Using Problem Based Learning for Differentiated Instruction

Experience has taught me that differentiated instruction is one of the most difficult things to successfully accomplish,  particularly in a high school science class with 30 students.  How does a teacher divide his or her time between 30 students in a meaningful way? How can we recognize and adapt lessons to the various personalities and abilities of all those students?  For a long time I seriously questioned whether or not it could even be done. Using PBL has given me a glimmer of hope that DI is possible.

To apply DI in PBL requires careful planning and preparation. One of the most difficult things about designing a successful PBL lesson is to scaffold the material enough so that students are equipped to begin the problem but do so in a way that does not give them a direct route to the answer.  What I've found is that once this is done students can approach the problem from numerous different angles and with a variety of different resources.  This is the first link in the DI chain; students can approach a problem in ways that they are comfortable.  The second link involves the teacher;s role in PBL. Instead of being a passive observer, teachers need to constantly evaluate where students are and how they are progressing. 

Using cell phones, laptop computers or tablets students in my class are expected to find definitions, formulas, constants and the 'information'. Once they have done this they are tasked with figuring out how to use it.  Many of the students find this a daunting challenge and I don't expect them to find all the answers and applications themselves.  If they could wouldn't that make me quite redundant?

What do I expect is that students make a solid attempt at applying their new found facts.  This is where PBL really shines when it comes to DI.  Some students, or groups of students, are able to accomplish this task without much guidance.  These students can either go on to the next problem or look at more complex aspects of the problem while I am free to work with individuals to try and develop the concept in a more complete, comprehensive fashion.

I don't think I know the best way to organize my PBL lessons yet.  In some ways I feel like I'm groping in the dark for some I can't only vaguely make out.  But what I've seen has convinced me that there is merit in techniques like PBL and it just requires a bit of work and practice to make it successful.