Differentiated instruction is an integral part of being able to learn. As I addressed here, there is no average learner, so there is no one way to teach everyone. There are multiple methods for differentiating instruction in the classroom, but the three main categories are grouping, strategy instruction, and peer tutoring. While each of these methods is proven to be effective, they all require extra work from the teacher. Today, I will examine these three methods and give my opinions about which one is the easiest to include in the classroom.
To me, peer-tutoring is most labor-intensive for teachers. It is labor intensive up front because you have to teach the process to all of your students. I am sure that after a few peer-tutoring sessions it would be easier as students will already know the processes and routines. The teachers would just need to be available for extra guidance and questions. I also think that this strategy would be hard for me. I like to know exactly what is being taught in my classroom, and I have a hard time turning that responsibility over to someone else. I would like to include some peer-tutoring in my classroom, but with no more than 4 students learning the same material, I think it would be extremely difficult.
Grouping is easier to me than peer-tutoring because this is something I do every day in my classroom. Because I teach multi-grade classrooms, I am constantly teaching multiple lessons during the same period. It was difficult for me at first, but now that I have gotten a feel for it, it is way easier. Grouping may not be as easy for teachers who are not used to doing it.
I feel that strategy instruction is the easiest to include in everyday teaching, and doesn't require as much work for teachers. All it requires is explaining the process for how to do something. It might seem redundant (especially in higher grades), but it does work. I feel that this happens almost every day in younger grades because students are still learning processes. It tends to disappear as students get older because teachers assume that students already know.
These are just my opinions, and what I have found works for my current teaching situation.
I had a printing class in college, which happened to take place right after my internship. I had the same teacher for both and in the same area of the print shop. The teacher took advantage of this, and went over what we would learn in class that day ... Another method of teaching would be a form/type of student teaching. If the teacher got busy with something in the print shop, there would still be me to answer questions. Or if it was a harder concept, there would be two explaining it. But this might be more of a student aid, instead of a student teacher.
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