Novice Teachers' Conceptions of Differentiated Instruction and Related Practice: A Longitudinal Multicase Study

• In Event: 56.080 - Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: 56.080-8 - Investigating Representations and Understandings of Differentiation in Multiple Contexts

Abstract

This longitudinal multicase study examined how novice elementary and secondary teachers made meaning of differentiation as a complex philosophical approach to teaching and learning. In spring 2014, Phase 1 explored how four preservice teachers came to understand differentiation through a course on the approach taught by Carol Tomlinson. From 2014-2016, Phase 2 examined how those participants continued to make meaning of and implement differentiation as first- and second-year teachers. Data sources included interviews with participants, classroom observations, and classroom artifacts. Findings indicated participants later attributed the knowledge and skills that supported their differentiated practice to experiences in the differentiation course, while concluding other teacher education experiences had detracted from their understanding of differentiation. Implications for teacher education coursework are considered.

Author

• Hilary Dack, University of North Carolina - Charlotte