The Potential of Prospective Teachers Experiencing Differentiated Instruction in a Mathematics Course

Michelle T. Chamberlin

doi:10.29333/iejme/265

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Michelle T. Chamberlin

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Abstract

Differentiated instruction is a promising approach for supporting the diverse needs of students. To support prospective teachers with the challenge of implementing differentiated instruction in their future instruction and to meet their diverse needs as college students, we decided to incorporate differentiated instruction in our mathematics content course for them. The specific objective of this study was then to examine how the prospective elementary teachers experienced differentiated instruction in the mathematics content course, whether it met their varying instructional needs, and how it may impact their future mathematics teaching. Qualitative and quantitative analyses revealed that the prospective teachers found the differentiated instruction supportive of their diverse needs and that they plan to incorporate similar features in their future instruction. However, the prospective teachers' comments did reveal additional aspects about differentiated instruction to learn and strengthen. Suggestions for revising the mathematics content course and enhancing the differentiated instruction are provided along with directions for further research.

Keywords

Differentiated instruction
mathematics courses
prospective teachers
elementary grades

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INT ELECT J MATH ED, Volume 6, Issue 3, October 2011, 134-156

https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/265

Publication date: 12 Dec 2011

Article Views: 3543

Article Downloads: 3338

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How to cite this article

APA

Chamberlin, M. T. (2011). The Potential of Prospective Teachers Experiencing Differentiated Instruction in a Mathematics Course. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 6(3), 134-156. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/265

Vancouver

Chamberlin MT. The Potential of Prospective Teachers Experiencing Differentiated Instruction in a Mathematics Course. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2011;6(3):134-56. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/265

AMA

Chamberlin MT. The Potential of Prospective Teachers Experiencing Differentiated Instruction in a Mathematics Course. INT ELECT J MATH ED. 2011;6(3), 134-156. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/265

Chicago

Chamberlin, Michelle T.. "The Potential of Prospective Teachers Experiencing Differentiated Instruction in a Mathematics Course". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education 2011 6 no. 3 (2011): 134-156. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/265

Harvard

Chamberlin, M. T. (2011). The Potential of Prospective Teachers Experiencing Differentiated Instruction in a Mathematics Course. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 6(3), pp. 134-156. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/265

MLA

Chamberlin, Michelle T. "The Potential of Prospective Teachers Experiencing Differentiated Instruction in a Mathematics Course". International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, vol. 6, no. 3, 2011, pp. 134-156. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/265