Motivational Impact of Differentiated Instructions in Mathematics among Gifted Students

Mohd Fadzil bin Kamarudin*, Mohd Hasrul bin Kamarulzaman, Mohd Saifun Aznin bin Mohd Sharif, Mior Muhamad Saiful Nizan Saali, Muhammad Zaim Esrati
Pusat PERMATApintarTM Negara, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Differentiated instruction is a teaching approach that responds to the gifted students’ needs. Differentiated instruction creates opportunity for gifted students to explore any areas of knowledge especially in mathematics based on their interests and readiness. Teachers need to differentiate their instruction during to enable gifted students to be more proactive in their learning. Even though differentiated instruction has been deemed appropriate for gifted students, however, the motivation and achievement of students in mathematics have yet to be proven. The objective of this study is to investigate the motivational impact of differentiated instruction among gifted students in mathematics. A total of 235 Gifted Students at Kolej PERMATApintarTM Negara aged 11 to 17 year-old participated in this study. Data were collected in July 2016 after mid-term examination result. The result found that gifted student was motivated by differentiated instruction approach. Besides that, some of the constructs of differentiated instruction have positive impact on the achievement of gifted student in mathematics.

KEYWORDS

Differentiated instruction, learning profile, motivation, achievement