Tomlinson, C



Ellene Cudd

LS 5263

Dr. Arta Kabashi

May 3, 2015

An Annotated Bibliography of Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated Instruction is an effective teaching strategy that can be used to engage the different types of learners and different ability levels of students in a classroom. Many misconceptions about it exist in the education field from classroom teachers to administrators. While most teachers acknowledge that it benefits students, they often struggle with how to implement it. Administrators are uncertain on what resources to provide their staff on the topic. This annotated bibliography provides a list of current resources for teachers and administrators to use to implement differentiated instruction in their schools or classroom.

Acosta-Tello, E., & Shepherd, C. (2014). Equal Access for All Learners: Differentiation Simplified. Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching, 7(1), 51-57.

Enid Acosta-Tello is an associate professor of education and researcher. Dr. Carol Shepherd is a professor of education. The authors developed a “Three Phase Lesson” model to assist teachers during the lesson planning stage to incorporate differentiated instruction. The teacher must assess the prior knowledge and basic skills that students must have to understand the new concept being taught. The first phase is the Core Lesson which is taught to all students. The Basic Lesson is an intervention or additional remediation which is taught to some students. The Enrichment Lesson is a more challenging assignment or project and only some students participate in. When teachers plan using these phases, they can more easily build differentiation into their lessons. The authors provide one example lesson using this approach to lesson planning. This article is a useful resource when lesson planning.

Armstrong, S., & Haskins, S. (2010). A Practical Guide to Tiering Instruction in the Differentiated Classroom. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Sarah Armstrong is a former teacher and principle while Stephanie Haskins worked as a classroom teacher, differentiation specialist, and instructional supervisor. The authors address some common misconceptions about differentiated instruction to overcome major concerns that teachers may have in its application in the classroom. This book is a handy classroom guide for teachers for grades 3-8 across subject areas. It shows step by step how to implement differentiation into the classroom. The tone is conversational making it a fast and easy to read. Reproducible pages for teachers make it an invaluable resource.

Cash, R. (2010). Advancing Differentiating: Thinking and Learning for the 21st Century. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing.

Richard Cash is a former classroom teacher with over 25 years of teaching experience. He currently is a private consultant who consults internationally. Cash’s book dispels the common myths of differentiated instruction. He uses current research to develop strategies for teachers to use. His emphasis is on critical thinking skills to develop a student-centered classroom environment that ties into Bloom’s Taxonomy. This book is designed for teachers that have implemented some differentiated instruction in their classroom. It has ideas and strategies to take differentiated instruction to the next level. He includes reproducible pages. There is a CD which has customizable PDFs and a PowerPoint presentation. The book can be used by teachers across subject areas and grade levels. There is a free study guide that can be downloaded for a school to use for a professional learning community. This book is beneficial to teacher who wants to move past the beginning stages of differentiation in the classroom.

De Jesus, O. N. (2012). Differentiated Instruction: Can Differentiated Instruction Provide Success for All Learners?. National Teacher Education Journal, 5(3), 5-11.

De Jesus is an instructor and professor for the Department of Literacy and Multilingual Studies at Mercy College in New York. The author explains the background of differentiated instruction and literature on it. She addresses the advantages and disadvantages of teaching in a traditional style and compares it to differentiated instruction. She touches on different learning strategies such as project based learning and cooperative learning. Lastly, she explains Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences and how it can be applied to students in the classroom. This article has clear information about differentiated instruction and would be useful to a teacher wanting to learn more about the theories behind it. The section on Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences is concise and applicable to many teachers starting to incorporate differentiated instruction.

DifferentiatedCentral. (2012). Retrieved from

This website is sponsored by the Institutes of Academic Diversity at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. Carol Tomlinson, a leading expert, provides some resources available on the site. There are video clips that range from an introduction to lesson plan implementation of differentiated instruction. There are lesson plans on a variety of subjects for all grade levels. There is even an annotated bibliography of research supporting differentiated instruction; however, the years of studies are from 1961 to 2008, so they are not current studies. Some of the links to other websites are inactive, so not all information is updated. This website is useful for a teacher starting the process of differentiated instruction in the classroom.

Dixon, F. A., Yssel, N., McConnell, J. M., & Hardin, T. (2014). Differentiated Instruction, Professional Development, and Teacher Efficacy. Journal For The Education Of The Gifted, 37(2), 111-127.

Dixon is a Professor Emerita of educational psychology, Yssel is an associate professor of special education, Hardin is a graduate of Ball State University, and McConnell is a doctoral student of counseling psychology. The authors address differentiation in terms of the teacher’s efficacy and how professional development plays a role in that. They studied two different school districts. The two districts had different demographics. Teachers were recommended to participate and completed surveys. The results showed that teachers who received more professional development on differentiated instruction had more efficacy than those who did not. The study was limited with only two districts and most of the teachers who completed the survey were Caucasian. The teachers also self-reported their responses. This article demonstrates that professional development plays an important part of differentiated instruction. Administrators will find it useful to support professional development in their schools.

Firmender, J. M., Reis, S. M., & Sweeny, S. M. (2013). Reading Comprehension and Fluency Levels Ranges across Diverse Classrooms: The Need for Differentiated Reading Instruction and Content. Gifted Child Quarterly, 57(1), 3-14.

Janine Firmender is an associate professor at St. Joseph University in the Department of Teacher Education. Sally Reis is a Board of Trustee Distinguished Professor at the University of Connecticut. Sheelah Sweeny is a literacy consultant. The authors studied students in grades 3 to 5 in five different schools with diverse populations with a focus on gifted students. They studied the students’ reading fluency and reading comprehension. The reading assessments were based on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. Based on the results, they concluded that there was a greater range of abilities of students and teachers should consider curriculum compacting or flexible group instruction to reach all learners. This article provides the research that supports the benefit of differentiated instruction for those who may be skeptical of its effects.

Fogarty, R. & Pete, B. (2010). Supporting Differentiated Instruction: A Professional Learning Communities Approach. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Robin Fogarty was an educator that became an educational consultant. On the other hand, Brian Pete is an educational consultant and lacks classroom experience. The authors are co-founders of an educational consulting business. Each chapter summarizes current research and theory and moves into practical advice of implementation of differentiation. The book addresses different types of learners, content standards, and different learning methods. There are templates for creating lesson plans. This book approaches differentiated instruction from a team or whole school perspective rather than an individual classroom or teacher. It discusses how a Professional Learning Community (PLC) in a school can benefit the teachers by supporting and learning from each other. It focuses on the collaboration of teachers to achieve professional growth. A PLC may choose to use individual chapters or conduct a whole book study depending on their focus.

Gregory, G. & Chapman, C. (2012). Differentiated Instructional Strategies: One Size Doesn’t Fit All. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

The authors have had a variety of experiences in the classroom from elementary school to the college classroom. Both authors work as educational consultants to provide professional development for teachers. The authors incorporate researched based strategies in their book and cite the research. In the content overview and table of contents, each chapter has a summary description and a break down of topics and page numbers. The strategies discussed are tied to Common Core Standards which is something that many school districts have moved to and are moving towards. This book is a more analytical approach to differentiated instruction focusing on what the research shows and how teachers can implement what the studies validate. This book is useful for some teachers who have some experience with differentiated instruction, but are seeking more strategies.

Juliani, A. J. (2014). Learning By Choice: 10 Ways Choice and Differentiation Create an Engaged Learning Experience for Every Student. Ambler, PA: Press Learn Publishing.

Juliani is an Education and Technology Innovation Specialist. He has had classroom experience as both a middle school and high school teacher. The author offers a practical guide for strategies and methods that teachers can use in the classroom based simply around choices. All of his strategies come from his first hand classroom experience. He explains each choice and what happened in his classroom as a result. He generalizes these strategies, so other teachers can learn from how he did it. The tone of the book is conversational and provides suggestions that teachers can readily use in their class. This book is an excellent resource for teachers who are starting to implement differentiated instruction.

Kluth, P. (2015). Differentiated Daily. Retrieved from

Paula Kluth is a former special education teacher, inclusion facilitator, and a professor of education. She currently works as full time consultant. Her blog has links to Amazon featuring the books that she has written, so the website is not completely bias free. Her blog is divided into subject area topics. The subject areas range from math, science, language arts, social studies, music and art. Her posts feature reviews of Web 2.0 Tools and ideas on how to differentiate in the classroom using that tool. All grade levels are represented on this blog. The blog posts are concise and conversational in tone. The website is update frequently. Sometimes, there are posts for every day of the week which means that there are many ideas and links to resources. This website is a great resource that incorporates current technology and digital tools.

Kronowitz, E. (2011). Chapter 28: How Do I Differentiate Instruction to Meet the Needs of All Learners?. The Teacher’s Guide to Success 2nd Edition. (pp 290-300). New York, NY: Pearson Education.

Ellen Kronowiz was a classroom teacher in both urban and rural settings. She is a professor at California State University and is a supervisor to student teachers. Kronowitz first explains about Howard Gardner’s Theories of Multiple Intelligences and what it means for students who have different types of intelligences. Kronowitz also includes links where students to can be assessed on their predominant type of intelligence. She lists different activities that would engage the different types of learners. She addresses components in the lesson that can help students with disabilities and challenge students who need enrichment. This resource has a great introduction to what differentiation is and why it is important. It a good starting place for a new teacher or for someone who is studying to be a teacher.

Jackson, R. (2012, June 19). Beyond Differentiated. [Webinar]. Retrieved from ASCD website:

Robyn Jackson is a National Board Certified Teacher, has taught for over ten years, and has written books about teaching. She addresses common mistakes that teacher make when they try to implement differentiation. She emphasizes that teachers should thing of differentiation as customization in the classroom. She explains how to create a single assignment with multiple pathways for students instead of multiple assignments. She starts with the standard and diagnosing the students. There are four levels that students may be at depending on their content knowledge and their process skills. This webinar is a practical resource to help teachers who are struggling with incorporating differentiated instruction in the classroom.

New Teacher Survival Guide: Differentiated Instruction. (2011). [Vidcast]. Retrieved from Teaching Channel website:

This video follows a first year science teacher, Laura Gurick. She is mentored by Rick Wormeli, a nationally certified board teacher, as she creates a differentiated lesson plan for her high school science class. The video is free to use. For the user to access any materials connected with the video, the user must sign up for a free account from Teaching Channel, a non-profit organization. The website does have ads on it. The video is less than 12 minutes long. Gurick creates a lesson plan using a tiered approach. It shows how she modifies it for her class and reflects on the outcome of the lesson. This resource is great for a new teacher who is looking to start implementing one differentiated instructional strategy in the classroom. This resource would also be helpful to show at a professional development meeting or faculty meeting.

Petrilli, M. (2011). All Together Now?. Retrieved from

Petrilli is an executive editor of Education Next and research fellow at Stanford. He addresses the issues of differentiated instruction from both a researcher’s and parent’s perspective. He discusses concerns about how teachers still struggle to implement differentiated instruction. Petrilli interviews Betram Generlette, the principal at Piney Branch Elementary School, the school where his son attends. Differentiated instruction is an essential component to teaching at this school. Generlette has worked hard to address and overcome concerns that parents have raised over the years related to the teaching methods and strategies that teachers are using. Since its implementation, Piney Branch has seen a rise in test scores across all demographics. This case study showcases how careful implementation of differentiated instruction can make a difference in test scores. This article would be good to address any concerned or skeptical parents or even teachers have about differentiated instruction in the classroom.

Roberts, J. L., & Inman, Tracy. (2014). Strategies for Differentiating Instruction: Best Practices for the Classroom. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press, Inc.

Julia L. Roberts is a professor of gifted studies at Western Kentucky University and Tracy Inman is an associate professor at Western Kentucky University. Both authors have won awards for their teaching service. Inman was a semifinalist as a Kentucky Teacher of the Year in 1992 and Roberts won the 2012 NAGC Distinguished Service Award. The authors offer advice in how to differentiate in the classroom. Four of the chapters out of eleven are related to tiering lessons and activities in class. There are nine appendices that have graphic organizers, interest inventories, and templates. The authors in some parts tend to get wordy and over explain their metaphors and examples. Overall, the practical information would be a great resource for a veteran teacher.

Roe, M. F., & Egbert, J. (2010). Four Faces of Differentiation: Their Attributes and Potential. Childhood Education, 87:2, 94-97, DOI: 10.1080/00094056.2011.10521452

Mary F. Roe is a professor and associate dean at Arizona State University in the Mary Lou Felton Teacher’s College. Joy Egbert is a professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Washington University. The authors start out with a discussion of how tracking and grouping were implemented and how those methods were ineffective. They explain how nebulous the word differentiation is and its unclear meaning makes it difficult for people to understand it. The authors categorize how teachers and administrators approach differentiation. There are four categories: just do it, this is what to do, differentiation as a process, and the innovators. They describe each approach, what it means for teachers, and how professional development is important to implementation. This article is a good resource for administrators who are looking to encourage differentiated instruction at their schools.

Slade, S. (2015, February 5). Differentiated Instruction Works: How and Why to Do DI. [Audio Podcast]. The Whole Child Podcast. Retrieved from

Sean Slade hosts this podcast which features Carol Ann Tomlinson, an expert on differentiated instruction; Kristina Doublet, an associate professor of middle and secondary education; and Jessica Hockett, an educational consultant. Tomlinson explains the key elements that differentiated instruction needs in order to be successful in the classroom implementation. Doublet and Hocket discuss different steps even small steps that teachers can implement easily. They both also explain about a time when they implemented differentiated instruction in their classrooms. The podcast would be invaluable as a tool for professional development.

Silver, H., Jackson, J., & Moirao, D.R. (2011). Task Rotation: Strategies for Differentiating Activities and Assessments by Learning Style. Alexandria, VA: Silver Strong & Associates.

Joyce Jackson is a teacher with over 30 years of experience. Daniel R. Moirao is an experienced teacher and administrator. Harry Silver is a nationally recognized professional development specialist. While other books on differentiated instruction may touch on multiple strategies, the authors focus on a single strategy called task rotations. They write about what it is, how to use it, examples, how teachers can design their own, and how to assess the tasks. This book was developed as a Strategic Teacher PLC. As a PLC guide, it is designed to be read and discussed as part of a Professional Learning Community.

Sousa, D.A., & Tomlinson, C.A. (2011). Differentiation and the Brain: How Neuroscience Supports the Learner-Friendly Classroom. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Leading authority of differentiated instruction, Tomlinson, is a co-author of this book with David A. Sousa. Sousa is a former high school science teacher, has a doctorate from Rutgers, and is a consultant in educational neuroscience. Together, they explore educational neuroscience and what it means for differentiated instruction. Each chapter features vignettes, classroom scenarios, and exercises for teachers. They address the curriculum, classroom management, student readiness, and assessments. The chapters are divided up into sections, so it is easy to find an individual topic in that chapter. The authors keep the language user friendly avoiding too technical details of the research, but basing all the strategies with current brain research. This book is an exceptional resource for teachers who want more differentiated instruction strategies.

Stern, J. (2015 March 30). Enhancing Learning Through Differentiated Technology. Retrieved from

Julia Stern is an Instructional Resource Teacher and Reading Intervention Specialist. In her article, she explains how technology can be used to assess students and allow for greater differentiation in the classroom. Students can have their work and assignments customized for their ability levels. Stern explains three different technology tools: SAS Curriculum Pathways, Newsela, and EDPuzzle. She discusses the main features that each tool offers and how it can be used in the classroom to personalize student’s learning experiences. These tools can allow teachers to differentiate instruction in a way that is comfortable and not overwhelming to the teacher. This article is helpful resource with its explanation of these digital tools.

Tomlinson, C.A. (2014). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of all Learners. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Carol Ann Tomlinson has over twenty years of teaching experience as a public school teacher and as a program administrator of special services for struggling and advanced students. She is a leading authority on differentiated instruction. She is currently at the Virginia’s Curry School of Education and is a professor and Chair of Educational Leadership, Foundations, and Policy. This book describes how teachers can build differentiation into their classroom starting with the classroom environment moving to the curriculum to instructional strategies that teachers can implement. She provides examples from different grade levels, so teachers from elementary to high school can apply them to their specific grade level. She provides an appendix with additional resources for planning, a bibliography, and an index. Tomlinson uses pedagogical terms that all teachers should know and writes in a clear manner. This book is essential for new teachers who want to incorporate differentiated instruction.

Tomlinson, C.A., & Imbeau, M. (2011, January 4). Leading and Managing a Differentiated Classroom. [Webinar]. Retrieved from ASCD website:

Carol Ann Tomlinson is an expert in the differentiated classroom and was joined by Marcia Imbeau, an award winning teacher of gifted and talented students. The free webinar is hosted by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, a professional organization for teachers. The webinar has handouts and links to other resources. Imbeau discusses the details that teachers need to consider when differentiating the classroom such as furniture arrangement, routines, materials, and schedules. Tomlinson explains the qualities of a leader which are essential to managing and developing a differentiated classroom. This webinar is helpful for administrators to provide professional development to their teachers.

Valiande, S., Kyriakides, L., & Koutselini, M. (2011, January). Investigating the Impact of Differentiated Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms: Its impact on the Quality and Equity Dimensions of Education Effectiveness. Paper presented at the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, Limassol, Cyprus.

The authors conducted a study to determine what kind of impact that differentiated instruction had on student achievement for students in a school in Cyprus. There is an achievement gap that only serves to increase inequities. They compared two different groups: a control group that did not receive differentiated instruction and an experimental group that did receive differentiated instruction. Both groups have students with mixed abilities, come from ethically diverse backgrounds, and different socioeconomic situations. They wanted to determine what qualities of effective differentiated instruction are and have evidence of the effectiveness of differentiated instruction. Their research provides evidence for the effectiveness of differentiated instruction. The authors break down how each characteristic of differentiated and which ones were the most effective. This is an excellent resource to provide evidence on the effectiveness of differentiated instruction.

Watts-Taffe, S., Laster, B., Broach, L., Marinak, B., McDonald Connor, C., & Walker-Dalhouse, D. (2012). Differentiated Instruction: Making Informed Teacher Decisions. Reading Teacher, 66(4), 303-314. doi:10.1002/TRTR.01126

Watts-Taffe is an associate professor at the University of Cincinnatti, Walker-Dalhouse is an associate professor at Marquette University, and Marinak is an associate professor at Mount St. Mary’s University. Laster is a director of a graduate reading program at Towson University. Connor is a professor of psychology. Broach is a literacy specialist at Lexington Public Schools. The authors took two case studies from teachers of 1st and 4th graders. They explained the reasoning behind each teacher’s decision to differentiate in the classroom. The 1st grade teacher incorporated centers to allow for differentiated instruction. Some students were visiting a center multiple times during the week to receive more support in that skill. She documented the progress of her students and modified groups in class based on student’s needs. The 4th grade teacher used a range of graphic organizers to help support the students in her class. With the case studies, broader applications of what each teacher did successfully can be applied to other grade levels and subject areas. At the end of the article, there is a six step action plan that teachers can follow to start implementing differentiated instruction into their classrooms. New teachers will find this information valuable.

Veteran teachers and first year teachers may find differentiated instruction overwhelming, confusing, and time intensive due to misunderstandings on what differentiated instruction is. School administrators may be struggling to provide enough resources to their teachers to support the implementation of differentiated instruction. School administrators can best support their teachers by providing professional development on this subject through a Professional Learning Community or sharing online resources. This annotated bibliography provides current resources for teachers and administrators to create lesson plans that are differentiated, to study current research that supports differentiated instruction, and to provide practical classroom application. Differentiated Instruction is about providing students with multiple strategies, so they can learn a concept or skill. The same practice must be given to teachers, so they can develop effective teaching strategies.

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