Read More
- How Findings from DI Can Help Administrators and Teachers?
- Why Research DI in Singapore?
- How Was the Research Carried Out?
- Evidence from DI
- What Does This Mean for DI Implementation in Schools?
- Classroom Resources
- Useful Links & References
- Research Projects
- Research Team
- Primary school
- Secondary school
English, Math, Science
- 10 teachers (With 3 to more than 20 years of experience, across all academic streams)
- 5 primary and 5 secondary schools
“I found it very useful that Dr Heng shared the results of her current study with Singapore teachers. It was useful for me to see what the common deficiencies are in our work as teachers in Singapore.”
– Participant, Differentiated Instruction session in the Curriculum, Assessment, Teaching, and Learning Colloquium/2019
“It’s been a pleasure listening to your sharing. I think what you have shared has been a good introduction to the teachers to understand DI in our local classroom context.”
– School Staff Developer, J Primary School
Classroom Resources
- A differentiated primary six Math unit on percentage (with sample lesson plan)
- Principles and Philosophy in a Differentiated Classroom
Videos
Principal Investigator
Co-Principal Investigator
Knowledge Resource Bank
Differentiated Instruction (DI)
Differentiated Instruction: Implementations and Experiences of Singapore Teachers
How Findings from DI Can Help Administrators and Teachers?
Why Research DI in Singapore?
- Differentiated Instruction (DI) is a systematic educational approach in which teachers modify content, teaching and learning activities to honour the range of student backgrounds and maximise their learning opportunities and capacities (Tomlinson, 2017).
- DI is largely associated with the work of Carol Tomlinson in the United States and has been identified as a key SkillsFuture area of practice, hence rapidly gaining popularity in Singapore.
- As DI originates from the North American context, teachers implementing it in Singapore may face unique issues given the different local context.
- This project investigated how 10 teachers in Singapore implemented and experienced DI, including the successes and obstacles they faced.
- Studying teachers’ successes and challenges in implementing DI can help administrators and teachers to contextualise within Singapore to:
- better engage with the approach
- acknowledge its limits and potentials
How Was the Research Carried Out?
-
Differentiated Instruction adopted a qualitative research design involving ten teachers.
- Each participant took part in:
- three semi-structured interviews
- a background questionnaire
- four observation cycles
- Each cycle comprised an observation and pre-/post-observation interviews
- Each participant took part in:
Source: Tomlinson, C.A. (2014). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. ASCD.
Learn more about the research : At the intersection of educational change and borrowing: teachers implementing learner-centred education in Singapore
Evidence from DI
What Does This Mean for DI Implementation in Schools?Implications for teachers
- Realise that DI is not just a teaching strategy; it is an educational approach based on certain philosophies and principles.
Implications for school administrators and managers
- Provide sustained and on-site professional development opportunities
- engage teachers in reculturing, and beyond mere technical strategies to identify:
- what shapes them as teachers
- what assumptions they have of teaching, learning, learners
- why and how they need to change
- engage teachers in reculturing, and beyond mere technical strategies to identify:
- Create risk-free environments to practice new educational approaches
- Ring-fence time:
- plan units of lessons in pairs/groups
- Set aside funding:
- purchase curricular resources or flexible classroom furniture
- Recognise:
- the potentials and limits of applying an educational approach from a different context to our local context
- educational change takes several years
- Be aware of technological, sociocultural, and political tensions
Related Links
- SingTeach, Issue 71 Dec 2019 “Differentiated Instruction: Perspectives from Singapore”
- SingTeach, Issue 48 May/Jun 2014 “Teaching for Success”
- SingTeach, Issue 38 Sep/Oct 2012 “Differentiated Instruction”
- Research Brief Series 21-010 based on project OER 02/17 HTT: Differentiated Instruction: Ten Teachers’ Implementation in Singapore
- Research Brief Series 19-020 based on project OER 12/16 VS: Differentiation as a Means to Inclusion
- OER Knowledge Bites, Volume 12 Mar 2020, “Exploring the Link Between Assessment and Differentiated Instruction”
Further Readings
For educators interested in local research related to differentiated instruction, you may refer to:
-
Heng, T. T. (2023). Lessons on educational borrowing and change: Teachers’ implementation of differentiated instruction in Singapore. Pedagogy, Culture & Society. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2023.2166094 (Updated on 13 March 2023)
- Heng, T. T. Song, L. (2021). At the intersection of educational change and borrowing: teachers implementing learner-centred education in Singapore. COMPARE: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2021.1874248
- Heng, T.T. Song, L. Tan, K.H.K. (2021). Understanding the interaction of assessment, learning and context: Insights from Singapore. Educational Research, 63(1), 65-79.
- Heng, T. T., & Song, L. (2020). A proposed framework for understanding educational change and transfer: Insights from Singapore teachers’ perceptions of differentiated instruction. Journal of Educational Change, 21(4), 595-622.
- Heng, M.A. & Fernandez, L. (2017). Re-examining differentiation: Big ideas and misguided notions. In (Eds.) Tan, K.H.K., Heng, M.A., Ratnam-Lim, C., Curriculum leadership by middle leaders (pp.104-124), Oxon, UK: Routledge.
For educators interested in Tomlinson’s differentiated instruction, you may refer to:
Research Projects
Related projects
- A Pilot Study of Singapore Teachers’ Perceptions of Differentiated Instruction
- Differentiation as a Means to Inclusion (DIMI)
Research Team
To learn more about this research, please contact Principal Investigator Ast/P Heng Tang Tang at tangtang.heng@nie.edu.sg.
Principal Investigator
Ast/ Prof Heng Tang Tang, Policy, Curriculum and Leadership (PCL), NIE
Co-Principal Investigator
A/P Tan Heng Kiat Kelvin, Learning Sciences and Assessment (LSA), NIE
Collaborators
Ms. Foong Poh Yi, Curriculum Planning and Development Division (CPDD), MOE
Research Associate
Ms. Lynn Song, PCL (formerly of NIE)
Acknowledgments
Differentiated Instruction was funded by the Education Research Funding Programme, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (project no. OER 02/17 HTT). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Singapore MOE and NIE.
This knowledge resource was written by Ast/Prof Heng Tang Tang and Ms Monica Lim as of 24 May 2022; updated on 13 March 2023.
