Opinions of Students about Thinking-Style-Based Differentiated Instruction

The purpose of the study was to examine opinions of students about thinking-style-based differentiated instruction designed for the units “Booking a Hotel Room” and “Check-in and Check-out in a Hotel” in scope of Vocational Foreign Language Course at associate degree. Qualitative research method, case study and interview form were used in the study. The study was carried out with 25 students studying at Tourism and Hotel Management Program and taking Vocational Foreign Language Course at 2014-2015 spring semester at a Vocational College. Functions, levels and scopes of thinking styles were taken into consideration. Process was differentiated in the study using stations, complex instruction, orbital studies, learning centers, entry points and learning contracts. After the experimental study, lasting 42 periods, the students were asked to express their opinions about the process. The data were collected using a standardized open-ended interview form. The results of the research showed that the opinions of the students about thinking-style-based differentiated instruction were positive and that the activities increased their interests and participation in the course