Does the Lab Classroom help teachers as they differentiate instruction?

Absolutely.

The workshop format is a means to organize daily instruction around three necessary and research-based processes of learning:

• Focus lesson: Teacher establishes the instructional target for all students. During the focus lesson, the teacher models, demonstrates, or read/talks aloud conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, vocabulary, or strategy knowledge.
• Practice: An extended period of time during which instruction is differentiated. Students practice the instructional intent of the focus lessons in:
  a. independently
  b. in pairs or small groups
  c. while conferencing with the teacher
  d. Using appropriately leveled text/material
  e. All of the above with or without teacher intervention
• Share and Reflect : A brief period during which the students are brought together to share and reflect on their learning.