruction: Targets, Barriers, Supports, and Evidence
Differentiated instruction can change selected content access, process support, grouping, pacing, or product routes while preserving the intended learning goal and required supports. The IRIS module distinguishes content, process, and product. Use evidence from the actual task to decide which change, if any, is needed.
Define the differentiation decision
Differentiated instruction does not require a separate lesson plan for every student. Plan a shared learning goal, identify likely differences in prior evidence or access needs, and vary tasks, supports, grouping, or response formats when those differences affect the target.
Use differentiation in response to a defined barrier, support need, or difference in current task evidence. State what will change, what learning target will remain constant, and how the effect will be reviewed.
Differentiation is a planned change to content access, process, support, product, grouping, pacing, or environment in response to a defined learner need while preserving the intended target. Equity requires examining access and opportunity, but a differentiated format does not guarantee engagement, challenge, support, or success for every student.
Differentiation Strategies
Differentiated instruction can vary four aspects of a lesson. Select among them according to the objective, current evidence of student understanding, and access needs.
Content: What Students Learn
Content is the information and skills named in the objective. Content differentiation changes how students access or work with that material without silently changing the intended learning target.
- Tiered Readings: Provide texts on the same topic at different reading levels.
- Varied Media: Supplement a core text with videos, podcasts, or infographics that convey the same key concepts.
- Learning contracts: Define required tasks, checkpoints, and pacing options, with an optional extension tied to the same objective when current work indicates it is appropriate.
Process: How Students Learn
Process is the activity or practice through which students work with the content. Change the process only when current evidence or an access requirement identifies a reason to do so.
- Flexible grouping: Use pairs, small groups, and individual work according to the task. Group by current task evidence, a voluntarily stated interest, support needs, or at random, then review individual evidence before regrouping; do not treat a group as a fixed readiness label.
- Choice boards: Offer a bounded set of tasks that address the same objective and use the same non-negotiable evidence criteria.
- Hands-On Activities: Offer manipulatives, experiments, or role-playing scenarios as an alternative to a traditional worksheet.
Product: How Students Show What They Know
Product is the response or work used to demonstrate the intended construct. Offer compatible formats only when each format provides the evidence required by the objective and authorized assessment conditions.
- Tiered Assessments: Create versions of a test or project that are more or less scaffolded, but assess the same core standards.
- Varied Formats: Instead of only a written report, allow students to create a podcast, design a presentation, write and perform a skit, or build a physical model.
- RAFT Assignments: Ask students to write or create from a specific perspective by defining the Role, Audience, Format, and Topic.
Learning Environment: Where Students Learn
The learning environment includes physical, sensory, social, and procedural conditions. Adjust a specific condition when it creates an identified barrier, and confirm the effect through participation and work evidence rather than inferring that every learner feels safe or supported.
- Flexible Seating: Provide different seating options like wobble stools, floor cushions, or standing desks to meet physical and sensory needs.
- Quiet Zones vs. Collaboration Stations: Designate areas in the room for different types of work.
- Clear Routines: Establish clear procedures so students know how to work independently, transition between groups, and access materials without constant teacher direction.
Implementing Differentiation in Class
Begin with one lesson and one identified need. Use entry tickets, short surveys, and observation to gather evidence about learners’ current understanding, interests, strengths, and support needs, then use that evidence to select a specific adjustment.
Choose one lesson, one identified need, and one adjustment. For example, test a bounded choice board in a history unit or regroup students during a mathematics task. Compare resulting student work and access evidence with the intended objective, then retain, revise, or remove the adjustment without assuming effects on confidence or motivation.
Monitor and adjust the approach
Treat differentiation as an ongoing process. Use brief checks, observation, and student work to determine whether an adjustment supports the stated objective, then retain, revise, or remove it.
Use brief evidence sources to review the adjustment:
- Exit tickets: Ask one objective-aligned question at the end of class and use the response to identify the next model, practice step, extension, or support.
- Think-Pair-Share: Listen in on student conversations to gauge understanding.
- Student reflection: Ask students to identify which part of the task was clear, which step was difficult, and which support affected their work; do not use a confidence rating as a substitute for task evidence.
Use the evidence to choose a reteach, additional model, different example, practice set, or extension. Review whether the adjustment preserved the objective and produced clearer evidence.
Review differentiation over time
Review differentiation decisions with colleagues by comparing the objective, adjustment, and resulting student work. Use those discussions to identify one change to test rather than assuming an informal exchange will produce an effective idea.
Use digital tools only when they serve a defined instructional need. Adaptive software may supply additional practice, and a platform such as Google Slides can distribute a choice board; review accessibility, privacy, content accuracy, teacher workload, and student evidence before retaining either approach.
Select a strategy from the objective, current evidence, access barrier, and available support rather than mixing options for variety. Check its effect on individual participation and work, and revise without inferring how every student feels.
Summary
- Target one decision: Change one task demand or support in response to evidence rather than adding options without a defined purpose.
- Review four areas: Consider content access, process, product, and the learning environment, while preserving the intended target and required supports.
- Test one adjustment: Implement one bounded change, such as a choice board or flexible grouping, and compare student work and access evidence before deciding whether to retain it.
- Collect usable evidence: Use objective-aligned exit tickets, observation, and student work to choose the next instructional response.
- Use flexible grouping deliberately: Group and regroup students based on readiness, interest, or task to match grouping to the task and review individual evidence before regrouping.
- Offer bounded choices and request feedback: Provide options that assess the same target, state non-negotiable criteria, and ask which barrier or support affected the task. Choice and feedback do not by themselves establish ownership or motivation.