This is a guest post by Meghan Daniels, Senior Editor at Knewton. It was originally posted on March 9, 2014 on The Knewton Blog .
No two students come from exactly the same background or learn exactly the same way. Differentiated instruction addresses this reality by providing different students with different learning paths toward course goals. The goal of differentiated instruction is to provide every student with an effective learning experience that takes into account that student’s unique needs — cultural background, level of knowledge, motivation, language comprehension, etc.
Teachers have long understood the importance of differentiated instruction, but the “factory model” of education hasn’t always made implementing personalized learning easy. Many teachers regularly make efforts to differentiate components of the learning experience for students — varying content, process, environment, or other factors — but such efforts can often be time-consuming and their success difficult to measure accurately.
Education technology can help make differentiated learning a reality. Knewton is premised on the belief that every student should receive a high-quality personalized learning experience. With Knewton-powered adaptive learning products, an entire class of students can work through material in a sequence and pace customized for them. Teachers can use analytics within Knewton-powered learning products to monitor performance and reduce administrative work, giving them more time to do what they do best — teach and inspire students.
For more, check out this Knerds on the Board video from current Knewton content curator and former teacher, Josh Gordon, who talks about how his teaching experience inspires his work at Knewton everyday.