Date of Award
Spring 5-12-2023
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership (Ed.D)
Department
Educational Leadership
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. Sheryl Croft
Committee Chair
Dr. Tak Chan
Second Committee Member
Dr. Arvin Johnson
Abstract
WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN LEARNING? The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of differentiated instruction on student engagement in learning. This mixed method study inspected the effectiveness of assigning different learning strategies to students according to their academic ability. One class received different assignments that addressed student’s specific learning needs while the other class received common assignments. Attendance, achievement, and behavior data were also collected from this study to determine the overall effectiveness of differentiated instruction. This study was conducted in a middle school located in Georgia. Both classes were regular education English Language Arts classes. One class was given differentiated instructions while the other continued working on standard assignments. In addition to receiving differentiated assignments, the classes were observed, students were given a survey to complete, and teachers were interviewed. This study was conducted over an eight-week period. The findings of this study indicated that the students who received differentiated instruction significantly gained achievement. According to the data, the 2nd Period class (receiving differentiated instruction) outperformed the 3rd-period class (receiving no differentiated instruction). In terms of class attendance and student learning behavior, there were no notable differences in the findings.