Faced with the challenge of addressing the learning needs of the Native American student, Montana teacher education programs must engage their preservice teachers in research based practices such as differentiated instruction (DI). Teachers cannot teach content in isolation nor ignore the background knowledge and experiences our students bring to the classroom. Meaning is established in a variety of ways. The challenge is educating our preservice teachers in the understanding of how their prospective students construct knowledge and strategies that encourage this. This mixed method study addressed three research questions focused on the teaching practices of faculty members in a teacher education program comprised of a large percentage of Native American students. It explored how faculty members taught the use of DI to preservice teachers, if or how they modeled DI and the perceptions teacher candidates held regarding their instructors' use of this strategy. The student participants completed a survey conducted in a single stage using random sampling. The results were analyzed using SPSS and a one way ANOVA. Course syllabi were analyzed; faculty members interviewed in depth, and all qualitative data coded for emerging themes. Elementary and secondary education faculty had opposing views concerning the importance of pedagogy versus content knowledge. Preservice teachers did not see the implementation of DI to the extent faculty reported its use. Social change implications include amendments to outdated university teaching practices as well as increased preservice teachers' effectiveness in addressing the diverse needs of future students considered to be most at risk.