With the No Child Left Behind law, teachers are required to be highly qualified in the core area in which they teach.  However, is being an expert enough; or better yet, the foundation responsible for a child’s education?  A great deal of hype has surrounded the use of differentiated instruction as an effective and successful strategy for educating diverse students within the same setting.  Expertise in the content being taught is only a fraction of the overall differentiated instruction picture, as in theory, teachers can be experts in their fields, but may not be experts in how to take into account the diversities of learners.  An exemplary teacher not only is an expert in his/her core academic area, but has a strong foundation and use of differentiated instructional principles.  Differentiated instruction has the focus of diversity, common outcomes, and is student-centered.  It is designed to instigate multiple strategies impacting individual students while focusing on a common goal.  In other words, the students are all learning identical content, but the strategy for successfully achieving the common outcome/goal is dependent on individual student learning styles and developmental levels (Lieberman & Houston-Wilson, 2009).

Creating An Effective Learning Climate

Differentiating instruction is not a new concept.  It has been incorporated as a successful instructional strategy with gifted and talented students for decades.  Over the past several years, the advantage of using differentiated instruction in the inclusive learning environment has gained intense focus.  Differentiated instruction in and of itself uses instructional strategies based on individual student learning styles and needs.  While its success as an all-inclusive instructional strategy is conclusive when effectively incorporated in various learning environments, it was only recently that the value of differentiated instruction was introduced to the physical education setting (Gregory & Chapman, 2007).

Differentiating instruction in physical education is adapted physical education for all learners in an inclusive classroom environment.  While adapted physical education has the focus of adapting or modifying the curriculum, activities, or environment to meet the needs of students with disabilities, differentiated instruction has the focus of modifying the content, learning activities, outcomes, and environment to meet the needs of all diverse learners.

When one walks into a typical physical education class, the first thing that comes to mind is diversity—various sizes, shapes, abilities, desires, motivation levels.  However, no matter how diverse, teachers must make the physical education environment one that is conducive to learning. Meeting the needs of diverse learners in an inclusive setting involves taking into account what each child needs from this climate in order to feel comfortable, motivated, and successful (see Table 1). 

To create an effective learning climate which incorporates instructional strategies promoting inclusion, one may use strategies which are individualized for a given student.

Bethany has low vision and is in a physical education class participating in track and field events.  In this case, tactile instruction can be used to teach Bethany the correct form and movement for the shot put, so she can be completely included in the activities with her peers.  By focusing on her specific learning style, Bethany can participate in track and field activities. 

Table 1
Differentiated Instruction Inclusive Strategies

(Thousand, Villa & Nevin, 2007)

Knowing The Learner

It is a fairly common understanding among professionals that students differ in their learning styles.  In other words, no two students are likely to learn in the exact same way.  Some global learning styles involve those who learn best by auditory means, those who learn best visually, and those who learn best by hands-on or tactile means.  Others may learn best while working with peers, or in small or large groups, or in a more isolated situation (Gregory, & Chapman, 2007).  In many cases, students may require more than one learning style to fully grasp concepts being taught.  Therefore, understanding individual learning styles and incorporating these into instructional strategies is a requirement, not an option, for differentiated instruction.  Knowing your students may be the most important part of differentiated instruction….if you don’t know the important aspects of their learning needs and abilities, then determining effective instructional strategies is nearly impossible.  Teachers should take into account characteristics of their students when determining strategies to use, such a various learning styles; ways in which students process information; and use of multiple intelligence theory (Gardner, 1983).

Knowing your learners is critically important in successful lesson planning and arrangement of the learning environment, including grouping strategies.

Samantha loves to play soccer, but because she is totally blind she relies a great deal on her auditory ability.  Ms. Judge, the physical education teacher, took this into account when planning the lessons and made sure that all equipment used had some auditory device and that small, cohesive groups were incorporated in order to allow more time on task and peer tutoring.  In addition, she looked at her learning style as an auditory and tactile learner and made sure her paraeducator worked with her and helped her become familiar with the learning environment and equipment in use.  For example, when learning soccer, Ms. Judge had Samantha use a soccer ball with a bell inside, as well as cones which contained beepers so she knew where to dribble the ball.  Ms. Judge physically helped Samantha understand how to dribble and gave her verbal and tactile feedback when she was practicing.

Assessing The Learner

Some of us may remember back during our undergraduate years when we took a course on measurement and evaluation (AKA, tests and measurement).  Regardless of when or if such a course was completed, one of the take-home messages was that without assessment no programs or instruction can be effectively incorporated with the expectation of success.  The first and foremost step for any program or class is to determine a needs assessment.  Completing a needs assessment determines students’ prior knowledge and skills for upcoming lessons or programs; what areas of interest or overall feelings regarding lessons or programs the students demonstrate; what is needed for students to become more proficient or master skills being incorporated; and to determine skill and understanding levels to format learning groups.

One big thing to remember is that assessment is a continuous, ongoing process.  It is completed almost daily, sometimes unconsciously, in order to provide immediate, critical feedback, and make changes in the lessons/programs to ensure learning. Parents are often a good place to gain useful information regarding current performance and unique learning information. As a teacher, there is never a time when assessment is not taking place. 

Completion of the needs assessment at the beginning assists in implementing the instructional content and strategies used, informal assessment during the teaching and learning processes assists in ensuring the best learning environment for all students; summative assessment at the conclusion of a learning outcome assists in strengthening future learning outcomes for involved students; and regular self-assessments by the teacher may lead to modifications or changes designed to improve strategies used.

It is important to ensure that students are aware of ongoing assessment and defined success.

During a basketball unit, Janessa was included in the formative rubric assessment.  The rubric gave a gold medal to any student who could put three or more basketball-related skills together, such as dribbling, passing, and shooting.  They could get a silver for two or more skills, bronze for one or more skills, and honorable mention for participation only.  Janessa knew the criteria for grading and worked hard with her partner and friend, Sammy, to get a gold medal. She and Sammy even demonstrated their skills for the class at the end of the unit, allowing the class to see a glimpse of wheelchair basketball!

Grouping Students For Learning

Students can be grouped based on readiness to learn certain content or skills.  Table 2 discusses the various ways students can be grouped in order to incorporate differentiated strategies.

Ms. Michaels, the physical education teacher, knew the students who had short attention spans, those who could focus for long periods of time, and those who needed some motivation to get moving. She made small cooperative learning groups and combined these learning styles in each group, so the students could motivate each other. Matthew was put into a group as a student who had task persistence and a long attention span, needing only some assistance in activities requiring high balance skills. He, along with his similar peers, Jessica and Michael, helped their group stay focused in Project Adventure to get their group across a moat full of alligators (AKA the balance beam).

Table 2
Grouping Strategies within Differentiated Instruction

(Gregory, & Chapman, 2007)

Instructional Strategies

As mentioned earlier, differentiated instruction has the focus of diversity.  It takes into account not only the content being taught and requires the teacher to be an expert in this area, but also to have a strong foundation of understanding of his/her students, the cognitive learning theory, and strategies for incorporating differentiated instruction.  Successful integration of differentiated instruction requires an all-or-none principle.  Teachers must be proficient in all four areas or else differentiated instruction strategies are likely not to be effective.  Steps for implementing differentiated instruction into the physical education setting include—consistency; planning the program; use of focus activities at start of class; not wasting time; using graphic organizers; using cooperative group learning; using metaphorical and analogous thinking to make meaningful connections; and, awareness of student level of readiness and thinking complexity.

The importance of modifying curriculum and/or equipment to include ALL students is a critical step for any physical educator.

Mr. Estes teaches elementary physical education and his first grade class is one of diverse, mixed abilities.  Two of his students, Jonathan and Ryan, have cerebral palsy and use motorized wheelchairs.  For the lesson of catching and throwing, he modified the learning environment so that Jonathan and Ryan could catch and throw small and medium beach balls hanging from a line directly in front of them.  This allowed them to work at their own pace and level without losing valuable time retrieving equipment.  Both Jonathan and Ryan were able to work on their hand-eye coordination and movement of their arms during this activity, which increased their overall upper body movement and range of motion!

Curricular Approaches

Organizing curriculum to meet the various needs of diverse learners is no easy task.  Differentiated instruction takes into consideration several strategies related to curriculum approach and organization—learning stations; incorporating projects into your classroom; use choice boards to give students empowerment over learning; use problem-based learning approaches; and incorporate student learning contracts in your classroom.

Bryn’s class was working on bicycling and there were a few modifications to this activity based on student ability level.  Ms. Rush knew the students’ level of readiness, and she introduced several options of bikes ranging from two wheelers, three wheelers, two seaters, to tandem bikes.  This allowed her students, regardless of ability or disability, to move up in equipment use as their riding ability progressed.  Since Bryn had low vision and had never ridden a bike before, she was able to comfortably start with a tandem bike, allowing her to be successful in this unit.

Summary

Effective teachers take all of the skills and abilities of their learners into account. By differentiating instruction, students are set up for success and are taught to their strengths. Differentiated instruction does take time, energy, attention, and patience; yet, the outcome is well worth the energy. By assessing each student and then setting up effective instruction, grouping, and curricular approaches, every child will be successful. Table 3 provides an example of considerations for programming to ensure that differentiated instruction is appropriately implemented and successful.

Table 3
Example of Considerations for Programming to Ensure Differentiated Instruction

Selected References

Gardner, H.  (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Gregory, G. H., & Chapman, C. (2007). Differential instructional strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Lieberman, L. J., & Houston-Wilson, C. (2009). Strategies for inclusion; A handbook for physical educators. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Thousand, S. J., Villa, R. A., & Nevin, A.I. (2007). Differentiating instruction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Tomlinson, C.  (2001).  How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms (2nd ed.).  Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Department Sketch

Kathleen Ellis is Associate Professor of Adapted Physical Education in the Department of Kinesiology at West Chester University, PA, and serves PALAESTRA as Department Editor for the Calendar section.  Lauren Lieberman is Professor of Adapted Physical Education at SUNY-Brockport, NY. Danielle LeRoux, is Adapted Physical Education Teacher, Cecil County Public Schools, Elkton, MD.