Impact of Differentiated Instruction on the Mathematical Thinking Processes of Gifted and Talented Students

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine if differentiated instruction benefits the mathematical thinking process of gifted and talented students in Malaysia. Differentiated instruction is a student-centered technique in which instructors act as facilitators. It is doubtful, however, if differentiated instruction has a beneficial effect on the overall process of mathematical thinking. A disciplined approach to learning mathematics is deemed essential. In this study, a questionnaire was designed to assess students' motivation towards learning using differentiated instruction in mathematics, and a mathematics test was devised to assess students' mathematical thinking process. The study included 400 students who were identified as gifted and talented students; the data were analyzed using the SPSS software. The results suggest that statistically differentiated instruction has a significant effect on gifted and talented students' mathematical thinking processes. However, additional research is needed to discover which activities directly impact students' mathematical thinking processes positively and which should be avoided.