Anticipating and responding to learner variability can make using talk moves complex. The authors fuse Universal Design for Learning (UDL), differentiation, and talk moves into three key planning and pedagogy considerations.

This article introduces the formative assessment probe--a powerful tool for collecting focused, actionable information about student thinking and potential misconceptions--along with a process for targeting instruction in response to probe results. Drawing on research about common student mathematical misconceptions as well as the former work of…

Math Workshop offers differentiated instruction to foster a deep understanding of rich, rigorous mathematics that is attainable by all learners. The inquiry-based model provides a menu of multilevel math tasks, within the daily math block, that focus on similar mathematical content. Math Workshop promotes a culture of engagement and…

In this article, the authors illustrates techniques for integrating diverse learners in shared mathematical contexts while providing differentiated support or challenge, as necessary. The techniques described were developed for a curriculum project entitled Learning Mathematics through Representations (LMR). A premise of LMR is that students'…

Elementary school teachers in Seattle, Washington, are encouraged to adapt differentiated instructional practices in math to accommodate the particular students in their own classrooms. Seattle Public Schools is a large, urban district serving 47,000 students who speak over a hundred languages. More than a third receive free or reduced lunch. The…

All good teachers recognize their students' varying learning needs and strive to meet them. So differentiation is certainly not a revolutionary idea. In fact, Tomlinson and Eidson describe differentiated instruction as "really just common sense" (2003, p. 1). In practice, however, offering such opportunities for students is challenging. In this…

Young students, new to formal mathematics, come to school with various number experiences. To meet their needs, teachers must understand each student's thinking and tailor instruction appropriately. Differentiation is a vehicle for making this possible. According to Tomlinson (2001), differentiated instruction is student-centered; rooted in…

One of the many challenges teachers face is trying to differentiate instruction so all students have equal opportunities to participate, learn, and engage. To provide guidelines for differentiated instruction in mathematics, staff from the Madison Metropolitan School District in Wisconsin created a pedagogical framework for teaching called…

Differentiation is one way to make the success of all students in mathematics a reality. However, many teachers continue to wonder how to make differentiation work in everyday classroom instruction, practice, and assessment. One approach that allows educators to deliver differentiated practice and assessment opportunities to effectively reach all…

The Leading for Mathematical Proficiency (LMP) Framework (Bay-Williams et al.) has three components: (1) The Standards for Mathematical Practice; (2) Shifts in classroom practice; and (3) Teaching skills. This article briefly describes each component of the LMP framework and then focuses more in depth on the second component, the shifts in…

Achieving equity in elementary school mathematics instruction involves meeting a diverse range of student learning needs that are inevitably present in mixed-ability classrooms. An instructional strategy that the author has found useful in working toward equity in mathematics class is to introduce opportunities for students to learn to make good…

Tiering and scaffolding are two differentiation strategies that teachers use to support access to a high-quality mathematics curriculum for all students. This article provides examples demonstrating a thinking process for planning tiered activities that focus on important mathematical understandings. Also described are possible scaffolds that can…

This article shows how children's literature can be used to provide meaningful mathematics instruction for children functioning at a variety of instructional levels in a single classroom.

This article describes the foundations underlying the process of instructional differentiation for students with learning problems in mathematics and illustrates its application using a lesson that emphasizes the five Process Standards highlighted in "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics."

This article describes the Mathematics Investigation Center (MIC), a tool to help elementary teachers differentiate the curriculum for their gifted mathematics students. Using the same mathematical theme that the rest of the class is studying, the activities provide depth for the gifted students by shifting from a computation level to a problem…