Differentiating Instruction to Meet the Needs of Diverse Technical/Technology Education Students at the Secondary School level

Abstract

Effective teaching requires fostering success for all students, and to help them become productive, problem-solvers, and self-directed learners. This is more so in Technical/Technology Education where learners do not all learn the same thing in the same way or on the same day. As such, technical education teachers must consider each learner based on needs, readiness, preferences, and interests. This paper gives insights on how to effectively achieve this success in the classroom, through the use of Differentiated Instruction (DI)-an approach that enables teachers to plan strategically as well as provide a variety of options to successfully reach all students. Differentiated Instruction allows teachers to meet learners where they are and offer challenging and appropriate options for them to achieve success. The paper highlights other areas where this teaching technique could be applied toward students' motivation, engagement, and academic growth. The authors also explain the three elements of the curriculum that can be differentiated: Content, Process, and Products. Other issues concerning the teaching-learning process are also discussed in the paper.