Transformations in Teacher Discourse on Differentiated Instruction

This article describes transformations in the discourse of five elementary teachers on the practice of differentiated instruction. The teachers collaborated with university researchers and an instructional consultant in action-research on their professional development process. At monthly meetings held over two years, the elementary teachers received training and support in order to implement differentiated teaching strategies. The authors examine the changes in participants’ discourse concerning their perceptions of the diversity of students’ needs and of applying differentiated pedagogy. Findings were interpreted through a framework combining ethical, epistemological, and ideological aspects of differentiated instruction in mixed-ability classrooms.