Personalised learning is now broadly endorsed as a key strategy to improve student curricular engagement and academic attainment, but there is also strong critique of this construct. We review claims made for this approach, as well as concerns about its conceptual coherence and effects on different learner cohorts. Drawing on literature around…

Differentiated Instruction is an approach to teaching which meets the diverse academic needs of students by considering learner readiness, interest and learning style. The approach is grounded in the socio-cultural, multiple intelligence and learning style theories. In addition, differentiation is a research based method for meeting the…

This study investigated how three instructors developed their professional learning of beliefs, knowledge, and practice by examining their professional learning processes using constructive, social constructive, and transformative theoretical perspectives on learning. It also focused on their challenges and supports in developing their…

In this case study of adult English as a Second Language (ESL) educators, the researcher facilitated a six-week professional development activity around the topic of early literacy instruction. The four participants in the study circle were all LESLLA (low-educated second language and literacy acquisition) teachers whose students are adult…

In this action research study, eight teachers at an elementary school were trained in the use of Twitter to support the development of a personal learning network as a strategy to address non-differentiated professional development at the school. The main research question for this study was: In what ways, if any, can the use of a…

The present study seeks to determine how exposure to pre-differentiated and enriched curricula incorporating educative curriculum materials affects students' achievement as well as teacher and administrator responses to the intervention. A 2-year multi-site cluster randomized control trial study recruited a national sample of 4,530 grade 3…

The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement's January 2007 newsletter, "A Teacher's Guide to Differentiating Instruction," [ED495740] summarized the following four planning stages teachers can use to effectively differentiate instruction: (1) A thorough understanding of content; (2) Use of preassessments and regular formative…

Tomlinson defines differentiated instruction as "attempts to meet students where they are in the learning process and move them along as quickly and as far as possible in the context of a mixed-ability classroom." Successful differentiation equals student engagement and understanding. Instruction can be differentiated in several ways: by student…

Mobile educational systems have begun to emerge as potential educational environments supporting life-long learning. However, these environments still suffer from various technological and access related problems in many parts of the world. For example, the access to course materials is slow; courseware does not adapt to individual students; the…

Gender based learning has become an acceptable facet of the differentiated classroom. The female learner has unique needs that can be addressed through differentiated instruction. There are distinct differences between men and women. These differences effect how females approach learning as well as how they retain information. "A fundamental…

At a time when educators and policy makers are focused on improving outcomes for all children, we believe it is essential to understand better the ways in which principals may influence instructional norms in their schools. Our literature review led us to believe that a combination of leadership approaches is important for supporting teachers' use…

There are many challenges for teachers today. One of the most difficult challenges for diligent teachers is reaching the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. In order for teachers to reach ALL students, teachers must begin where students are, which means recognizing individual differences. Differentiated instruction (DI) with the…

This article summarizes how the components of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model were used to dramatically reduce the achievement gap in a school with a high at-risk student population. The theories of enrichment and instructional differentiation replaced an existing remedial paradigm and a strength-based methodology was embraced by the school…

We examined the effect of individualizing student instruction (ISI; N = 445 students, 46 classrooms) on first graders' self-regulation gains compared to a business-as-usual control group. Self-regulation, conceptualized as a constellation of executive skills, was positively associated with academic development. We hypothesized that the ISI…

Rapid growth of the volume of interactive questions available to the students of modern E-Learning courses placed the problem of personalized guidance on the agenda of E-Learning researchers. Without proper guidance, students frequently select too simple or too complicated problems and ended either bored or discouraged. This paper explores a…