Course Details

Overview

Understanding and responding to students' individual learning needs can be a challenge for teachers. Participants in this course, Engaging All Students with Differentiated Instruction, will explore many strategies and tools that will help them to plan lessons so that all students are appropriately challenged and supported. Participants will also explore technology tools that will facilitate instruction of students with diverse learning needs and strategies to differentiate assessment. To apply what they learn in the course, participants will complete an Implementation Plan outlining how they will modify instruction in their classrooms to meet a variety of student learning needs. This self-paced course can be used, in conjunction with the Individual Professional Development Plan, to satisfy the minimum 15 PDPS related to training in strategies for effective schooling for students with disabilities and instruction of students with diverse learning styles as according to the Massachusetts License Renewal Requirements for a Professional License.

Goals and Objectives

During this self-paced course, participants will learn skills and strategies to:

  • Understand the principles of differentiated instruction when working with students with diverse learning needs;
  • Understand the basic principles of Universal Design for Learning;
  • Extend learning opportunities for all students through digital technologies and explore a variety of these tools;
  • Develop a technology-rich lesson plan that demonstrates how learning is differentiated for a variety of learning needs; and
  • Analyze curriculum barriers for students with disabilities and develop a plan to address these barriers

Audience

This workshop is intended for Massachusetts teachers of grades K-12, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, and professional development specialists. This course will fulfill the required 15 PDPs related to training in strategies for effective schooling for students with disabilities and instruction of students with diverse learning needs necessary in order to apply for renewal of your professional teaching license in Massachusetts. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers and be proficient with email and web browsing.

STRUCTURE

This online, self-paced professional development course is divided into four sessions: an orientation and three content-based sessions. Each content session includes readings, videos, and activities that ask participants to apply what they learn. The time for completing each content session is estimated to be between four and five hours and the total amount of time required for the entire course is estimated to be 15 hours.

session 1

What Does Differentiated Instruction Look Like?
session 2

Understanding and Meeting Individual Learning Needs
session 3

Technology and Assessment in a Differentiated Classroom

Course Readings & Activities

Participants are expected to complete the course readings and activities as posted in each of the session assignment pages. Activities may include exploring websites related to course content, watching online video clips, using specific technology applications, and working on the final project.

Final Project

As a final project, participants will complete an Implementation Plan using the template provided to explain how they will apply what they learned in the course to differentiate instruction and meet individual learning needs. The template is a Microsoft Word document and is also available in PDF format. Participants are welcome to adapt the template to meet the needs of their own students and teaching style. Participants are expected to work independently on the final project beginning during Session One. Participants should save this document and keep it on file as documentation of successful completion of the course for renewal of their professional Massachusetts teaching license.

Assessment

The following criteria will be used to determine successful completion of this workshop:

  • Completion of all assigned readings and activities;
  • Completion of all interactive self-assessments and associated templates;
  • Completion of the Implementation Plan; and
  • Completion of the Final Course Assessment

Final Course Assessment

After completing course readings, activities, and the final project, participants will be expected to complete the Final Course Assessment. Participants with a passing score of 80% will receive a Certificate of Completion upon successful completion of the Final Course Assessment.

Participants should save all associated documents and keep them on file as documentation of successful completion of the course for renewal of their professional Massachusetts teaching license.

Course Syllabus

A more detailed description of each session is provided in the course syllabus.

About

This workshop was developed by EdTech Leaders Online at Education Development Center (EDC). EdTech Leaders Online provides capacity building online training, and online courses for school districts, state departments of education, and colleges and universities.

This course cannot be copied or modified without written permission of EDC.

Last update: September, 2015

© 2015 Education Development Center, Inc., through its project, EdTech Leaders® Online, http://www.edtechleaders.org. All rights reserved.