The other side of the instruction differentiation process: Pressures on the teacher

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the viability and applicability of differentiated instruction in tertiary education in Hong Kong. At Caritas Institute of Higher Education (CIHE) in Hong Kong we conducted a study to probe into students’ and teachers’ views and reflections towards differentiated instruction in the ESL/EFL Classroom. Some three hundred health science and social science students were invited to participate in the research study, and three tiered tasks were created and implemented to enhance students’ learning motivation, to determine their learning difficulties, and to record classroom engagements in a 13-week semester. Contributing factors including learning motivation, classwork preference, affective factors, and other educational factors have been assessed by means of a student survey and through one-on-one interviews. Feedback was also collected from three participating teachers and 25 representative students on a voluntary basis. The study has thrown positive light and suggests that a perception difference is found between students and teachers in influential educational factors. Both teachers and students have shown favouring the differentiating teaching and learning approach. Doubtless, further research work is required for refining differentiated instruction to maximize its effectiveness.