CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE: TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL Joy Clauson, Suzy Dees, Julie Nourie
Feb 18, 2016
CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE:TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF
DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Joy Clauson, Suzy Dees, Julie Nourie
What you see and hear depends a
good deal on where you are standing; it
also depends on what sort of person
you are.~ C.S. Lewis
Julie
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Problem - Suzy Waning of Interest and
Practices of DI Federal Mandates and DI Increased Demands on
Teachers
Purpose - Suzy Facilitate Teacher Self-
Reflection Inform Administration Inform Staff
Research Question 1 - Suzy
What are teachers’ perceptions regarding differentiation within their own classrooms?
Research Question 2 - Suzy
What are teachers’ perceptions of support for Differentiated Instruction?
Research Question 3 - Suzy
What, if anything, hinders a teacher’s implementation of Differentiated Instruction?
Literature Themes - Suzy
Defining DI Obstacles of DI Necessary Support Structures
Methodology - Joy Online Survey
Survey Monkey28 Questions
Emailed Invitation to ParticipateReminder Email74 Teachers Emailed29 Participated in Survey
Methodology (cont.) - Joy Data Exported into Excel from
Survey Monkey Data Imported into SPSS from
Excel Analyzed Scores Using SPSS
and Excel
Participants’ Experience - Joy
Category % or NumberYears of Experience
0-4 Years 6.9
5-10 Years 6.9
11-16 Years 37.9
17+ Years 48.3
Level of Education
Bachelor’s 10.3
Master’s Degree 87.9
Doctorate Degree 0
Perceived Effectiveness of DIJoy
Overall Perceived Effectiveness of DI - Joy
Mean SD
Teachers’ overall perceived effectiveness of Differentiation of Content 1.78 0.68
Teachers’ overall perceived effectiveness of Differentiation of Instruction 1.61 0.72
Teachers’ overall perceived effectiveness ofDifferentiation of Assessment 1.705 0.65262
Perceived Support for Differentiated Instruction IN THEIR SCHOOL - JoyQuestion or Category
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree
Strongly Disagree
There are a variety of quality materials/resources available for me to use for me to differentiate in my classroom. 13.8 51.7 24.1 10.3
Administration is knowledgeable in differentiated instruction. 24.1 65.5 6.9 3.4
There is support available for colleagues for the implementation of differentiated instruction.
27.6 62.1 3.4 6.9
I have been provided training for Differentiating in my classroom. 10.3 51.7 17.2 20.7
I have opportunities for continuing education regarding differentiation. 20.7 48.3 20.7 10.3
Overall Support for Differentiated Instruction IN MY School 19.2 56.2 14.4 10.3
Perceived Support for Differentiated Instruction - Joy
Overall Perceived Support for Differentiated Instruction - Joy
Mean ModeStandard Deviation
Perceived Support for DI 2.158 2 0.85
Overall Perceived Effectiveness in DI Implementation & Support for DI in Participants’ School - JoyQuestion or Category
StronglyAgree Agree Disagree
StronglyDisagree
Overall Perceived Effectiveness in DI Implementation 35.8 59.3 4.9 00.0
Overall Perceived Support for DI in Participants’ School 19.2 56.2 14.4 10.3
Correlation between Perceived Support and Perceived Effectiveness of DI - Joy
Paired Differences
t dfSig. (2-tailed)Mean
Std. Deviatio
n
Std. Error Mean
95% Confidence Interval of the
Difference
Lower Upper
Pair 1 Support – Effectiveness
.48148 1.00139 .11127 .26006 .70291 4.327 80
.000
Analysis – What does this mean? - Julie
Education/Experience As It Relates to DI
Post-Graduate Work Participants Highest Perceived
Strength
Analysis (cont.) - Julie Uncertainty Regarding
Differentiation of Assessments PJHS Collegial and
Administrative Support
References - JulieBlaz, D. (2008). Differentiated assessment for middle and high school classrooms. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.
George, P. (2005). A rationale for differentiating instruction in the regular classroom. Theory into Practice, 44(3), 185-193.
Hertberg-Davis, H.L. & Brighton, C.M. (2006). Support and sabotage: Principals’ influence on middle school teachers’ responses to differentiation. The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 17(2), 90-102.
King-Sears, Margaret E. (2008). Facts and fallacies: Differentiation and the general education curriculum for students with special educational needs. Support for Learning, 23(2), 55-62.
Marzano, R.J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Nordlund, M. (2003). Differentiated Instruction: Meeting the educational needs of all students in your classroom . Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press.
O’Meara, J. (2010). Beyond differentiated instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Publishing.
Rock, M.L., Gregg, M. Ellis, E. & Gable, R.A. (2008). REACH: A framework for differentiating classroom instruction. Preventing School Failure, 52(2), 31-47.
Tomlinson, C.A. (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Tomlinson, C.A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
References (cont.)Tomlinson, C.A. (2005). Traveling the road to differentiation in staff development: Teacher leaders can help
educators hurdle four key barriers to implementation. The Journal of National Staff Development Council, 26(4), 8-13.
Tomlinson, C. A. & Allan, S. (2000). Leadership for differentiating schools and classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
The United States National Center for Educational Statistics (2003). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/overview03/tables/table_10.asp
VanTassel-Baska, J., & Stambaugh, T. (2005). Challenges and possibilities for serving gifted learners in the regular classroom. Theory into Practice, 44(3), 211-217.
Walker-Dalhouse, D., Risko, V., Esworthy, E., Grasley, E., Kaisler, G., McIlvain, & Stephen, M. (2009). Crossing boundaries and initiating conversations about RtI: Understanding and applying differentiated classroom instruction. The Reading Teacher, 1(63), 84-87.
Winebrenner, S. (2001). Teaching gifted kids in the regular classroom: Strategies and techniques every teacher can use to meet the academic needs of the gifted and talented. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing, Inc.
Wormeli, R. ( 2007). Differentiation: From planning to practice grades 6-12. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Yatvin, J. (2004). A room with a differentiated view: How to serve all children as individual learners . Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.