Effects and Social Validity of Differentiated Instruction on Student Outcomes for Special Educators

Student outcome data were examined for 35 teacher education candidates working toward special education certification who used an iterative differentiated instruction process over a 5-week period. Data were analyzed across a range of content areas and ages. Results indicated statistically significant and noteworthy effects across students regardless of whether teachers were working in an elementary, middle, or high school in a number of content areas. Qualitative data support a conceptual shift in how teacher education candidates use outcome data to inform their teaching, providing support for the social validity of this approach to implementing differentiated instruction. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)