Running head: BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 1

What are the Benefits of Differentiated Learning in Classrooms?

Jamileh Abdallah - 19172819

Jayden B. Lach – 17691622

Tahleel Iqbal - 19417804

Western Sydney University

102097: Researching Teaching and Learning – 2H, 2019

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What are the Benefits of Differentiated Learning in Classrooms?

Differentiated Activities in Classrooms: Data Analysis

A study was conducted to research differentiated activities in regard to differentiated

learning. Post this study, it would have been ideal to have three classes involved, however

two teacher/class in year nine consented to participate in the study because it was reaching

the end of term. Two teachers (science and English) agreed to participate in this study and an

overall six students, three from each class. The first stage of this study, teachers and students

were asked a range of questions that indicated their understanding of differentiated

activities/learning. Post differentiated activities in class, teachers and students were asked to

answer an additional range of questions to analyse their understanding of differentiated

activities and their experience.

Prior to setting the differentiated activities in class, both teachers and myself gathered

and researched through differentiated learning and activities. They chose to create their own

way of implementing the activities used in class. Teacher A (English teacher) decided to

create progressive activities, a number of small activities ranging from low order to higher

order thinking skills, and allowed students to progress at their own pace. Students were

encouraged to ask questions throughout while she went around the class helping students that

needed additional help.

Teacher B decided to split her students into groups depending on the level of learning

they are on and created multiple tasks on the board and gave students the option to choose 2

of 5 of those activities to complete as a group. Once the tasks were completed there would be

an individual task to follow.

Post differentiated activities/tasks, both teachers found that differentiated activities

significantly increased the student’s engagement overall and minimised the disruption to
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learning. Both teachers recognised that students were developing at a higher rate in just a few

lessons. Although teacher A and B noticed the vast improvements in their students learning,

they communicated that differentiated activities have their limitations. Teacher A outlined

that there would need to be more time and effort placed into creating the lessons, and due to

the lack of time she believes she has, this would be an added task. Teacher B outlined that it

is difficult to use differentiated activities in her practical classes due to safety issues with her

students. She also outlined that her concern about covering the syllabus efficiently to prepare

her students to successfully pass their assessments.

Although they outlined the limitations to differentiated activities, both teachers stated

they will use the time in their end of year holidays to implement this strategy to better support

their diverse students.

The results for students post differentiated activities was unanimous, this was very

interesting as the students ranged in cultural and academic diversity. All six students enjoyed

the varying tasks and stated they were able to complete more work than usual due to multiple

tasks. Students in class A outlined that they enjoyed being able to have progressive tasks and

used this a competition between their peers. They found this allowed them to focus more on

the work and minimised the disruption from other students in class. Students from class B

satiated that the choice to choose an activity is what they enjoyed the most, they also outlined

that the benefits of group work helped them understand elements from their peers that they

couldn't grasp from their teacher.

There were a few limitations to this study, firstly the number of participants that

agreed to be part of this study were eight in total, two teachers and six students. Second

limitation was the amount of time to conduct this study, as there were school holidays

approaching and this limited the time and frequency of the activities. Overall each class had a

total of eight lessons with differentiated activities. Additionally, both teachers did not
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consent, for the privacy of the students, to allow the results of their activities to be viewed by

myself, rather they would give me an overall of their progress prior and post of the

differentiated activities.

In conclusion this study has shown that differentiated activities have a positive impact

on students learning. Students showed higher levels of engagement, lower disruptions in class

and higher academic progress. Although both teachers outlined that there are limitations to

implementing differentiated activities in their lessons, they are now encouraged to implement

this strategy in their teaching in the future.

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Teachers’ Perspectives on Differentiated Assessment: Revised Method

Participants

The option to complete the survey was offered to teachers across three schools with

whom I had a working relationship previously. It was asked that the survey be distributed

amongst the three schools to whomever would be willing to participate. A summary of the

respondents can be found in Table 1. Of these participants (𝑁𝑁 = 9), one was a pre-service

teacher completing their second practicum, one participant was a head teacher with 10-20

years’ experience, and seven were classroom teachers with experience ranging from two

years to greater than 20 years teaching in schools.

The participants of the study were asked to state their beliefs of the effectiveness of

differentiation on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = Not at all to 4 = Essential for learning), and

their use of modifying assessments, also on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = Never to 4 =

Always). The participants were also asked about their strategies for modifying assessments

for students that struggle to read or understand the questions being asked of them, and

whether it is fair to write assessments that vary in difficulty despite assessing the same

outcomes, for students that may not be able to demonstrate their understanding of concepts at

the same level as students at the top of the cohort.

Table 1
Key Learning Areas of teacher participants, 𝑁𝑁 = 9
English/ Science/
English History Mathematics Mathematics
Male 1 0 1 0
Female 1 1 4 1
Note. 𝑁𝑁 = number of participants
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Results

All participants were in agreeance that differentiation was exceptional for increasing

students’ academic achievement (𝑀𝑀 = 3.67, 𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 = 0.5), with 67% of participants believing

that differentiation is essential for students to learn. When asked whether modifications are

provided for students with learning difficulties to complete their assessments, all participants

said they provide modifications (M = 3.44, SD = 0.88), however 22% of respondents

reported only occasionally providing modifications to students with additional learning

needs. One participant claimed to never give the same assessment to all students participating

in the same course, however 44% of the participants reported often giving the same test to all

students, regardless of their academic abilities (M = 2.78, SD = 0.97).

A main theme that emerged from this study was providing students with a scaffold, or

exemplar responses for assignment type tasks to assist them in their answers was beneficial,

but only if they are within the conditions of the assessment, as set out by the school policies,

or by the NSW Education Standards Authority [NESA]. Further to providing scaffolds, many

responses discussed the teacher providing additional support to the students with specific

learning needs, especially students who may have an Individualised Education Program (IEP)

that may require them to receive additional explanation to understand questions or concepts.

The opinions regarding the fairness of writing multiple assessments were mixed,

however the majority of participants advocated for at least some minor changes to

assessments in order to be equitable for all students. One respondent was completely against

multiple versions of assessments, stating:

No. If you're teaching a GAT class they need the motivation to work harder. If you're

teaching a mixed ability class which is what happens in most cases, of course some

students are going to achieve higher based on their ability to understand content.
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When making that claim however, the participant also noted that having the same

assessment will help to differentiate a classroom based on student results from each

assessment given to the class. Many of the teachers, however, noted that although it would be

equitable to modify the assessments for the majority of students, that the logistics of that

situation would be too much for a school to deal with.

Most strategies that were recommended to be implemented to ensure students meet

the appropriate outcomes of assessments included providing additional time and assistance

with a teacher for students that may be struggling to demonstrate their work to an acceptable

standard. Other responses suggested developing questions of varying difficulty that can be

achieved by students at various academic abilities, and a marking rubric that doesn’t over-

reward high achieving students, in order for all students show their understanding of the

outcomes being assessed, and achieve at a level appropriate to them.

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The Importance of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Learners

Participants

There were four participants to this study. All four of them are teachers with at least

three years of experience from four different subject areas; History, Mathematics, Science

and PDHPE. These faculties were chosen deliberately, to be inclusive of as many

perspectives as possible. All teachers teach in the same boys’ high school in a multicultural

suburb in Western Sydney. 99% of the population of this school is LBOTE (Language

Background Other Than English) because of which the teachers were able to share their

informed opinions on the research questions/topic.

Method

The four teachers were interviewed, after they had signed the consent forms. All

interviews lasted between 12 to 15 minutes. There were five research questions set against 10

interview questions. As the interviews were semi-structured ones, some questions required

further probing (as they elaborated on their opinions with examples), while some questions

were anticipated by the participants beforehand as well.

Findings

Category 1: Knowing your students.

All four teachers felt that only knowing your students as a teacher and understanding

what they need is the right way to approach differentiation in a very diverse school and

teaching context. The Science teacher shared his experience by explaining his pedagogy. He

said that he tries to look up contributions of people of all ethnicities, cultures and religions

when teaching a concept and not just Western scientists. The Mathematics teacher said that

he understands that some students with Chinese backgrounds struggle with certain concepts

because of how numeracy operates in the Chinese culture and being mindful of that helps him

decode certain concepts for them. Similarly, the PDHPE teacher quoted an example where he
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 9

taught about nutrition keeping in mind the religious background of his students; intermittent

fasting with Muslims.

Category 2: Staff development and whole-school policies.

All teachers felt that teacher-sensitivity training was paramount in designing a

pedagogy and an environment for students which is effective. The History teacher

particularly felt that the Department of Education policies were merely tick boxes and rarely

got implemented practically in the classroom. He also felt that all teachers also needed

awareness trainings or workshops as well. The Science and Mathematics teachers, however,

also felt that at the end of the day it was their job to teach the content, regardless of a

student’s ethnic background. While all teachers could benefit from such trainings, ultimately

hard concepts do not change and need to be taught to all students. The teachers also felt that

if whole-school policies could also bring a positive change in their pedagogies if

implemented rigorously.

Category 3: Student feedback.

Not a single teacher, out of the four that were interviewed took into account students’

view on what should be taught. All teachers felt that whatever the content was had to be

taught in all cases (also in consideration with the Department’s policies). However, students’

responses, their interest in a topic was quoted as a driving force behind designing teaching

and learning activities for them, particularly in the case of History and PDHPE.

Category 4: Challenges.

One of the biggest challenges, as quoted by the Science teacher, was that students’

religious backgrounds sometimes came in the way of him teaching certain scientific concepts.

He said that the topics of reproduction and evolution were the biggest challenge for him in

the Year 10 classroom as the Muslim students would feel uncomfortable or even argue at

times. He said that their certain “indoctrinated” ideas in students’ minds that they bring from
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 10

their respective backgrounds could actually be a hurdle in their learning. Differentiation in

this scenario because the biggest challenge, he said.

Another challenge for all teachers was student motivation. They felt that

differentiation sometimes becomes irrelevant because students are not motivated to put an

effort in. They quoted the low SES of the school and students’ backgrounds as possible

reasons for this.

Lack of time was quoted as he biggest challenge all teachers faced when planning a

differentiated lesson or unit of work. With students from a wide range of learning abilities

and backgrounds, specifically devising culturally and linguistically inclusive teaching and

learning activities had proved to impossible for them on multiple occasions.

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Appendix A

Signed Consent Forms - Differentiated Activities in Classrooms

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Appendix B

Signed Consent Forms - Teachers’ Perspectives on Differentiated Assessment

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Appendix C

Signed Consent Forms - The Importance of Linguistically and Culturally Diverse Learners
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Appendix D

Group Contribution Form – Jamileh Abdallah

Group Contribution Name: Jamileh Abdallah

Explain your contribution to the group:

How did you contribute to:

• Identifying group and individual topics?

Once the group and I chose the overarching topic by choice of the allocated table, we all
agreed that this is a personal interest of ours. As for the individuals topics, we each chose
what we would like to strengthen our knowledge in prior to teaching. This is how we each
individually chose a branch related to the topic and all had suggestions to modifying the
question.

• Developing and implementing the intervention?

As a group, we went through our options we must choose and collectively agreed how we
will share among the three of us.

• Collecting and analyzing preliminary data?

Performing my individual data collection and study of my individual question, differentiated
activities.

• Developing the research presentation?

The presentation was compiled by each group member providing the information that they
would like to present based on their study to the group member that was compiling the slides.
We had met to discuss our analyses, and how the data fit the literature in order to develop a
script to present over our information.

• How did you interact with the other group members?

I interacted with group members through what's up group message, student emails, zoom
meeting and on campus gathering.
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 34

Fill out the following rubric for each of your group members:

Group Member: Jayden Lach

5 – Excellent, 4 – Good, 3 – Fair, 2 – Poor, 1 – No Contribution

5 4 3 2 1

Took leadership
role when needed

Contributed ideas
and knowledge

Polite and
respectful to all
members

Completed
individual tasks

Completed tasks
on time

Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.

Group Member: Tahleel Iqbal

5 – Excellent, 4 – Good, 3 – Fair, 2 – Poor, 1 – No Contribution

5 4 3 2 1

Took leadership
role when needed

Contributed ideas
and knowledge

Polite and
respectful to all
members

Completed
individual tasks

Completed tasks
on time

Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 35

Appendix E

Group Contribution Form – Jayden Lach

Group Contribution Name: Jayden Lach

Explain your contribution to the group:

How did you contribute to:

• Identifying group and individual topics?

My individual topic came as a result of my second practicum and seeing how some students
were disadvantaged when taking exams due to their lack of reading and writing ability. From
this, I wanted to gain insight into the thoughts of teachers about producing assessments that
may help these students to demonstrate their learning. The group topic was a collective
decision based on our mutual interest of learning more about differentiation strategies that
could increase students’ learning.

• Developing and implementing the intervention?

As a group, we discussed the key findings from the three studies, and decided that we should
focus on the improving on the positive aspects of the key findings, since changing assessment
practices and policies could prove problematic without immense support. I had suggested a
self-paced learning intervention that can be used initially in an English classroom, and
progressively added to more KLA’s as more data are collected on the efficacy of the
intervention.

• Collecting and analyzing preliminary data?

The data for my individual study were collected by survey that was designed to gain insight
into assessment modified practices, without being excessive in length which may have
stopped teachers from completing the survey due to them not having time to complete it. The
analysis was completed in two parts since there were two types of questioning used (Likert
scale, and open-ended questions). The data from the Likert scale were preliminarily analysed
by determining an approximate mean and standard deviation of the ordinal data. The data
from the open-ended questions of my survey were coded by myself and placed into
categories. From there, the categories were discussed with the other members of the group,
and arranged to form the basis of our group’s analysis.

• Developing the research presentation?

The presentation was compiled by each group member providing the information that they
would like to present based on their study to the group member that was compiling the slides.
We had met to discuss our analyses, and how the data fit the literature in order to develop a
script to present over our information.

How did you interact with the other group members?

Most of the interactions with group members came either face-to-face during tutorial time or
by meetings using Zoom when meeting in person was not viable. Conversations were also
WhatsApp messages, and through student email to send files for checking.
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 36

Fill out the following rubric for each of your group members:

Group Member: Jamileh Adballah

5 – Excellent, 4 – Good, 3 – Fair, 2 – Poor, 1 – No Contribution

5 4 3 2 1
Took leadership
role when
needed
Contributed
ideas and
knowledge
Polite and
respectful to all
members
Completed
individual tasks

Completed tasks
on time

Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.

Group Member: Tahleel Iqbal

5 – Excellent, 4 – Good, 3 – Fair, 2 – Poor, 1 – No Contribution

5 4 3 2 1
Took leadership
role when
needed
Contributed
ideas and
knowledge
Polite and
respectful to all
members
Completed
individual tasks

Completed tasks
on time

Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 37

Appendix F

Group Contribution Form – Tahleel Iqbal

Group Contribution Name: Tahleel Iqbal

Explain your contribution to the group:

How did you contribute to:

• Identifying group and individual topics?

As we zeroed in on differentiation as our over-arching topic, I participated in group

discussions around what could everyone do within that. We discussed differentiated
assessment for Jayden as well. As one of my teaching areas is EAL/D, I tilted towards
differentiation for culturally and linguistically diverse learners which also helped me to
decide my topic.

• Developing and implementing the intervention?

After discussing our findings, I (along with the other group members) planned an intervention
which would not only work for linguistically and culturally diverse learners, students with
varied learning abilities or differentiation within assessment, but also how it could be
practically employed in an Australian school, preferably in Western Sydney.

• Collecting and analyzing preliminary data?

I conducted my interviews and then analyzed it accordingly. I discussed the findings with my
group members to find out overlapping ideas and opinions, while also pinpointing the areas
where we differed due to the difference in our methodologies.

• Developing the research presentation?

We worked collaboratively. After we had discussed the findings, we divided the tasks among
us. I synthesized all the literature reviews and provided an overview of my data and findings.
I also commented on what should be mentioned in the findings durin the presentation.

• How did you interact with the other group members?

I interacted with them through a whatsapp group, zoom meetings and email.
BENEFITS OF DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING 38

Fill out the following rubric for each of your group members:

Group Member: Jamileh Abdallah

5 – Excellent, 4 – Good, 3 – Fair, 2 – Poor, 1 – No Contribution

5 4 3 2 1
Took
leadership
role when
needed
Contributed
ideas and
knowledge
Polite and
respectful to
all members
Completed
individual
tasks

Completed
tasks on time

Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.

Group Member: Jayden Lach

5 – Excellent, 4 – Good, 3 – Fair, 2 – Poor, 1 – No Contribution

5 4 3 2 1
Took
leadership
role when
needed
Contributed
ideas and
knowledge
Polite and
respectful to
all members
Completed
individual
tasks

Completed
tasks on time

Explain scores of 1, 2, or 3.