6 Ways to Adapt High-Quality Instructional Materials for Diverse Learners

1. Know Your Students as Learners

The foundation of differentiation is understanding who your students are. Effective adaptation begins with student readiness, interests, and learning profiles, not perceived deficits (Tomlinson, 2017). When teachers focus on student strengths, they create entry points that build confidence and competence.

💡 Tip: Use student surveys, quick reflections, or formative tasks to identify interests and strengths that can be connected to lesson goals.

2. Internalize Lessons Before You Adapt Them

Before adjusting a lesson, take time to internalize it, to understand its purpose, sequence, scaffolds and routines. Deans for Impact (2023) describes internalization as “the intellectual preparation teachers do to ensure lessons are taught as designed and adjusted purposefully for student needs” and research shows it leads to more effective enactment of curriculum (Deans for Impact, 2023)

💡Tip:  By studying model tasks, analyzing the learning progression, and anticipating student responses, teachers can make informed changes that preserve the lesson’s intent and ensure that all students master grade-level content.

3. Use a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Lens

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) encourages flexibility from the start by offering multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression. It is about anticipating learner variability and removing barriers before they appear. CAST (2022) defines UDL as “the proactive design of learning experiences to meet the variability of all learners.”

For example, in a math lesson on linear equations, students might:

• Explore variable relationships through interactive graphing tools,

• Build visual models with manipulatives, or

• Watch a short video connecting equations to real-world data.

💡Tip:  Adapting lessons through a UDL framework helps educators anticipate barriers before they arise, reducing the need for reteaching or last-minute modifications.

4. Adjust and Scaffold Intentionally 

Adapting materials does not mean watering them down. It means calibrating supports so every student can engage meaningfully. Effective scaffolding follows a gradual-release model that includes explicit modeling, guided practice, and independent application.  

For example, in English Language Arts, vertically aligned standards progress from identifying textual evidence in middle school to analyzing how evidence supports an argument in high school. Teachers might model how to annotate a short passage for key details and think aloud about how evidence supports an argument. 

Research shows that well-designed scaffolding helps students internalize strategies rather than mimic them (Belland, Kim, & Walker, 2017).

5. Use Formative Assessment to Drive Adaptation

Base every adaptation on evidence of student learning. Use exit tickets, short writing tasks, or quick verbal checks to monitor progress toward learning goals. Differentiated instruction frameworks emphasize ongoing assessment as the anchor for responsive teaching (Tomlinson, 2017).  Formative data allows you to adjust scaffolds, groupings, or pacing with precision.

💡Small data points, collected consistently, lead to significant instructional insights.

6. Build Continuous Feedback Loops

Implementing HQIM is not a one-and-done process. It is a process that grows stronger through reflection and collaboration. The University of North Carolina’s Effective Implementation Cohort found that structured reflection builds stronger ownership and greater consistency in the use of HQIM (UNC FPG, 2024). Feedback loops support continuous improvement and sustained student success.

💡Tip: Regularly share insights about pacing, scaffolds, and student engagement with colleagues, and invite feedback from students as well. These conversations help identify what is working and where adjustments are needed.

Bottom Line

When adaptations are grounded in understanding both students and curriculum design, they enhance instructional rigor rather than dilute it. By internalizing lessons, applying UDL principles, and responding to formative data, teachers ensure that every learner experiences the rigor, relevance, and access that HQIM were designed to deliver.