Differentiated Instruction

Ahh, a subject near and dear to my heart.  Well, not really, but I certainly hear about it constantly in my job as a school nurse.  Why would I hear about it? After all, I am not a teacher! In the elementary schools that I work in, the teachers are working diligently on finding ways to wrap their minds and their teaching efforts around differentiated instruction.  With students coming from many different life situations and learning styles, cultures and even health conditions, it is important to find out what works for each student and to maximize their learning.  That can be accomplished through differentiated instruction.  Even for school nurses, it is important to realize that we need to incorporate this everyday in our interactions with parents and students, while teaching about health concerns.  It allows us to meet the students where they are, at the place that they are ready to learn, and to gear instruction to stimulate learning for the student.

This learning methods also carries over to the adult learning environment.  It is important to know that it is not just simplifying material for a student, but is presenting the information in different manners at the level of the student to allow them to progress and learn.  Parents use differentiation when teaching their own children and working through developmental levels.  Differentiated instruction is the heart of teaching, in my opinion, and allows everyone to learn.  Isn't that what teaching is all about?

So the important aspect is how to incorporate this when teaching as a nurse, whether it be with a family and patient concerning their health needs, a staff regarding updates in procedures or policies, or nursing students at college.  As an educator, you want all of your students to learn, to be able to grasp the information and use it.  Technology is one way to incorporate this, but I feel that we must be careful not to assume that technology makes learning easier for everyone.  Many adult learners are not as comfortable with technology, and this will decrease what they are able to learn from those efforts.  Vella (2002) stated in her article that it was important to assess the needs of the learner, and I can't think of a better time then when addressing differentiated instruction.  I appreciated the idea of contacting the students in the class prior to the start of class and discussing their learning needs.  Clarification of what they expect to learn, as well as some discussion of their learning style will help to differentiate instruction if needed.  It is a huge task, and one that needs constant adjustment, but differentiating instruction is well worth it, in my opinion.