Overcoming Obstacles to Differentiate Instruction When Implementing Prepared Curricular Resources in a Diverse Classroom

Teachers face obstacles when executing prepared curricular resources in diverse classrooms, trying to provide quality fair learning opportunities to all students. Examining ten teachers’ insights and experiences with the EngageNY language arts modules differentiation allowed presenting the phenomenon’s comprehensive overview. Teachers from schools across the United States shared information during semistructured interviews and focus groups. The six-step thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed that quality standards-aligned resources, which consider diverse learners, require teachers to understand the resources’ structure and apply specific methods—unpacking the modules, backward planning, and script use—to thoroughly plan for differentiation to ensure equal learning opportunities for all students. Maintaining a constant dialogue with their learners helps educators successfully differentiate resources by selecting strategies and text excerpts, adding the basics, compacting information, and offering variety of relevant material in response to students’ needs. The article provides suggestions for administrative support, teacher practices, and further investigations.