TTP Spotlight

Differentiated Learning in the Computer Education Classroom

Brain research suggests that all types of learners can progress, including students with disabilities and gifted students. Differentiated instruction is a planned, deliberate, sequential, and systematic instructional technique designed to maximize the learning and achievement of all students in the classroom. The technique is based upon the belief that students learn best when they make connections between the lesson and their diverse interests and experiences, and that the greatest learning occurs when students are pushed slightly beyond the point where they can work without assistance.

Rather than simply "teaching to the middle" by providing a single avenue for learning for all students in a class, teachers using differentiated instruction match tasks, activities, and assessments with their students' interests, abilities, and learning preferences. A teacher who is comfortable and skilled with the use of multiple instructional strategies is more likely to reach out effectively to varied students than is the teacher who uses a single approach to teaching and learning.*

Applying Differentiated Instruction in the Computer Education Classroom

The unique circumstances of a Computer Education classroom enables teachers to engage multi-level learners within the same lesson. Glencoe's Computer Education programs support this technique by providing activities and projects that can be completed by students with diverse skill levels. For example, the Glencoe iCheck Series contains the following self-paced, tiered activities and projects:

• Practice It Activities provide clear, step-by-step directions for an exercise, including exactly what to click to achieve each step.
• You Try It Activities omit the "how-to" aspect of the lesson, calling upon students to access more of their own knowledge.
• Critical Thinking Activities provide no steps, but ask students to set up and create a deliverable with little guidance.
• Challenge Yourself Projects require a higher level of knowledge and involvement, as students are required to synthesize various aspects of their learning to perform the activities.

*Differentiated instruction theory description provided by Dr. John Rohwer, Health Professor, Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota

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