Week+7

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 * **How would you organize professional development to ensure that teachers and principals walk away with an understanding of the importance of differentiated instruction and accommodations to meet the needs of students with special needs?**
 * **How would you organize differentiated professional development to ensure that teachers and principals can effectively use data to shape instruction at the c lassroom level?
 * ** How can you use both synchronous and asynchronous communications, as well as emerging technologies to support professional development? Provide specific examples? **

One of the biggest problems i have seen with PD is the lack of hands on activities. So I like to focus almost everything on having teachers solve problems (just like I teach by having students in control of their own learning.) So I would end with time for groups of teachers to plan differentiated lessons that they can use. I would start with examples of common IEP "snapshots", break the teachers up by content and have them take a content standard and work out ways to teach the content addressing each of the model IEPs. I would then have a gallery walk of the solutions with the groups each choosing two things that they learned/liked from the other groups to share with the large group. Asynchronous communications like blogs and discussion pages can be used to continue specific discussions about differentiated instruction. One important use would be to share techniques that work especially around individual students. - Allyson

I would organize professional development so that the professional development is differentiated, offering teachers and principals the opportunity to learn in a variety of different ways. We might use video, audio, individual and group response, etc. to learn about differentiated instruction and reflect upon the experiences and how they translate to the classroom.I think that I would want to schedule a visitation to a school that embraces differentiated instruction and have all participants observe the model in action. I would use student work and products to support the standardized data and have teachers create, design and review how to create a rubric for student work and have teachers evaluate products based on this rubric. I think the best way to educate educators in the 21st Century is through online coursework or meetings. The online format is the most cost-effective option and provides enough flexibility and differentiated instruction to meet all learner needs. These courses should have both asynchronous and synchronous events embedded in their design. Currently, at the state and district level we use Moodle but there are other open source course options Pat Moriarty

I think with so many professional development going towards online development thorough the use of portals and webinars, I feel the importance still lies in the personal communication and connections in the classroom at the given time. For example, there needs to be something that all participants have in common or can at least relate with in order for the learning to be meaningful. I would make sure that the audience is coming together as a unified group to try and establish common goals. I could use Jing tutorials that would help assist students with special needs, and this would allow for students to return to the lesson or activity for follow up. As far as using the data to shape instruction, I would use the group to demonstrate different examples of using the tools in their classrooms, and meet on a monthly basis to discuss progress and update the staff as well as parents. Some tools would be Google Docs, Leap Frog, and Screencasting sites like Jing and Screentoaster to name a few. - Patrick

Professional development still lacks muster in most cases. Schools still have professional staff development topics and events that are not aligned to district or school goals and are very fragmented efforts for school improvement. In order to get staff to fully grasp differentiated instruction, I would begin with a learning style or preference inventory for them. They would be asked to identify their learning preferences or profile and then discuss the results with each other. I would then offer suggestions for strategies for their learning styles and allow them to choose from a matrix of activities to complete a shore demonstration model. Through hands on experience and modeling, they would begin to see the relevance of differentiation first hand.

Differentiated PD is important to meet the needs of staff with varying needs and skills. Online options can utilized to create synchronous and asynchronous meetings, trainings and demonstrations. There are free options such as ning, moodle, skype, vyew, jing and more to create powerful resources for teachers to use while building new knowledge and skill. Teachers love the flexibility in this and provide feedback about how they enjoy learning in the comfort of their own homes. Teacher PLCs are a great place to start when creating collaborative professional development opportunities.Collaborative opportunities are also required to bring forth collective growth and change. - Cheryl Shared some great books on this PD. Ones that I found very useful.

=Books on PD in Education=

media type="custom" key="5409767" Thought I'd add these here.

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