In this post-COVID era, where students have experienced varied levels of engagement and comprehension, differentiated instruction has become a powerful and popular tool to ensure students will thrive academically. As educators continue to cater to diverse learning styles, many are using classroom games as a fun and effective way to differentiate instruction in their classrooms.

What is Differentiated Instruction?

Differentiated instruction is a technique that accommodates the learning style, readiness, and interests of every student. It typically involves using various instructional methods to convey identical information to students depending on their learning style. The primary objective of differentiated instruction is to ensure that all students are engaged in the learning process by providing tasks that align with each student’s specific needs.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, a more personalized approach to learning has gained popularity more so than the traditional one-size-fits-all approach that is typically been used in classrooms. This may be due to the extended period using remote or hybrid learning, which showed educators needed to be more flexible and adaptable to the needs of students.

Why Games are an Effective Way to Differentiate Instruction

There are several ways teachers can differentiate instruction, including flexible grouping, learning centers, tiered assignments, or providing students with a selection of activities to choose from. Although these methods can be engaging for students, integrating classroom games can be a more dynamic and interactive way to engage students using differentiated learning. Here are a few reasons why using classroom games can be an effective approach.

Collaborative Learning Opportunity

Games often encourage students to work together, fostering teamwork and building classroom community. This cooperative learning opportunity allows students with different strengths to contribute their unique strengths and skills based on their abilities.

Caters to Different Learning Styles

Games are inclusive and can cater to different learning styles. Whether a student prefers verbal interaction or a hands-on activity, games can accommodate different learning styles and modalities.

Reinforces Skills

Games offer students an opportunity to practice and reinforce specific skills. By playing games, students strengthen these skills, ensuring that they grasp the information through repetition. This is especially beneficial for any student who needs additional practice, a deeper understanding of a subject, or those who need to be challenged because they grasp concepts very quickly.

Varied Levels of Complexity

Many games offer diverse difficulty levels, making it easy for students to select levels based on their current skill set. This can empower students to tailor their learning experience as well as foster a personalized learning experience.

Intrinsic Motivator

Games tap into the internal motivation of students, where their natural curiosity and competitiveness to achieve and win lies. The element of competition or the desire to outperform their classmates can create an engaging and motivating learning experience for students.

How to Differentiate Instruction Using Classroom Games

Using classroom games can be an effective way to meet the diverse learning needs of your students. Here are a few tips to help differentiate instruction using classroom games.

Modify Rules

Adapt the rules of the game to meet the needs of all students. You can do this by creating varied levels of difficulty. For example, if playing a math game, you can adjust the complexity of the problems to suit the varying skill levels of each student. If playing a science game on biology, you can customize the questions to cover different branches of biology allowing students to choose which branch they want to focus on. You can do the same thing for a geography quiz or historical events.

Allow Game Choice

Offering a selection of games or allowing students full autonomy not only will align them with the games that pique their interest but will also help to foster a sense of ownership over students’ learning. In addition, it can help them stay motivated and engaged in the learning process. For example, let’s say students were learning about the solar system. One game option can be a trivia challenge for more advanced learners, another can be a board game about planet facts, and another can be a hands-on game that reinforces concepts.

Rotate Game Stations

Rotating stations is an effective strategy to differentiate instruction using classroom games. This approach allows you to address diverse learning styles and cater to individual preferences. For example, different stations can focus on specific skills or concepts allowing students to move from station to station based on their needs. This will also ensure you’re appealing to all learning preferences.

Try Flexible Grouping

Flexible grouping allows you to tailor learning experiences based on the abilities of individual students. When you form groups based on varying levels of ability, style, and interest, you can cater to specific groups. This approach ensures that each student receives targeted instruction that maximizes their learning experience as well as challenges them. Additionally, peer collaboration is an added benefit where students can play off one another’s strengths.

Incorporate Reflection and Feedback

Embedding reflection during gameplay can be an effective strategy. Pre-game reflection can be a good starting point and help to set the stage for students’ current standing of information while post-game reflection can help students gain a deeper understanding of the game and what they’ve learned. Peer feedback can also be an effective way to enhance learning because it helps to create a supportive learning environment where students learn from one another and can share different strategies.

By incorporating differentiated instruction through classroom games, you are meeting all students’ diverse needs and creating an inclusive and engaging learning environment. Facilitating interactive games can also help to instill a love for learning that goes far beyond the classroom.

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What is Small Group Instruction?

The purpose of small group instruction is to address learning deficits. Students are placed within groups of two to six by providing direct instructional support. Small group instruction is especially beneficial for special populations of students such as English language learners, special education students, at-risk students, and students of poverty.

According to J. Kendall’s Small-group instruction for English language learners: It makes sense, “small group instruction provides an environment in which students can feel comfortable practicing and receiving feedback and teachers can offer additional teaching and modeling of content.” Knowing students’ instructional levels is necessary to effectively plan and implement small group instruction.

Determining a student’s instructional level includes reviewing and analyzing multiple assessment data. Once the instructional levels are determined, students are grouped homogeneously to provide targeted instruction based on their individual needs. Progress monitoring data, formative assessment data, and standardized assessment data are a few sources that can be used to identify student deficits on learning targets and state standards.

After analyzing data, teachers should plan specific lessons to address the learning targets. During small group instruction implementation, learning is scaffolded by utilizing visuals, graphic organizers, supplemental aids, note taking assistance, reading supports, technology, and manipulatives. Small group instruction can be implemented in any content area. However, most teachers implement small group instruction in reading and math due to the pressures of state accountability and the need to grow students’ skill sets in a short amount of time.

What are the Benefits of Small Group Instruction?

There are many reasons why small group instruction is important, but the biggest benefit to students is the setting allows for more individualized support and yields great academic success for students. “Instruction of children in small groups affords children and their teachers invaluable and unique opportunities, that may not be possible in large group activities.” Teachers are able to diagnose students’ learning deficits and cater specific learning plans to meet their needs in content areas.

For example, if a group of students is struggling with multi-step word problems in math, the teacher can provide support on operations and reading comprehension. Being in close proximity to students allows the teacher to address misconceptions immediately that would not have been possible in whole group instruction. Students can ask specific questions and receive feedback without fear or judgement from peers.

If the majority of the students in a class struggle with a particular skill or concept, the issue lies more with direct instruction on the teacher’s part rather than individualized learning deficits of the students.

When is it Appropriate to Use Small Group Instruction?

Small group instruction should begin for students after the first 6 weeks of school through the remainder of the school year. It is appropriate to use at least 3-5 times per week to reinforce skills for students. The first 6 weeks are used to collect data and pre-assess students’ reading and math levels. The data is also used to determine specific learning targets students need to be successful. The first week of a new unit of study can also be used to collect data and regroup students.

The small group instruction learning cycle includes pre-assessment, direct instruction while progress monitoring, post assessments, and reteaching of concepts for mastery. The cycle should happen for every concept unit that aligns to the local and state curriculum.

Implementing Small Group Instruction in the Classroom

Implementing small group instruction in the classroom should be highly structured. Planning in advance is key to ensure effective small group instructional learning cycles. During the small group instruction learning cycle, access to manipulatives, visuals, graphic organizers, technology, and lesson plans are necessary for students to grasp concepts.

In their 2008 book, Educational Leadership professors Dr. Nancy Frey and Dr. Douglas Fisher explain that lesson plans should include ‘I do’, ‘We do’, and ‘You do’ activities to scaffold learning for students. Lesson plans can also include inquiry to address gaps in students’ thinking and to provide clarity to any misconceptions.

Anecdotal notes should be used to track students’ progress and write down ideas for the upcoming lesson plan the following week. Instructional adjustments must be made on a weekly basis to ensure students are successful in learning content skills.

The biggest challenge for teachers when implementing small group instruction is deciphering how to engage other students in the classroom while working with a small group of 2-6 students. Classroom management is necessary to effectively implement small group instruction. Teachers should utilize differentiated instruction and have a variety of learning stations that challenge and engage other students in rigorous activities that are aligned to learning standards. Some examples are project-based learning, computer-based applications, instructional games, writing workshops, investigation stations, book studies, skills practice, etc. All learning stations must align with grade level standards to ensure further learning gaps are not created.

Teachers should also find natural breaks during small group instruction to check in with other students who are working in learning stations for a few minutes to ensure they are on task and successfully completing assignments. During the check-in times, teachers should take quick anecdotal notes on any student that is struggling to address the deficits in small group instruction. If most students are unsuccessful in learning stations, teachers will need to explore other effective instructional strategies to address the deficits during whole group instruction.

Conclusion

Small group instruction allows teachers to ensure students have an equitable learning experience and can be just as successful as their peers in the educational setting. It provides the opportunity for all students to learn content at a pace and level they understand. Implications for further studies should address the effect of small group instruction in the middle and high school setting. Most studies address the importance of small group instruction in the elementary school setting. Without effective instruction, underprivileged students will continue to be at-risk, have learning gaps, and experience missed opportunities to learn academic content in a meaningful way.

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With all of the information available, it’s hard to decide which teaching strategies are right for your classroom. Sometimes, the old tried-and-true ones that you have been using in your classroom just happen to work the best, and that’s okay. Teaching strategies that are considered “new” may just not fit into your teaching style.

Here are a few teaching strategies that are a staple in most classrooms. Depending upon your style, preference, and your students, choose the ones that suit your needs.

1. Differentiated Instruction: Learning Stations

Differentiated instruction strategies allow teachers to engage each student by accommodating to their specific learning style. According to Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory, every person has a different mind, and therefore each person learns and understands information differently. Differentiating instruction offers a way to meet all students’ needs. One helpful strategy to differentiate instruction is learning stations. Learning stations can easily be designed to enable students with diverse learning needs to learn at their pace and readiness level. Teachers can set up each station where students will be able to complete the same task, but at the level and style that is specifically designed for them.

2. Cooperative Learning: The Jigsaw Method

Cooperative learning gives students the opportunity to work with others and see different points of view. Students learn more effectively when working together rather than apart, and it is also known to improve self-confidence in students. The jigsaw method is especially effective because each student is responsible for one another’s learning, and students find out quickly that each group member has something equally important to contribute to the group in order to make the task a successful one. Students are exposed to and use many skills throughout this strategy: communication, problem-solving skills, cognition, and critical thinking — all of which are essential for a successful academic career.

3. Utilizing Technology in the Classroom

Integrating technology into the classroom is a great way to empower students to stay connected in this technological era. Technology-rich lessons have been found to keep students motivated and engaged longer. Some examples of utilizing technology in the classroom are to create web-based lessons or multimedia presentations such as a video, animation, or some type of graphic, utilizing a tablet or an iPad, taking your class on a virtual field trip, participating in an online research project, or even creating a class website. Any of these technology integration strategies will have a positive impact on student learning.

4. Inquiry-Based Instruction

Inquiry-based learning implies involving students in the learning process so they will have a deeper understanding of what they are learning. We are born with the instinct to inquire — as babies we use our senses to make connections to our surroundings. Inquiry-based learning strategies are used to engage students to learn by asking questions, investigating, exploring, and reporting what they see. This process leads students to a deeper understanding of the content that they are learning, which helps them be able to apply these concepts in new situations. In order for our students to be able to be successful in the 21^st century, they need to be able to answer complex questions and develop solutions for these problems. The inquiry-based learning strategy is a great tool to do just that.

5. Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are a simple and effective tool to help students brainstorm and organize their thoughts and ideas in a visual presentation. Simply put, they help students organize information so it is easier for them to comprehend. Graphic organizers can be used for any lesson, to structure writing, brainstorming, planning, problem solving, or decision making. The most popular organizers are the Venn diagram, concept map, KWL chart, and T Chart.

An experienced teacher knows that not every teaching strategy that you use will be an effective one. There will be some hits and misses, and depending upon your teaching style and the ways your students learn, you will figure out which strategies work and which do not. It may take some trial and error, but it doesn’t hurt to try them all.

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Differentiated instruction strategies allow teachers to empower and engage students by accommodating each of their different learning styles. One helpful tactic to employ differentiated instruction strategies is called learning stations—a way to supply your class with multiple ways to learn and understand concepts. Much like a menu offers patrons a variety of options to satisfy their appetite, learning stations expose students to a variety of strategies and choices that address many learners’ needs.

Like tiered assignments, flexible grouping, and differentiated instruction as a whole, learning stations are fluid and can span multiple levels. This gives both students and teachers insight as to how a particular individual learns best. These stations offer young minds the opportunity to learn independently while keeping them engaged in the process.

The Difference Between Traditional and Differentiated Centers

For many teachers, learning stations (also called centers) are a staple in their classroom. Here we take a brief look at how traditional stations compare to differentiated ones.

• Teachers base differentiated stations on student assessment data, whereas a traditional station is based on whole-group instruction.
• In a differentiated station, students work within multilevel resources, whereas traditional station resources are not differentiated.
• Differentiated stations have tiered assignments, which include varied student responses, whereas a traditional learning station only has one level of response for all.
• Differentiated stations have tiered activities, whereas traditional stations do not.

Multilevel Center Activities

Multilevel center activities are teacher-planned tasks that are designed at three different levels —beginner, intermediate, and advanced — enabling students with diverse learning needs to challenge themselves accordingly. Here are three examples of differentiated learning station activities that you can implement into your classroom centers.

An open-ended activity is where all students in the group tackle the same assignment, but the end product will differ for beginner, intermediate, and advanced clusters. It’s a great technique because students will feel comfortable writing within their level.

Example: Ask your students in a reading group to draw a picture of the main character. Afterwards, instruct them to write speech bubbles around the character describing what they might say.

A tiered activity is when students are doing the same activity, but it’s tiered according to their difficulty level.

Example: Have your students play a game of memory. This game is easy to differentiate because you can have beginner students try to match a letter with its sound, while more advanced children can try and match a letter to a word. To differentiate this station, assign different bags of cards for each level, and direct specific students to the cards they should choose.

Learning menus, or choice boards, are varied activities that give students options on how they want to learn a concept. They often mimic a tic-tac-toe board where your classroom would pick three activities to complete (one from each row) to form a line. Differentiated instruction menus benefit all students because you can tailor each board to students’ readiness, learning styles, or interests, and kids think they are a lot of fun!

Example: Set up an exciting learning menu for math with items like “design math flashcards” and “measure five things in the room”, or write math facts in expanded form and pay attention to how each of your students prefers to learn.

Today’s classrooms are not taught with “one-size-fits-all” teaching. Differentiated instruction—and learning stations specifically—allow you to meet the needs of all learners while maintaining high standards within groups or individually. When you match a variety of exciting activities to a student’s learning style and preference, magic happens.

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Much like flexible grouping—or differentiated instruction as a whole, really—tiered assignments do not lock students into ability boxes. Instead, particular student clusters are assigned specific tasks within each group according to their readiness and comprehension without making them feel completely compartmentalized away from peers at different achievement levels.

There are six main ways to structure tiered assignments: challenge level, complexity, outcome, process, product, or resources. It is your job, based upon the specific learning tasks you’re focused on, to determine the best approach. Here we will take a brief look at these techniques.

Ways to Structure Tiered Assignments

Challenge Level

Tiering can be based on challenge level where student groups will tackle different assignments. Teachers can use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide to help them develop tasks of structure or questions at various levels. For example:

1. Group 1: Students who need content reinforcement or practice will complete one activity that helps build understanding.
2. Group 2: Students who have a firm understanding will complete another activity that extends what they already know.

Complexity

When you tier assignments by complexity, you are addressing the needs of students who are at different levels using the same assignment. The trick here is to vary the focus of the assignment based upon whether each group is ready for more advanced work or simply trying to wrap their head around the concept for the first time. You can direct your students to create a poster on a specific issue—recycling and environmental care, for instance—but one group will focus on a singular perspective, while the other will consider several points of view and present an argument for or against each angle.

Outcome

Tiering assignments by differentiated outcome is vaguely similar to complexity—all of your students will use the same materials, but depending on their readiness levels will actually have a different outcome. It may sound strange at first, but this strategy is quite beneficial to help advanced students work on more progressive applications of their student learning.

Process

This differentiated instruction strategy is exactly what it sounds like—student groups will use different processes to achieve similar outcomes based upon readiness.

Product

Tiered assignments can also be differentiated based on product. Teachers can use the Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences to form groups that will hone particular skills for particular learning styles. For example, one group would be bodily/kinesthetic, and their task is to create and act out a skit. Another group would be visual/spatial, and their task would be to illustrate.

Resources

Tiering resources means that you are matching project materials to student groups based on readiness or instructional need. One flexible group may use a magazine while another may use a traditional textbook. As a tip, you should assign resources based on knowledge and readiness, but also consider the group’s reading level and comprehension.

How to Make Tiering Invisible to Students

From time to time, students may question why they are working on different assignments, using varied materials, or coming to dissimilar outcomes altogether. This could be a blow to your classroom morale if you’re not tactful in making your tiers invisible.

Make it a point to tell students that each group is using different materials or completing different activities so they can share what they learned with the class. Be neutral when grouping students, use numbers or colors for group names, and be equally enthusiastic while explaining assignments to each cluster.

Also, it’s important to make each tiered assignment equally interesting, engaging, and fair in terms of student expectations. The more flexible groups and materials you use, the more students will accept that this is the norm.

Tiering assignments is a fair way to differentiate learning. It allows teachers to meet the needs of all students while using varying levels of tasks. It’s a concept that can be infused into homework assignments, small groups, or even learning centers. If done properly, it can be a very effective method to differentiate learning because it challenges all students.

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What is Flexible Grouping?

Flexible grouping is a best practice in education and is at the very heart of differentiation. Flexible grouping is a data-driven practice in which teachers are able to target specific needs for students by creating a variety of fluid groups in which students are provided specific instructional needs.

The key words in that definition are “flexible” and “fluid.” These groups are not static or set in stone. Flexible grouping is something that highly effective teachers do very well. Flexible grouping is simply grouping students in the most advantageous way for delivering instruction. It can mean using whole group, small group, or partners. The bottom line is: teachers use flexible grouping to provide the right instruction to the right students at the right time in the right way. So your groups will not look the same throughout the school year, semester, or maybe even the week. Flexible groups can and will most likely change from day to day.

Flexible grouping is going to look different in each classroom depending on grade level, class size, and a number of other factors. In my classroom, which is a self-contained, first-grade classroom, many of my flexible groups are what I call “pull-back groups”. These are usually brief meetings that happen with me at my “teacher table”. For example, if we complete a formative assessment on addition with regrouping and I can clearly see that five students did not understand the concept at all, then I would pull those five students back to my teacher table as soon after that formative assessment as possible to reteach the lesson.

While I am working with that small, flexible group, the other students would either complete some additional independent practice on the new math skill, play a math game on the computer, or read if everything from the day had already been completed.

Working with those students in such a small group allows me to often quickly and easily see what the problem is and how to address it. It may be only one student that gets pulled back to build words with letter tiles. It could be two or three students that need additional help understanding the difference between nouns and verbs. This type of flexible grouping in my classroom is used for any subject area at any time that a troubled area is detected.

Why use Flexible Grouping?

Because it works! Flexible grouping is a “best practice” for a reason. When you immediately identify a need and work to meet that need, students get exactly what they need. As students complete a lesson that they are struggling with and you pull them into a small group to address the need, the student is highly motivated to learn because they see the need as well. 

How to Use Flexible Grouping for Differentiation

There are so many different ways to use flexible grouping. Here are a few tips:

Know Your Options

Your flexible groups may always be small groups pulled back to work with you. However, flexible groups can also be putting students in pairs, partnering struggling students with advanced students to address specific needs. Heterogeneous small groups might be used to help struggling students or to boost advanced students. Students can also be grouped based on learning style so they can work on tasks together that highlight their strengths. The teacher can monitor and provide guidance as needed to make sure these groups are appropriate for all students.

Use Your Data

All flexible grouping for the purpose of differentiation should be based on current data. A lot of your data will come from formative assessments. This is why formative assessments are so important and must be incorporated on a daily basis. Formative assessments do not have to be long and complex. Each lesson should end with a quick formative assessment. An exit ticket question is a fine example of a formative assessment. Maybe have students complete 4 short math problems based on the day’s lesson. Or have them write 2-4 sentences about the story they’ve read to demonstrate comprehension.

These are very quick and easy ways for you to see which students are getting the concept and which ones are not. You can also use benchmark data that is gathered throughout the school year to address more broad categories of needs that students may have. Then, use this data to group struggling students together in order to address the misconceptions or difficulties. Remember, time is of the essence. Quickly work to address the problems the same day or the following day in order to maximize student learning.

Covert Differentiation

When providing differentiation, especially with older students, it is often necessary to provide that differentiation in a way that will help struggling students avoid embarrassment. The perfect way to differentiate in a way that is not obvious to other students is through Google Classroom. By giving individual students their own activities and assignments to do on Google Classroom, you can provide the right kind of practice for each student in a way that is not obvious to other students as they are working on their own needed skills and remediation.

Flexible grouping is truly how differentiation manifests itself in the classroom. As you check student performance on each day’s skills and concepts, stop and address the needs when you see them. That is a sure way to provide clear and effective instruction that gives students exactly what they need to be successful.

*Updated December, 2020

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Differentiated Instruction Strategies

Teachers differentiate instruction through a variety of different ways: flexible grouping, learning centers, and independent study, to name a few. Here we will take a look at each of them.

Flexible Grouping

Flexible grouping allows students to work in groups with peers who are both similar and dissimilar to them. Teachers use flexible grouping because it provides students with the opportunity to work with others that have similar learning styles, readiness, or interests, or to learn from others with differences. Depending upon the purpose of the lesson, teachers can plan their activities based on a student’s attributes, then use flexible grouping to group students accordingly.

The key to flexible grouping is to make sure that the groups are not static. Teachers must continually conduct assessments throughout the school year and move students among the groups as they master skills. Oftentimes teachers tend to group students according to their ability in the beginning of the school year and then never change the makeup of the groups. This is not an effective technique, and this stagnation will only hinder a child from progressing.

Learning Centers

Learning centers are stations that contain a variety of materials where students can explore topics or practice skills on their own. By their very nature, they are flexible and can address many learners’ needs. With a few adjustments, they can be a great way to differentiate instruction. Teachers can design centers with different levels of complexity or for different subject areas.

Learning centers offer teachers the opportunity to present the same information in a variety of different ways that engage all students. Whenever an educator presents information that engages all modalities, it increases the chances that he or she will reach every student in the class.

Independent Study

An independent study is designed for students (usually older ones) that have mastered content. It is best when based on a student’s personal interest (say, advanced journalism), and it tends to be more effective when the student chooses the topic. In order for an independent study to be successful, the teacher needs to be sure the student or students are proficient in the skills that are required to complete the study.

To help students choose a topic of study, it is wise to conduct an interest survey before they begin. Then, to ensure a successful study, teachers need to go over the skills students need to complete the task, as well as lay out expectations to help them stay on track.

Tiered Assignments

Tiered assignments are a series of related tasks varying in complexity. The activities relate to the students’ readiness levels and key skills that they need to acquire. Both formal and informal assessments must be given to determine the level of understanding a student has on the subject matter.

Activities can be designed for small groups or individuals. Many teachers find that this differentiated instructional strategy is a great way for students to reach the same goals by taking into account each student’s individual needs.

Adjusting Questions

An easy way teachers can help students is to adjust discussion questions according to the students’ readiness or ability levels. Teachers adjust their questions and level of complexity based on what fits that particular child. Teachers use Bloom’s Taxonomy to develop queries from the very basic to the more advanced. This is a great way for teachers to design a more effective curriculum for students at different places on the learning spectrum.

Choice Activities

When students are given a choice of what they want to learn, it can be a great motivator. Teachers can give options based on student interest or learning style. They can also be given choices as to what will be learned or how they will learn the information. Options can include activities, learning centers, independent study, small groups, or others. Choice activities are well-known for improving students’ motivation based on their own needs.

Differentiated instruction takes a lot of planning on the teacher’s end, but the benefits far outweigh the stress. With continuous assessment and the use of multiple teaching strategies, educators can accommodate all their students’ learning styles. In the end, the main goal is to strive to engage all learners by attempting to match their needs.

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