Component 2: Differentiation in Instruction
What Component 2 tests
Component 2 examines whether you plan from evidence about learners rather than from a single project. Expect prompts on flexible groupings, entry points, IEP/504 accommodations, multilingual learners, sensory and motor differences, and gifted/advanced art learners.
Core rules
- Start with formative evidence: observation notes, conferring records, sketchbook entries, and prior work.
- Use UDL: multiple means of engagement, representation, and action/expression. Offer choice in topic, material, scale, or collaboration without abandoning the objective.
- Tier the challenge, not the amount. A child who struggles with fine motor may use larger tools or pre-cut shapes; an advanced learner may add registration, layering, or editioning.
- Keep the same artistic habit of mind for all: e.g., “develop craft” or “engage and persist.”
- Co-plan with specialists; embed accommodations in the studio routine, not as a separate art activity.
- Check culture and materials: represent artists and family practices respectfully; avoid assumptions from a single artifact.
Worked example
A foam-plate printmaking lesson targets “refine an image through multiple trials.” For a child with fine-motor delays, provide a larger plate, foam shapes with adhesive backing, an adaptive grip, and a step-by-step visual card. For an advanced learner, add registration marks, two-color layering, and a small edition with consistent inking. Both work toward the same anchor standard; the difference is support and complexity, not a watered-down task.
Traps
- Giving a struggling learner fewer ideas instead of more access.
- Planning one accommodation and calling it differentiation.
- Lowering the art objective for a child with an IEP.
- Ignoring language demands in critique or reflection.
- Treating culture as a holiday add-on.