Development of Differentiated Instruction Rubric

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Division D Section 1 Roundtable Topic: Cognitive Diagnostic Models

Abstract

This study presents a new tool, the Differentiated Instruction Rubric (DIR), developed for external assessment of quality of differentiated instruction. The DIR provides unique criteria at four levels for twelve independent items divided into two categories, Instructional Adaptations (IA) and Academic Progress Monitoring (APM). The DIR was tested on 269 lesson plans and videos developed by elementary school teachers enrolled in a special education graduate program at a public university. Validity testing indicated high inter-rater reliability with strong positive correlations between scores from two independent raters. Cronbach’s alpha confirmed internal consistency within each category and across both categories. Factor analysis confirmed two-factor structure of the rubric with loadings of items consistent with assumption of two distinct categories, IA and APM.

Authors

• Samantha Bergen, College of Staten Island

• Irina Lyublinskaya, Teachers College, Columbia University