This study used a mixed-methods design to examine teachers' responses to professional learning on mathematics differentiation. Grade 3 classroom teachers (N = 28) attended four 2-h professional learning sessions and an additional 2 h individually on differentiation and completed pre- and post-surveys with quantitative and short response items…

This paper describes how an interdisciplinary design team used the Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) model and its accompanying Ten Steps design approach to systematically design a professional development program for teaching differentiation skills to primary school teachers. This description illustrates how insights from a cognitive…

By utilizing targeted professional learning and predifferentiated, tiered, and enriched mathematics curriculum, teachers gained an understanding of differentiation of content and the value of differentiating content for their students. They also reported a stronger understanding of how to differentiate content in the classroom. However, several…

While coaching is a well-documented form of professional development to support teachers' instructional practices in mathematics, limited research exists on how coaches can support teachers in differentiating their mathematics instruction. Hence, as part of this retrospective case study, we explored how one instructional coach leveraged a coaching…

Mathematics teachers at the local middle school located in a southeastern suburban community were struggling to implement differentiated instruction (DI) strategies in mathematics lessons as presented in professional development (PD) sessions and as directed by school administrators. The purpose of this study was to explore middle school…

Tasks play a central role in the mathematics classroom. Especially when teaching in a heterogeneous mathematics class, teachers should be able to find, select, modify, and assign tasks adequately. The focus in this paper is on adaptivity to cognitively activate all learners at the individual level, and on teachers' abilities to allow for such…

The purpose of this mixed methods, qualitative and quantitative study was to explore how math and science teachers perceived and supported the learning of students with high abilities in inclusive, urban, general education classrooms. Drawing on the literature on self-regulated learning (SRL), the study explored: (1) teachers' perceptions of…

Teachers must meet a variety of students' mathematics learning needs but are often not trained to do so. Little is known about how teachers perceive their efficacy to meet diverse math learning needs. The purpose of this qualitative collective case study was to explore teacher attitudes and perceptions of professional development (PD) and…

Scalable and accessible professional development programs have the potential to address the opportunity gap many teachers experience. Yet many asynchronous online programs lack interaction with and timely feedback to teachers. We addressed this problem by developing a virtual, interactive program that uses intelligent tutoring systems to provide…

This qualitative descriptive case study investigated the internal and external factors that support or limit teachers' decisions to adopt differentiated instructional approaches in the mathematics classrooms of a Southeastern United States Catholic elementary and middle school. School leaders and teachers face diverse student populations and…

Both in New Zealand and internationally, there has been a focus on the use of differentiation in mathematics instruction to raise achievement levels and provide equitable outcomes. New Zealand has a long history of the use of ability grouping to provide differentiation. Recently, this practice has been challenged in a large scale professional…

In this position paper, we review the practice of differentiation -- a universal concept aimed to support diverse students in our classrooms. In exposing the wide-ranging practices of differentiated instruction, and critiques of current implementation, we argue that differentiation in the mathematics classroom needs to be reframed in terms of a…

To facilitate the professional learning of teachers and bring about changes in pedagogical practices, it is necessary to understand the process by which teachers grow professionally. Professional growth can be achieved when teachers work together to engage in professional experimentation and see results in terms of salient outcomes for their…

The aim of this study is to investigate task design for differentiated instruction in mathematics in professional learning communities. Based on the cultural-historical activity theory, we conceptualize a professional learning community as an activity system and use the analytical construct of contradictions to give an account of structures that…

Tier 1 Instruction provides the essential foundation for all students to succeed, alleviating the need for more intensive support later. This Spotlight will help readers learn from schools implementing multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS); analyze new laws on math supports for struggling students; evaluate the long-term benefits of early…