Differentiated Instruction and Implications for UDL Implementation

Having experienced teaching differentiated reading, I was very curious to read what this article had to say. In congruence with what I have experienced, everything seemed to be fairly accurate. However I did have an issue with the quote that insinuated that collaborative work was a main component. "Flexible grouping is consistantly used...Learners are expected to interact and work together as they develop knowledge of new content." If this is truly differentiated, then whether they worked in a group or not is up to the individual child and their teacher. I had a few students who, because of their learning styles, worked better independently. Differentiated reading worked in all my classes except one. That class had too many variables that it was too difficult to carry out the lessons.