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Article

The Effect of Differentiated Instruction on the Academic Achievement and Opinions of 3rd-Grade Students in Science Education: A Mixed-Methods Study

1
Ahmet Keleşoğlu Education Faculty, Necmettin Erbakan University, 42090 Meram, Konya, Türkiye
2
Ministry of National Education, 06420 Çankaya, Ankara, Türkiye
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
J. Intell. 2025, 13(10), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence13100126
Submission received: 9 July 2025 / Revised: 27 August 2025 / Accepted: 30 September 2025 / Published: 1 October 2025

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is to determine the effect of the differentiated instruction approach on 3rd-grade primary school students’ academic achievement (N = 45) in the “Electrical Devices and Tools” unit and to explore their opinions regarding the differentiated instruction process. In this context, the content of the lessons prepared using student-centred approaches on students’ science achievement was examined, and students’ opinions on the differentiated instruction approach were also evaluated. The study was conducted in the spring term of the 2024–2025 school year in a major city located in the central region of Türkiye, and a mixed research design combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed. In the current study, during the instructional process of the experimental group, differentiated instruction lesson plans available on the Education Information Network (EIN) portal provided by the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) were used. In the control group, the process outlined by the current curriculum was followed. When the findings were evaluated, statistically significant differences were found in favour of the experimental group, in which activities were implemented based on the differentiated instruction plan, compared to the control group that received instruction within the framework of the current curriculum. In addition, students’ opinions regarding the process indicated that the implementation contributed positively to their learning. In light of the findings obtained, recommendations were made for future research.
Keywords: differentiated instruction; individual differences; multiple intelligences; different areas of interest; science education; electricity; academic achievement; inclusive teaching; tiered instruction; primary school students; student opinions; mixed method differentiated instruction; individual differences; multiple intelligences; different areas of interest; science education; electricity; academic achievement; inclusive teaching; tiered instruction; primary school students; student opinions; mixed method

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MDPI and ACS Style

Kara, S.; Tekindur, A. The Effect of Differentiated Instruction on the Academic Achievement and Opinions of 3rd-Grade Students in Science Education: A Mixed-Methods Study. J. Intell. 2025, 13, 126. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence13100126

AMA Style

Kara S, Tekindur A. The Effect of Differentiated Instruction on the Academic Achievement and Opinions of 3rd-Grade Students in Science Education: A Mixed-Methods Study. Journal of Intelligence. 2025; 13(10):126. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence13100126

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kara, Serpil, and Aysun Tekindur. 2025. "The Effect of Differentiated Instruction on the Academic Achievement and Opinions of 3rd-Grade Students in Science Education: A Mixed-Methods Study" Journal of Intelligence 13, no. 10: 126. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence13100126

APA Style

Kara, S., & Tekindur, A. (2025). The Effect of Differentiated Instruction on the Academic Achievement and Opinions of 3rd-Grade Students in Science Education: A Mixed-Methods Study. Journal of Intelligence, 13(10), 126. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence13100126

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