Abstract This exploratory study investigates how teachers use Learning Management Systems (LMS) to adjust their teaching to meet diverse student needs through differentiated instruction (DI). Research was carried out among 223 primary and secondary German school teachers, aiming at the frequency in which teachers differentiate their instruction in LMS as well as concrete practices and possible risks and barriers in implementing DI through LMS. The survey included closed and open items, allowing for quantitative insights as well as more detailed analyses. One prominent result shows that the participating teachers rarely make use of LMS for differentiation purposes. When they do implement DI practices in LMS, the most common strategies aim at open education purposes – such as enabling student autonomy and flexibility – and tiered assignments that adjust medial means or task difficulty, while also fostering cooperative and co-constructive practices. In contrast, DI-practices like mastery learning, nonverbal aids, and tutoring systems are rarely used. Teachers identify LMS as helpful for flexible, individualized learning and for reducing stigmatization in differentiated tasks. However, significant barriers are noted, including students’ limited digital and self-regulation skills, lack of home support, technical difficulties, and increased teacher workloads. Particularly alarming is the reported risk in LMS use with regard to potentially reinforcing educational inequalities. The study concludes that to fully harness LMS for DI in terms of inclusive education, teachers require targeted professional development while critically reflecting upon possible risks in implementing DI in LMS. Still, further research – in international contexts – is needed to enrich these findings.
Frohn et al. (Wed,) studied this question.