DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTIONS

How Can the Use of Differentiated Instruction to Decrease the Achievement Gap for Economically Diverse Students?

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Table of Contents

Statement of the Problem2

Research Questions3

Purpose of the Study3

Conceptual Framework4

Significance of the Study5

Literature Review6

Historical Overview of Differentiated Instruction6

Background of AP7

Principles of Differentiated Instruction8

Role of Readiness on Differentiated Instruction10

Role of Learning Styles on Differentiated Instruction11

Differentiating through Content, Process, and Product13

Teachers' Role in Differentiated Instruction14

Differentiation and AP Courses16

Methodology21

Research Approach21

Data Collection21

Questionnaire Explanation22

Search Strategy22

Literature Search22

Ethical Viewpoint23

References24

How Can the Use of Differentiated Instruction to Decrease the Achievement Gap for Economically Diverse Students?

Introduction

Students in the United States have fallen behind in achievement in relationship to students in most other industrialized nations (Hebel, 2008). According Beecher & Sweeny (2008), the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 brought about measures of accountability and its focus on the achievement gap among culturally, linguistically, ethnically, and economically diverse groups has since intensified and poses great concern for educators. The need for equity among courses has extended to advance placement (AP) courses. In order to ensure the equality of all students within the program, the College Board developed the following AP Equity Policy Statement: The College Board and the AP Program encourage teachers, AP Coordinators, and school administrators to make equitable access a guiding principle for their AP programs. The College Board is committed to the principle that all students deserve an opportunity to participate in rigorous, academically challenging courses and programs. All students who are willing to accept the challenge of a rigorous academic curriculum should be considered for admission to AP courses. The Board encourages the elimination of barriers that restrict access for AP courses to students from economically diverse groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the AP Program. Schools should make every effort to ensure that their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population (College Board, 2009a).

According to the College Board's 6th Annual AP Report to the Nation, “AP is an academic program that bridges the academic rigor of secondary schools and higher education” (2010, p. 3). Its courses serve as comparable models for college-level courses and are intended to successfully link high school and the first year of college. The Report indicated that education in the United States is using the AP program to encourage and educate a more economically diverse student population. The number of African American, Latino, and American Indian students participating in AP courses increased in 2010. Hispanic or Latino students represented 15.5 % of the AP examinee population, Black or African American students represented 8.2%, and American Indian or Alaska Native students made up 0.6%. According to College Board, 18.9 % of the students from the graduating class of 2009 who took an AP exam were low-income students (2010). As AP's student population has become more diversified, the desire to meet the needs of each student and ensure his or her success in AP has grown (Geddes, 2010).

Giving students a choice through differentiated instruction gives them a sense of self determination, which translates into increased commitment; differentiated instruction thrives in schools ...