Teachers engage students in instruction through different learning modalities. A student competes more against himself or herself than others. Teachers provide specific ways for each individual to learn. Teachers use classroom time flexibly.
Teachers are diagnosticians, prescribing the best possible instruction for each student.
Unique to special educators' first-year experiences, however, is the pedagogical demand for differentiated instruction for special learners. As a result, very little university preservice preparation actually reaches the classroom of the regular educator. However, many teachers needed help incorporating a variety of different instructional skills. Teachers faced many obstacles, including difficulty in planning lessons and in adapting their teaching methods to allow for differentiation. In addition, many teachers failed to provide suitable instructional activities for a wide range of pupil attainment, especially those pupils at the extremes of attainment.