Using collaborative action research to enhance differentiated instruction

ABSTRACT

Differentiated instruction has been shown to meet the needs of diverse learners, and can meaningfully improve individual student learning, however many teachers find it challenging to implement. This paper reports on a targeted professional development programme which was undertaken as a collaborative action research project. Results show many participants adapted their classroom pedagogy to provide further supports for students through differentiated instruction. We argue that this study’s use of a collaborative action research approach to provide teacher professional development, along with a focus on evidence using a differentiation observation instrument, were important stimuli for reflection and pedagogical experimentation. This targeted approach to professional reflection and exposure to research-based and other colleagues’ teaching practices led to enhanced differentiated instruction among participants. These findings contribute to understanding the processes that lead to teacher development.

KEYWORDS:

• Inclusion
• differentiated instruction
• professional development
• collaborative action research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nicky Dulfer

Nicky Dulfer is a Senior Lecturer at the Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne who has over a decade’s experience undertaking research within the field of education. Originally a secondary school teacher, her research areas of expertise include issues of inequality and pedagogy within Secondary education and the International Baccalaureate. Nicky’s research agenda is driven by a social justice imperative and seeks to make a significant change to the ways in which marginalised students experience education. Focussed on pedagogy and equity, Nicky’s research has comprised examining pedagogical practices, teacher efficacy, differentiation, engagement and retention in a range of secondary schools.

Jeana Kriewaldt

Jeana Kriewaldt is a Senior Lecturer in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. She has a strong applied background as a classroom teacher and school leader. Researching in teacher education, Jeana research focuses on how teachers learn across the career span. This work seeks to influence policy by theorising what are the important foundations for teacher development today, drawing in human and planetary equity dimensions. With foundational expertise in geography and sustainability education, she brings distinctive knowledge and insights to make a significant contribution to teacher professional development as a means for conceptualising how teachers continue to improve their practice.

Amy McKernan

Amy McKernan is a lecturer and researcher in social justice in education, with particular expertise in the role that representations of social trauma and historical injustice can play in teaching for social inclusion and cultural recognition. Her work examines learning in public spaces, including museums and other cultural heritage organisations, and she has also undertaken research in differentiation for diverse student needs and backgrounds.