JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW: DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY ASSIGNMENT 

INSTRUCTIONS

OVERVIEW

Differentiation is a widely used framework, incorporating a variety of strategies for student 

success. Differentiated Instruction was developed by Carol Ann Tomlinson many years ago.  Her 

goal was to provide a framework to help teachers meet the needs of the growing numbers of 

diverse students found in a classroom.  The goal of differentiated instruction is to use flexible 

groupings during the academic day to provide specific instruction to each groups’ needs.  Using 

initial assessment to determine readiness and teaching in the student’s zone of proximal 

development, the teacher can group students according to their need, using effective teaching 

strategies. The three elements of instruction to meet the needs of the students are content, 

process, and product. Content is what is taught; process is what will be used to teach; product is 

how students show they have learned the concept.    

INSTRUCTIONS

For this Journal Article Review: Differentiation Strategy Assignment, you will choose one of 

the strategies used to differentiate instruction for a specific group of students. This is not about 

differentiated instruction on a whole, but a specific strategy used in a differentiated classroom. 

Article reviews enable you to think critically and to synthesize information. 

In this course, you will conduct two separate Journal Article Review: Differentiation Strategy 

Assignments on differentiated instruction strategies – a different strategy for each. Search for 

articles from the online Jerry Falwell Library that discuss various differentiated instruction 

strategies – not differentiated instruction. All articles used must have been published within the 

last 5 years.

After reading the article thoroughly, you will summarize and critique the peer-reviewed 

academic journal article in your own words. The summary must include:

 The article’s title and purpose

 Identification of the author(s) of the article and their qualifications

 A review of the main points of the article

 A summary of the differentiated instruction strategy

After the summary, you will provide a critique by reflecting on the article’s effectiveness. Avoid 

focusing on mechanics (e.g. “too wordy”, “too long”, etc.) and instead focus on the content of 

the article. This is an opportunity to demonstrate critical thinking. The critique must include:

 Your evaluation of the article’s strengths and weaknesses.

 Your overall takeaway from the article; your personal reaction and reflections.

 Examples of how you can apply the concepts in your classroom