Running head: DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION USING TECHNOLOGY
Differentiated Instruction Using Technology
Louvenia W. Sanders
Liberty University
EDUC 631
Dr. Heather Lynn Keahey
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Abstract
Differentiated instruction while using technology in all grade levels, and content subject
areas has been a hot research topic for the last few years. Differentiated instruction using
technology plays a central role in education today. Technology is informally surrounded and
could be unswervingly connected to other social progresses and procedures. This study wishes to
highlight the social embeddedness of technology by emphasizing how it is connected with other
social improvements.
Keywords: Differentiated instruction, technology, central role, embeddedness, improvements
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Introduction
Numerous studies have been administered on various aspects of differentiated instruction
using technology. Researchers believe that this new environment can enhance learning (Cleaver
et al, (as cited in Shepherd & Alpert, 2015). Today, differentiated instruction using technology is
used to show different ways learners are getting what they need to be successful through the use
of technology in classrooms. Differentiated instruction can improve student engagement and
success rate by using technology to accommodate, and individualized instruction. When
instruction is differentiated, it helps the teacher provide meaningful and purposeful assignments
to the students. This research will provide detailed information so that we are able to see the step
by step process of the various tests that was used throughout the researches. The research will
provide the positives and negatives of differentiated instruction. You will be able to compare old
secondary education to the current education. There are challenges and opportunities with
everything we use and do, therefore the challenges and opportunities when using technology in
the educational setting will play a role in this research. This resource will provide the results of
all the experiments that was used throughout this process. Some of the test that were used
throughout this research tested students knowledge in various areas. The authors conducted an
experiment to see if the performance of students and digital differentiation would show better
student achievement.
One of the authors understood the students’ academic needs, and was able to conduct a
qualitative research to determine what was needed to help the students in her classroom be
successful. She was able to create and administer differentiated assignments to meet the needs of
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many students. She had to learn how technology would make the lessons smooth for the
students. A large variety of digital and electronic technology was used throughout this research.
A lot of studies was administered to verify that the use of technology to facilitate differentiated
lessons was victorious.
The research questions are, What are the challenges, and opportunities of blended
learning using technology? and Is the differentiate instruction with the use of technology tools
successful?”
Definition of Terms
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Distributed learning environments - Students are not grouped,use computer-based
technologies to access instruction and communicate with others.(Boelens et al., 2018)
Pedagogical issues - Various approaches (Boelens et al., 2018)
Post-secondary education- Middle and high school (Boelens et al., 2018)
Teaching/learning strategies-ways to support in learning (Boelens et al., 2018)
Blended learning- Combining technology and other materials (Boelens et al., 2018)
Deaf learners- Hard of hearing or can’t hear. (Shepherd & Alpert, 2015)
Differentiated instruction- different ways for students to understand (Shepherd & Alpert, 2015)
Technological devices for the deaf- Assistive listening devices (ALD's)(Shepherd & Alpert,
2015)
Technology- Vocaroo, QR Codes, Plickers, Screencast-O-Matic, Padlet, Storybird, Bookshare,
Bubbl.us, Kahoot, and Newsela. Innovative and engaging technology software programs,
websites, and assistive tools promote the scaffolded and differentiated learning activities needed
for academic success of the student with disabilities (Brunvand & Byrd, 2011(as cited in
Mahoney, J. & Hall. C., 2017).
Differentiation- All differentiation is related to a student’s readiness or ability level, interests,
and learning profiles or preferred methods to approaching learning activities. (Mahoney, J. &
Hall. C., 2017)
Accommodations - modifications such as “changing the topic, product, activities, or feedback
checklist without lowering or changing the standard
Individualized - assignments are made to fit the students academic ability. (Mahoney, J. & Hall.
C., 2017)
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Instruction- lessons, assignments, activities (Mahoney, J. & Hall. C., 2017)
Reading- competent to read aloud or quietly (Mahoney, J. & Hall. C., 2017)
Writing - collaborative nature of Padlet provides students with disabilities the ability to work
with their nondisabled peers on writing projects by not requiring actual paper and pen
(Mahoney, J. & Hall. C., 2017)
Support -people, technology and materials that is used to help students be successful (Mahoney,
J. & Hall. C., 2017)
Tools- available for teachers to use to assist students with disabilities in multiple areas of
learning difficulty (Mahoney, J. & Hall. C., 2017)
UDL- Universal Design for Learning (Mahoney, J. & Hall. C., 2017)
Review of Literature
Blended Learning
Blended education is differentiated instruction that is progressing in a positive manner.
Blended learning is a great way to help a lot of students. Educators can incorporate blended
learning, by mixing assignments. When mixed blended instruction is incorporated, the educator
provides the students with assignments that are online and then, they provide the students with
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hands on assignments. When the students are introduced to mixed blended learning in portions, it
gives that educator time to evaluate whether or not this is the best differentiated lesson for the
student. Blended instruction using face-to-face, online instruction, and roundtable classroom
indicated that the face-to-face communication was essential to interactive learning and it helped
build the confidence of the students. They also enjoy the instant feedback from their peers.
“Students described how sharing their work in this small circle of classmates allowed them to
build confidence and to openly discuss their work so that they could make future positive
changes”(Parsons, 2017).
According to Tomlinson & Imbeau (as cited in Boelens et al., 2018):
Four components to describe how instructors match their classroom instruction to
students’ individual differences: content, process, product, and affect . First, content is
defined as the information and ideas that students need to acquire in order to reach
learning goals. Flexibility in content can be provided in two ways: by adapting the
curriculum, or what is being taught, and by modifying resources, or how the content is
presented. Second, process is understood as how students process the content and acquire
new skills. The process is generally modified by changing the level at which learning
takes place, for example, by alternating between whole class instruction, flexible
grouping, and individualized activities. Third, product refers to how students demonstrate
what they know, understand, and can do after having received instruction. In this respect,
instructors can create varied assessment options to capture mastery of learning goals, and
provide students with different forms of support throughout product development. Fourth,
the concept of affect can be interpreted as students’ feelings about the classroom
environment. The main question here is whether all students feel safe, accepted, and
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valued. (p.4).
Teachers are using more technology to present information to students (Mahoney, & Hall 2017).
Using technology and other materials is a great way to incorporate blended learning in the
classroom. “Discrete conclusion for now is that differentiation in a digital learning environment
seems to be an effective way to improve learning outcomes” (Haelermans et al., 2015).
Tomlinson (2014) gives a lot of great information and examples on differentiating instruction for
students with different backgrounds from different grade levels. All the information is good,
because Tomlinson is giving us tools that will help us to prepare and be able to teach students
that need differentiated instruction. She provides a lot of great ideas from different content
teachers. She talks about how it may seem impossible to meet every kids need for differentiated
instruction. When teachers are at their wits end, we have to remember that each day is going to
bring something different. Tomlinson believes that if we keep showing that we care and keep
reaching for the greatness in ourselves as teachers and in the students as our future learners we
will be ok.
Scaffolding sequencing means that teachers help the students reach a measurable point
using measurable steps, then let them go when they can stand on their own and be successful.
When I think of scaffolding sequencing, I immediately reflect back to when my child was
learning to ride a bicycle for the first time. She started out with training wheels and as time
progressed the training wheels was taken off the bicycle, and as her parent, I gradually shifted
the responsibility of her riding the bike with no training wheels to her, and she was successful.
Baglieri et al.,(as cited in Mahoney, J. & Hall. C., 2017):
“The premise behind the UDL framework believes that all students can learn and teachers
should plan and prepare for each individual difference of the diverse classroom. UDL and
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differentiated instruction practices share the same ideology; diverse students can achieve
academic success through modifications of content, products, and processes. Technology
is one way in which teachers can accommodate the needs of the special education student
using the UDL framework and differentiated instructional methods in the inclusion
classroom.
Challenges
“Frequently cited challenges include limited human or physical resources, restrictive
curricula, perceptions that organizing differentiated instruction is a time-consuming task, or a
lack of skills for organizing differentiated instruction (De Neve et al., (as cited in Boelens et al.,
2018). There are many challenges that students can face while using technology. Unfortunately,
there are students in all grade levels that are easily distracted. More students are using the
computer for social media, computer games, text messaging and emailing rather than for
working on the assignments that have been assigned by their teachers. Some school districts have
restrictions on the internet, which can hinder students from being able to use the internet to
complete assignments. Gruden's (2018) focus was on digital pens and how they would engage
the students to make them want to work harder. Grudin (2018) believed that the challenges that
are hindering the change to the new technology is the old curriculum, and the fear that the IT
staff have, which is technology will be lost or damaged, although some schools find these
problems manageable. So, because of this fear, digital pens may slowly, if at all fit into
education. Another challenge that comes about with the integration of technology is money.
Some schools can not afford technology, because the district doesn’t have the funds. “The rapid
changing needs and demands for skilled workers are an integral part of the knowledge-based
economy, and therefore this report argues for lifelong learning. This means that ongoing training
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and learning is needed in order for educators to be an active participant in a competitive, global
knowledge-based economy” (Cloete, 2017). With that being said, educators will need to have
regular hands on professional development, and trainings that will provide educators with the
knowledge they need so that they are able to properly pass the information and knowledge to
their students. Then, we have diversity, diversity impacts content learning in many ways. One of
the number one reasons, is when an educator doesn’t know anything about the students traditions
and cultures. Without knowledge of the students background how can the proper help be
provided. When the educator is able to teach using differentiated instruction that relates to the
lives of students, and their cultures, it can help with the learning process.
Accommodations
“It is argued that technology should not merely be viewed as a tool, but rather as a
medium that shapes culture” (Cloete, 2017). Technology can enhance learning through accessing
information and improving communication, as well as provide learning opportunities.
Technological accommodations would provide a learning environment equitable and accessible
for students with disabilities while allowing students to feel independent.(Mahoney, J. & Hall.
C., 2017). Think-Pair-Share is one of the many formative assessment strategies that is simple to
use. The teacher ask a question to the whole class, and the students will write down or type their
answers on a digital device. Allow them five minutes before they move into their groups, which
allows them time to prepare their answers to the question. This activity encourages individual
participation, discussion or debate between the pairs, and whole group discussions or debates all
while using technology. While the students are in their pairs this allows the teacher to move
around the classroom and listen to diverse conversations. This whole process lets the students
gain valuable insight into levels of understanding (Teacher Vision, 2018). “Instructional
strategies can include learning centers, graphic organizers, scaffolded reading/writing, and tiered
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assignments”(Mahoney, J. & Hall. C., 2017). Urquhart and Frazee (2012) stated, “All teachers
should use the tools (e.g., graphic organizers, outlines, guided discussions) because research
shows support all students—those who are experiencing success and those who are struggling.
The read aloud accommodation provides language impaired students the option of hearing the
information in the content areas of mathematics and science read out loud. Hearing this
information provides these students the opportunity to process information without having to
decode the information.(Mahoney, J. & Hall. C., 2017)
The authors believe that the deaf people are at a drawback unless they are at a school for
the deaf. However, they believe that new pedagogies for the deaf will make learning easier and
more successful in a normal learning setting. Every student is different in their own way. So, the
authors saw the need to make the curricula more flexible, to meet the needs of the different
learning styles. They discuss synchronous communicating, like, instant messaging and video
conferencing that would allow the deaf students the opportunity to communicate in real time
(Shepherd & Alpert, 2015). Maeng (2017) stated that technology can be broadly defined as “any
digital or electronic tool used in teaching for the purpose of helping students learn these include
digital cameras, digital media, Internet web sites, PowerPoint, probeware, simulations,
spreadsheets, interactive whiteboards, and student response systems (Guzey et al., ( as cited in
Maeng 2017).
Conclusion
In conclusion of this study, there was a lot of valuable differentiated instruction with the use of
technology that was provided, that would work for all students regardless of their academic
levels. Blended instruction using mix academic materials is a great way to slowly introduce
students to using technology to complete assignments without overwhelming them.
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There are going to be challenges in everything that we do, regardless of what we do.
However, if one differentiated instruction plan doesn’t work, keep trying until you find authentic,
individualized assignments, and activities that accommodate the students learning abilities. If
you’re unsure on what is available to help struggling students, remember that there was a lot of
good differentiated instruction that was provided in these studies that may be helpful to someone.
Having an open communication type relationship and incorporating mixed blended
instruction with the use of technology is definitely the route that all institutions should be taking
in order to make sure all students academic needs are being successfully met. Bloom identified
six levels within the cognitive domain, from the simple recall or recognition of facts, as the
lowest level, through increasingly more complex and abstract mental levels, to the highest order
which is classified as evaluation.(Bloom, 1956) Today we still use the levels in the Bloom's
Taxonomy of Cognitive Development throughout the development of children’s education.
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References
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