Title: The influence of differentiated instruction on the academic performance of mathematics students in universities

Authors: Norman Rudhumbu; Daimond Dziva

Addresses: Faculty of Science Education, Bindura University of Science Education, P. Bag 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe ' Faculty of Science Education, Bindura University of Science Education, P. Bag 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe

Abstract: Differentiated instruction (DI) is a teaching approach which seeks to ensure that lecturers in universities understand and respond to the different learning needs, interests and abilities of each of their students to be able to come up with teaching experiences and tasks that improve and make learning effective. The purpose of the study therefore was to establish whether there were differences in the academic performance of students taught using DI and those taught using traditional methods at a selected open university in Zimbabwe. The results showed significant differences in the academic performance of students taught using DI and those taught using traditional methods, with those students taught using DI performing much better academically. The results further showed that there was no significant academic performance differences between male and female students taught using DI. These results have implications on theory and practice with regards to the teaching of academically diverse mathematics students in universities.

Keywords: academic performance; diverse students; differentiated instruction; performance differences; traditional teaching approaches; socio-cultural theory.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2023.127947

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2023 Vol.33 No.1, pp.32 - 51

Received: 18 Aug 2021
Accepted: 27 Nov 2021
Published online: 22 Dec 2022 *

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