Exploring the Adaptivity of Teachers' Instructional Differentiation

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 39
  In Roundtable Session: Adapting and Differentiating Instruction: Serving Students With Special Needs

Abstract

To provide optimal learning opportunities for different students it is acknowledged that teachers should differentiate their instructional practices. To get a grasp on the quality of teachers’ differential practice a deeper understanding of the relation between student diversity, teachers’ adaptivity and differentiation practices is needed. In this paper these relations are explored with eight secondary school teachers teaching the same class. Per teacher three lessons were observed and followed by a video-stimulated interview. Furthermore each teacher was interviewed about the learning needs of each student. Results show that teacher adaptivity and differentiation practices are not easily determined. It seems crucial to use a mixed-methods approach to empirically investigate teachers’ adaptive teaching.

Authors

• Lieke Maria Jager, Radboud University Nijmegen

• Harry Havekes, Radboud Teacher Academy Nijmegen (the Netherlands)

• Eddie Denessen, Radboud University Nijmegen

• Toon Cillessen, Radboud University Nijmegen