HOW CAN ADMINISTRATORS SUPPORT SMALL-GROUP DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION? School administrators play a pivotal role when they cultivate instructional best practices, prioritize effective training, and build a school or district culture focused on improving student achievement (Day et al., 2016; Li & Liu, 2020). Teachers’ use of differentiated small-group instruction is influenced by the school environment (Farrell & Marsh, 2016; Mandinach & Schildkamp, 2021; Manivannan & Nor, 2020), as well as by personal factors such as their knowledge and confidence in their abilities (Tobin & Tippett, 2014). Professional development, particularly training focused on both the why and how of differentiated small-group instruction, can support teachers’ understanding of ways to differentiate instruction and increase their confidence in their ability (Dixon et al., 2014). That said, even with training teachers may find it difficult to deliver differentiated small-group instruction because of school-level barriers that are outside of their control (Manivannan & Nor, 2020). School-level factors impacting the use of differentiated small-group instruction include school leaders’ skills/beliefs and school policies (Barnes et al., 2022; Henderson & Corry, 2021). Administrators and school leaders play pivotal roles in creating an environment that supports the use of differentiated small-group instruction by adopting policies, curricula, and instructional resources that are compatible with effective small-group instruction (Park & Datnow, 2017). Examples of instructional resources that lend themselves to use in differentiated small-group instruction include lessons or activities with various representations of content and multiple levels of instructional scaffolding (from less to more intensive). Administrators can also identify supplemental materials for teachers to use during differentiated, small-group instruction.
ALIGNING PRACTICE WITH RESEARCH TOPIC PAPER 26
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