Overview

This course is designed to introduce students to strategies for differentiating instruction within general education classrooms. The course examines the legal, philosophical and programmatic underpinning of inclusion, broadly defined. Addressed in the course are approaches for adapting the curriculum to meet the needs of socio-culturally, linguistically, cognitively (e.g. dyslexia, dyscalculia) and behaviorally diverse student populations, including students identified traditionally as having special needs (e.g. gifted and talented, socially-economically challenged). The course of study includesa) legal aspects for schools and teachers, b) characteristics and teaching strategies of special needs populations, c) social-psychological-cultural perspectives, d) learning strategies/classroom management for including diverse populations and e) differentiating instruction to meet various learning needs of students.

The class includes small/large groups, case studies/scenarios, video presentations, reflections, inquiries, postings-on-line, and student presentations. This course emphasizes differentiating instruction for the various diverse learners that are in today’s general education classrooms. UMBC students will learn to teach for understanding by exploring appropriate learning objectives, instructional strategies, and pre & post assessments. In addition, students will learn about various ways to co-teach and collaborate with fellow teachers.

The students are taught many strategies that can be used in the general education classroom. They will have many opportunities to learn to differentiate instruction within a general education setting. Class sessions will provide time to design, share and reflect on activities that use different pathways to teach a concept. Students will explore and discuss a variety of differentiated instructional strategies used by teachers. The major assignments for the course are outlined below and will be defined in more detail with the context of the course. Each component has a point value that is used to calculate the final grade.

Logistics

This course is typically offered in the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Some course activities are conducted in the course Blackboard ® site.