Introduction

QDTP, which stands for Quality Differentiated Teaching Practice, was developed to ensure that students should be taught according to their ability. In classrooms with students with educational difficulties, teachers have challenges making decisions on what and how to prepare to meet the curriculum expectations as well as addressing challenges that come with teaching learning difficulties to students. These decisions include selecting what type of lessons and instructional activities, background knowledge, and inclinations as well as decisions on the probable adherence to the curriculum set down by the department or school or the philosophy that the individual teacher holds regarding instruction. This study aims to understand how the planning aspect complements the instruction in the QDTP.

Discussion

Stages in Planning Instruction in QDTP

The process of planning in QDTP is an effective process involves several steps:

1. Assessing Student Needs

Formally and informally teachers first identify areas that need to be addressed by the use of assessment for educational strategy. This entails finding out the talents, the areas of difficulty, basic learning experiences, and the preferred learning styles of the student. Some of the types of assessment might be diagnostic, formative, and self-assessment using previous teachers ' feedback and observations.

2. Setting Learning Objectives

Having understood the needs of the students, teachers establish specific learning goals and objectives that correspond to Curriculum Year content aims that are specific to each students learning profile. Such objectives must be efficient and easy to measure as well as sequenced so that every child is capable of achieving the set goals (MacGill, 2022). Where students have additional needs, some learning objectives may have to be rewritten to fit the abilities of the students.

3. Designing Instructional Strategies

The next process is to develop instructional strategies that will be used to have the students learn. Teachers employ the use of instructions that encompass; group learning, stacking, leveled activities, supported instruction, and on and learning styles (Pherali et al., 2022). One of the principles of designing instruction is flexibility so that they have to be in a position to address the needs of all students in one way or another.

4. Selecting Resources and Materials

The selection of the appropriate resources and materials is considered vital when working with students with learning differences. To facilitate learning, teachers should choose content that students in their class would be able to understand and find interesting including the slow learners (Mockler, 2020).

5. Planning for Assessment

Teachers also need to assess formatively and summatively and these should also be planned properly. These assessments should give the students some sort of feedback as well indicating whether they are moving toward the predetermined learning outcomes (Gurr et al., 2021). If a student needs accommodation for learning through QDTP, the tests may have to be altered for the student; for instance, by using different assessment techniques, having different rubrics, or more time to complete tests.

6. Reflecting and Adjusting

Finally, the teacher should always assess the efficacy of his or her teaching strategies and modify them if necessary. It makes it possible to provide instruction that is not only current but also adaptable so that the students can keep on being supported in the best manner possible (Pherali et al., 2022).

Curriculum and Pedagogy in the Context of QDTP

Curriculum (What the Teacher Teaches)

The curriculum they refer to is the heart core of any lesson planning process that is carried out in any given institution. So, when teaching students who need accommodation for QDTP, it may be necessary for the teacher to change or adapt the curriculum in a way that would be comprehensible for all students (Rendoth et al., 2024). For example, in a Year 4 classroom where students are learning about alphabetical letters reading, a student needs support and will be given differentiation by having the use of more pictorial or actual representations of alphabets (P?deanu, 2023). state

Pedagogy (How the Teacher Teaches)

In pedagogy not only the subject taught by the teacher is important, but also how this teacher teaches it, or in other words, the approach to the perception of knowledge. One critical feature of a QDTP classroom revolves around how students learning needs are going to be catered for in their learning process (P?deanu, 2023). Teachers may employ different methods of teaching methods, including asking-based learning, cooperative learning, and the direct teaching method depending on the students (Pherali et al., 2022).

For instance, implementation of QDTP for students in Year 4 might involve using a scaffolding approach where the teacher increases the amount of help as the student improves his or her knowledge. It helps the student to be more proactive in his/her studies by showing them picture of alphabets and asking the name of aphabet and also relating it with object of that letter like A for apple.

Factors Influencing Decision-Making in Planning and Instruction

Teachers decision-making in planning and instruction incorporates the following; Department systems policies beliefs about teaching and learning Classroom settings and Student abilities Prior knowledge and Interests (Rendoth et al., 2024).

A. Department/System Policies

Departmental and system-wide policies guidelines influence how teachers intervene for young students with print learning disabilities. The ACECQA (2022) reveals that the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) supports teachers in teaching each child, including those with difficulties in recognising letters. Federal policies in a district include Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Quality Differentiated Teaching Practices (QTP). For instance, adopting instructional media and communication improves how to address different learning modalities for letter learning hence a favorable learning model for all young learners (MacGill, 2022).

B. Teachers Beliefs about Teaching and Learning

This area discusses how a teachers beliefs about the teaching and learning process shape his/her planning and teaching practices. For instance, a teacher who subscribes to the constructivist learning theory will spend most of his/her time implementing learner-centred practices where the learners are expected to develop their understandings independently with little guidance from the teacher (P?deanu, 2023). These teachers may use such strategies as modelling, more frequent checks on students progress or accomplishment, and differentiated instructions that enable learners to achieve their learning objectives.

C. Classroom Setting

It is also important to note that the physical and social aspects of the classroom must also come into play whenever reaching a decision number of students enrolled in a class, availability of resources and classroom atmosphere determines how teachers approach QDTP. It might become difficult to support the students learning when there are few reading resources in a classroom or if there are many students in a class, and a teacher has to work with them at once (Gibbs & McKay, 2021).

For instance, in a small class with enough support staff, the teachers can be in a position to provide lots of individual instruction like different color puzzles of alphabets, colour full objects related to alphabets so that they will learn while playing. Teachers have to be very innovative in how they utilize time, physical space as well as instructional materials for the benefit of every learner.

D. Student Abilities and Prior Knowledge

Teachers need to have a baseline of students competencies before planning lessons under QDTP. Students should also understand what they need so that teachers can evaluate the learners progress and direct them accordingly (Gibbs, 2023). Strategies for the general cognitive level for all students will be needed for students with less prior knowledge about certain concepts to increase and update their knowledge base before proceeding to the next more complicated step instead of skipping supplementary activities for students, who may have more prior knowledge about the given concepts (Rendoth et al., 2024). For example, in a reading alphabets lesson while teaching, if one of the students is deficient in basic alphabets he or she would require more alternatives like with the help of alphabets poems, aphabet letters puzzles and pictorial alphabets denoted different objects.

E. Previous Learning Experiences

There is also the fact that the learning experiences that a student has had before also influence how he/she apprehends new information, which the teachers have also to consider (Gibbs & McKay, 2021). The attitudes of the students include the following; the students who have had interesting learning experiences may be more motivated to learn and prone to engage in learning activities while others who have had negative experiences are likely to display reluctance or anxiety (Gibbs & Beamish, 2021). Teachers need to set goals to develop a learning environment that will expand on the successes that the students have had while also filling in the possible knowledge and self-confidence gaps.

F. Student Interests

One of the key steps of QDTP is the promotion of students interest within planning. This shows that when the lesson perfectly matches the students interests, then the level of interest is higher, and the students will be more willing to take responsibility for their learning (Ramn Garca Perales et al., 2023).

For instance, while conducting lessons on ecosystems in the class, a teacher would apply this strategy if a group of students has an interest in animals by coming up with examples and activities that are related to animals in the wild. When instructors use student-interest areas to design lessons, it will be possible to be more effective and engaging.

Impact of Variables on Curriculum and Pedagogy

All these variables including department policies and teacher beliefs, classroom context, student capabilities, past learning, and interests influence and are influenced by the curriculum and practice implemented in the classroom (Garca-Ceberino et al., 2021).

Curriculum Adaptation

For the students who require QDTP, the curriculum that is provided may at times have to be modified so that it can be understood and well utilized. Possible strategies may range from changing the contents depth and/or difficulty to offering other resources and changing the objectives of the lesson for different learners (Garca-Perales et al., 2022). For example, the curriculum that is mainly taught in reading comprehension may be affected for students with reading disabilities to incorporate the use of phonemic awareness.

Pedagogical Approaches

Teaching strategies used in the QDTP context are quite fluid and sensitive towards the learners. Teachers need to also be knowledgeable in instructional strategies that are geared towards covering differentiated instruction, that is, adapting teaching methodologies that will fit the learning abilities of the students (Garca-Perales et al., 2022).

In the case of students with additional requirements, teachers are likely to apply approaches like the structure, support, and fading technique aimed at reducing the support offered as the child advances in learning and peer-assisted learning where students work together to improve achievement (Ramn Garca Perales et al., 2023).

Conclusion

The process of planning and instruction for students with learning difficulties suited to Quality Differentiated Teaching Practice uses several facilitating contingencies. Teachers are required to be more proactive, when deciding on instructions, by bearing in mind the set departmental guidelines, the teaching philosophy, class dynamics, and students variability in terms of learning abilities, past experiences, and preferences.

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