Differentiating Instruction in the 21st Century Classroom

The 21st century classroom is becoming increasingly diverse. Our students represent diverse cultures, socioeconomic classes and learning abilities. They speak different languages at home and have varying immigration statuses. There is diversity of gender, gender expression and sexual orientation. Many students have special needs and represent various special populations. The research is clear that a one-size-fits-all approach to learning is not effective for any student, and most especially diverse students.

This course is guided by the essential question, “How can we create powerful learning experiences to meet the wide range of student needs in the 21st century classroom?” Differentiation as a powerful solution for answering this essential question and meeting the needs of a diverse student base.

In this course, ASPDP teachers will:

• Learn the strategies necessary to implement differentiation effectively in their classrooms.
• Begin to implement these strategies immediately in their classrooms.
• Get feedback throughout the course and interact with other participants on implementation activities.
• Learn to assess the effectiveness of their differentiation.
• Think deeply about the topics they are teaching and how to differentiate it to meet the needs of all their students.

Objectives:

• Effectively differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all students.
• Create a learning environment where students thrive.
• Create authentic performance assessments, both formative and summative, that have clear goals and accurately reflect student learning.