EDU-EDU8803 - Differentiated Instruction in the Classroom

Course Description

This course explores 10 practical Differentiated Instruction integration strategies. Each strategy is accompanied by at least three sample lessons, as well as tips for applying them to best improve learning outcomes for your students.

In this course, you will discover Differentiated Instruction strategies including interest centers, flexible grouping, cubing, and tiering. Every lesson is packed with real-world examples that will help you put these strategies to use in your own classroom. You will take a look at integration across different subjects, grade levels, and learning profiles as you gain helpful knowledge on bringing Differentiated Instruction to your classroom.

This course is a must for today's teachers who often have to differentiate quickly and with minimal resources. Differentiated Instruction is an excellent launch pad for ramping up your creative classroom, and with the tips in these lessons, you will be meeting the needs of your diverse learners in no time.

Course Outline

Lesson 01 - Differentiated Instruction 101

• This first lesson covers what Differentiated Instruction is, the different avenues for implementing it in the classroom, and the basics of Differentiated Instruction assessment.

Lesson 02 - Multiple Intelligences: Get Smart

• In this lesson, you will discover the power of teaching to multiple intelligences in your classroom as you learn tried-and-true techniques to customize your lesson plans.

Lesson 03 - Scaffolding and Guided Practice

• You may already be adept at providing scaffolding and guided practice in your classroom, but in this lesson, you will learn how to ramp it up a notch with some smart tips on integrating and extending the Differentiated Instruction strategy.

Lesson 04 - Flexible Grouping

• Flexible grouping is already a mainstay in your classroom, but this lesson is packed with great integration strategies that will help you extend its power across different grade levels and academic subjects.

Lesson 05 - Creating Interest Centers

• This lesson covers the basics of creating interest centers in your classroom. By grouping students into centers based on topics, subjects, or types of activities, you can focus like-minded learners on specific tasks, enabling you to offer unique learning opportunities for each student in your class.

Lesson 06 - Cubing in Your Class

• Cubing is a writing activity that lets students explore topics from six distinct points of view. In this lesson, you will explore the power of the cube in your Differentiated Instruction classroom.

Lesson 07 - WebQuests: Online Sleuthing

• WebQuests have been a powerful classroom tool for some years now. In this lesson you will discover why they're so useful in the Differentiated Instruction classroom. You will examine the components of successful WebQuests and learn the best ways to find quality ones on the web.

Lesson 08 - I-Search, You Search

• An I-Search allows students to pick a topic that interests them and do a combination of traditional and out-in-the-world research to learn more. The products of I-Searches are often amazing, and in this lesson, you will learn how your students can have fun learning more about topics that matter to them.

Lesson 09 - RAFTS for Writing

• In this lesson, you will discover another great writing strategy for your Differentiated Instruction classroom: RAFTS. RAFTS is a strategy where students assume different roles to approach reading and writing and then create unique products. You will have fun exploring this strategy with your writers!

Lesson 10 - Tiering Student Assignments

• Tiering is a Differentiated Instruction strategy where you assign students paralleled tasks at different levels of complexity depending on where they are on the learning curve. This lesson will teach you how to employ this strategy with confidence as you customize assignments.

Lesson 11 - Anchoring Activities

• Curriculum compacting is a Differentiated Instruction strategy that will help you give different work to your advanced learners so that they aren't bored by average or remedial instruction. You will find out everything you need to know in this lesson.

Lesson 12 - Utilizing Anchoring Activities in the Classroom

• Your final lesson explores anchoring activities that will help you direct students to further productive activities when they're finished with regular classroom work. You will learn how to bring these activities alive with a little creativity and a lot of Differentiated Instruction.

Learner Outcomes

• Discover the power of teaching to multiple intelligences in your classroom
• Customize your lesson plans
• Integrate and extend the Differentiated Instruction strategy
• Offer unique learning opportunities for each student in your class

Notes

This is an asynchronous online course offered through the third party vendor ed2go. This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook. The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online. There are twelve lessons in the course, and two lessons are released each week on Wednesdays and Fridays. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your coursework, including the final exam.