Sokolow- Differentiated Instruction

Abstract

This thesis discusses the design and implementation of a high school mathematics class with the goal of centralizing Differentiated Instruction techniques and offering and alternative to traditional mathematics curriculum sequencing. The design of this class, at an independent school in Massachusetts. This class was designed for the express purpose of offering an alternative to the traditional curriculum sequence (starting with Algebra 1, progressing through Geometry, Algebra 2, PreCalculus and finishing with Calculus topics if the student displays interest or adeptness at mathematics or Statistics as an elective alternative) with two distinct goals in mind. First, we hoped to retain enrollment in mathematics by engaging the interest of students who did not display either enthusiasm or aptitude in traditional sequence classes. Second, we wished to offer a challenge to students who display high mathematical skill or high interest by giving a historical, theoretical, practical or creative lens with which to view mathematics. In this thesis, I focused on various methods of differentiated instruction and curriculum design, the benefits they could give the students and the paucity of meaningful integration of learning modalities and DI into traditional mathematics curriculum. Then, instead of applying DI concepts to the curriculum, I instead applied the curriculum to the instruction that best fit the students or focus of the day. It was my goal to provide a framework for meaningful mathematics in context that could be applied to both non-traditional classroom and curricula and traditionally sequenced mathematics classrooms. Finally, I elicited student feedback to help determine the structure of the class and examine the success of the class design. I asked the students to analyze their approach to the DI methods, their responses and their interactions. This was the most informative part of the project and, by asking the students to examine their response to DI, encouraged their metacognitive efforts, producing a more in depth understanding that I had set out to do.