Murray State University Common Course Syllabus Revised 9/21/09 DEPARTMENT: ECE COURSE NUMBER: EDU 637 CREDIT HOURS: 3 I. TITLE: Instruction for Diverse Students II. COURSE DESCRIPTION: Examines the needs of a wide range of diverse learners with the goal of matching instruction and accommodations to improve student learning. III. PURPOSE: This course examines the needs of a wide range of learners and effective methods and strategies of instruction for the purpose of improving student learning. Teachers will design exemplary instruction that responds to diverse student needs in the general classroom. Teachers will reflect on their experience, and thereby provide leadership for their school colleagues to enhance student learning. IV. COURSE OBJECTIVES: Class activities will be centered on the attainment of the course objectives listed below.. Following each objective, and enclosed in parentheses, are numbers which reference the Kentucky Teacher Standards for Preparation and Certification (KTS) addressed by that objective. Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to: A. identify learner differences and community expectations for students in the general classroom and analyze student instructional needs planning for instruction. (KTS #2, 3, 4) B. create pre-assessments to identify the learners’ strength and weaknesses and articulate how this relates to the Response to Intervention (RTI) process. (KTS #4, 5) C. conduct a literature review and develop article abstracts that provide detailed information for each of the diverse needs identified in his or her classroom. (KTS #9) D. develop differentiated instruction based on several models to improve learning and motivation for students with a variety of needs in the general classroom. (KTS #2, 3) E. modify curricula from traditional content to differentiate the instruction and assessment for diverse students in the regular classroom (KTS #1, 2, 4) F. include accommodations in the differentiated curriculum based on the developmental, cognitive and affective characteristics of diverse students in the general classroom (KTS #2, 5) G. demonstrate how to apply Response to Intervention (RTI) to all school populations. (KTS #1, 3, 8) H. reflect on the design and implementation of the differentiated instructional plan and his or her teacher leadership disposition and make changes to accommodate student and community needs. (KTS #7, 8, 10) I. learn the difference between assessment for learning and for assessment of learning. The COE Theme of Educator as Reflective Decision-Maker is addressed in this course by requiring teachers to reflect upon on learners’ strengths and weaknesses in order to design differentiated instruction and modify curricula to accommodate student and community differences.2The EPSB Themes – Diversity, Assessment, Literary/Reading, and Closing the Achievement Gap are course topics in the discussion, research, design implementation, and evaluation of an instructional unit that addresses the needs of diverse students to improve learning. The disposition of Teacher Leader as advocate is addressed in this course by designing an instructional unit that puts student developmental and instructional needs first. The disposition of adult development is addressed as teacher leaders consider current levels of knowledge and reflect on the knowledge they need to better address diverse student needs. The disposition of dialogue/communication is addressed as teacher leaders share knowledge of innovative ways to meet student needs. Collaboration is promoted as teacher leaders’ work to construct the social and relationship networks needed to support students. Strategies for school change are explored as the teacher leader works to improve climate to support improved student achievement. Course artifact for teacher leader portfolio: differentiated instructional unit with evaluation and reflection on the effectiveness of the curriculum to improve the learning of diverse students. This course is designated for co-delivery by school practitioners from the service area to model the most successful strategies and techniques for addressing student diversity and differentiated instruction. V. CONTENT OUTLINE: A. The Diverse Classroom: B. Survey of Diversity in the General Classroom C. Characteristics of Diverse Students D. Needs of Diverse Students E. How Assessment Informs Instructional Decisions F. Creating Assessments to Identify Needs G. Creating Assessment to Inform Instruction H. Instructional Accommodations: Models, Methods and Strategies I. Learning Environments that Support Differentiation J. Effective Instruction as a Basis for Differentiated Teaching K. Accommodations for Special Education, Gifted, and ESL Students L. Response to Intervention M. Methods and Strategies for Teaching the Culturally Diverse N. Creating the Instructional Unit O. Implementing the Instructional Unit P. Assessing, Evaluating, and Reflecting on the Instructional Unit VI. INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: The course focus will be on the research and development of an instructional unit that will address the specific diverse needs of the students in the teacher’s classroom. VII. FIELD, CLINICAL, AND/OR LABORATORY EXPERIENCES: None VIII. RESOURCES: A consultant from the WKEC will demonstrate models of differentiated curriculum University libraries, and on-line resources.3 IX. GRADING PROCEDURES: Research on diverse student needs 200 points Response to intervention case study 200 points Article abstracts (4 @ 25) 100 points Differentiated lesson 250 points Presentation of lesson 100 points Final exam 100 points Participation 150 points Grading Scale: 90-100 A 80-89 B 70-79 C X. ATTENDANCE POLICY: This course adheres to the attendance policy published in the current MSU Graduate Bulletin. XI. ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY This course adheres to the academic honesty policy published in the current MSU Graduate Bulletin. XII. TEXT AND REFERENCES: Heacox, D. (2009). Making Differentiation a Habit. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. Tomlinson, C.A. (2005) How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Online: National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities: www.nichcy.org Council for Exceptional Children: www.cec.sped.org National Association