Abstract:
This study examined middle school teachers' understanding of differentiated instruction in the mathematics classroom. Middle school teachers attending Accomplishing Indiana's Middle School Mathematics Standards (AI(MS)2) participated in this study. Preliminary surveys were given to find out understandings and misconceptions. A tailored presentation was prepared to help clear up misconceptions and further teacher knowledge of differentiated instruction. The teachers created two differentiated lessons to demonstrate their understanding of the topic. The teachers showed in their responses to the survey that they agreed with most aspects of differentiated instruction. However, in their lesson plans, many of them failed to include tasks involving cooperative learning, which is a fundamental aspect of differentiated instruction. Also, many of the lessons were designed in a way that allowed only advanced learners to complete worthwhile mathematics tasks.