Explain      how critical thinking is an integral part of differentiated instruction.

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can be defined as “a set of principles for curriculum development that gives all individuals equal opportunities to learn” (CAST, n.d.).
Differentiation can be defined as meeting students at their current level of readiness and then planning instruction around individual needs. When combining these two theories, classroom instruction becomes engaging, dynamic, and inclusive.

Using one of the following free online presentation tools listed below, create an interactive presentation that: Please use power point presentation for this work.

a)    Compares and contrasts the two concepts
b)    Explains how you envision blending the concepts in your current or future classroom.

In your presentation be sure to include: 

  • How      you will present new information
  • How      students will demonstrate their prior background knowledge
  • Your      strategies to engage and motivate students
  • At      least two scholarly resources from Ashford’s Online Library or Google      scholar relating to the theoretical foundation of UDL and/or      differentiation.
  • All      in-text citations included must be cited in APA format at the conclusion      of your post.

I will learn how to perform the task listed below by using the online presentations tools below. I am not sure if you can perform this task for me.

Post your link along with a brief introduction in your initial post.
Free Online Presentation Tools

  • Pearltrees (Links      to an external site.)
  • Prezi (Links      to an external site.)
  • VoiceThread (Links      to an external site.)

Guided Response: Review at least two of your peers’ presentations and address the following questions:

  • Do      you think that each concept has been fully explained? Why or why not?      Using the information provide, do you feel children will be engaged and      motivated in this classroom?
  • What      additional suggestions that are supported by your textbook or      research-based articles to improve each concept’s explanation and to keep      students engaged in learning?

Online Tutorials:

  • Creating a VoiceThread (Links      to an external site.)
  • How to create a Voki (Links to an external site.)
  • Get      started with Prezi. (Links to an external site.)
  • Getting started with Pearltrees

Instructor Guidance

Week 4

Introduction

This week you will:

  1. Analyze      how Universal Design of Learning is used in the differentiated classroom.
  2. Explain      how critical thinking is an integral part of differentiated instruction.
  3. Construct      differentiated learning activities that integrate technology into      content-based instruction.

 

Discussion Board

As you’ve learned, Differentiated Instruction (DI) is founded on the belief that students come to school with varying experiences, levels of readiness, learning preferences, and academic abilities that need to be accommodated through a multifaceted approach to curriculum delivery. On the other hand, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was originally an architectural movement that declared that physical structures should accommodate all individuals, with and without disabilities. Examples include a curb cutout for wheelchairs that also accommodates strollers, and closed captioning that benefits people with hearing impairments but also benefits emerging readers and visual learners (National Center, 2012). Since its inception, “Universal Design” has morphed into “Universal Design for Learning” with the initial concept of ‘equal access’ being transformed from physical structures to curriculum materials and learning tools such as digital media, universal closed captioning, and SMARTboard technology.
Although these two approaches have been established with divergent intentions, they are now used in combination to provide interactive and engaging lessons. For this week’s activity, you will create an interactive presentation that compares differentiation and UDL and blends the concepts in your current or future classroom.  The following short video (Eadens, 2013), provides a quick glimpse of some ideas that may be helpful.
Assignment 

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action (The Critical Thinking Community, 2013).
So what does this mean to you, as an educator, when designing differentiated lessons? Think about the theory of differentiation and its foundation in providing meaningful instruction that is relevant and significant to the real-world application of critical thinking. There are many, many definitions of critical thinking out there. Please watch the following video (The Community for Critical Thinking, 2008) for a succinct definition with connection to education.
References

Eadens, D. (2013, September 3). DI UDL (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jta46w99cs4
National Center on Universal Design for Learning (2012). The concept of udl (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/whatisudl/conceptofudl
The Critical Thinking Community. (2013). Defining critical thinking (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766
The Critical Thinking Community. (2008, April 15). On critical thinking and education (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieve from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65PuojK3qEA

Required Resources 

Required Text

Puckett, K (2013). Differentiating Instruction: A Practical Guide [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

  • Chapter      3: Instructional Strategies Supporting Differentiated Instructional      Practices
  • Chapter      4: Planning for Differentiation

Articles

Hall, T., Strangman, N., & Meyer, A. (2011, January 14). Differentiated instruction and implications for udl implementationPreview the document. Retrieved from http://aim.cast.org/sites/aim.cast.org/files/DI_UDL.1.14.11.pdf

Multimedia

Edutopia. (2010, May 5). Differentiation Instruction Ignites Elementary Learning. (Links to an external site.)[Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqepSNNjowU

Waterman, T. (n.d.). Differentiation and technology. (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/twaterman/differentiation-and-technology

Websites

Pearltrees (Links to an external site.) (http://www.pearltrees.com)

Prezi (Links to an external site.) (http://www.prezi.com)

VoiceThread (Links to an external site.) (http://voicethread.com)

Recommended Resources 

Articles

CAST. (n.d.). About universal design learning (Links to an external site.). (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/udl

Everything DI. (n.d.). Tech connections. (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from http://www.everythingdi.net/mitech/techconnect.htm

Lamb, A. (2003, June). Ten tips for differentiation (Links to an external site.). (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from http://eduscapes.com/sessions/needs/elementary2.html

Matthews, R. (n.d.). Digital tools – live binder. (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=157825

Smith, T. (2012, July 2). Writing measurable learning objectives (Links to an external site.).  (Links to an external site.)Retrieved from http://teachonline.asu.edu/2012/07/writing-measurable-learning-objectives

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2011). P21 common core toolkit (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/storage/documents/P21CommonCoreToolkit.pdf

Walsh, K. (2012, September 12). 10 emerging education and instructional technologies that all educators should know about. (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from http://www.emergingedtech.com/2012/09/10-emerging-education-and-instructional-technologies-that-all-educators-should-know-about-2012/

Websites

Common Core State Standards  (Links to an external site.)(http://www.corestandards.org)

Explain how the instructional technology device(s) included in your lesson enhance student learning and classroom organization (such as online attendance and grading). You must also clearly explain how the NETS standard(s) aligns with this section.

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Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK): This framework demonstrates the combination of content expertise, information delivery expertise (pedagogy), and instructional technology implementation all used to enhance learning.
As explained in your textbook, TPACK combines pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge, and technological knowledge to transform learning opportunities into student-centered opportunities for lesson engagement, global connections, and web interfacing through 21st century technology advancements. The TPACK framework demonstrates the interplay of three knowledge bases:

· Pedagogical Content Knowledge: This area is where most teachers have their foundation as a content expert who delivers knowledge using the foundations of pedagogy.

· Technological Content Knowledge: This area includes making content more accessible and differentiated through technology including graphing calculators, online language translators, and virtual world tours.

· Technological Pedagogical Knowledge: This area involves advanced learning processes through the use of technology that contribute to a wider variety of differentiated instructional opportunities including iPads that have text to speech programs, SMARTboard with text magnification, and online educational games that provide immediate feedback.

Assignment Instructions
Using the classroom environment and the demographics created in Week Two, the instructional strategies that align with the CCSS in the blog created in Week Three, the unit plan created in Week Four, and the summative assessment created in Week Five, you will create the framework for a TPACK lesson plan.

· Identify the following aspects of your lesson plan:

o Title: The title of your lesson.

o Grade level and basic class demographics.

o Anticipated Outcome (Lesson Objective): This must be measurable and written to align with the CCSS.

o Common Core State Standard: This can be from your Unit Plan.

o NETS-T standardPreview the document standard being met.

o Content Summary: A brief description of what you will teach for this lesson and why.

o Materials: Provide a list of materials needed for the lesson to include hyperlinks to any internet sites or books citations.

o Summative Assessment: This should be a two- to three-sentence summary of how you will assess the lesson.

· Your lesson plan must address each section of the TPACK using the provided lesson plan template (see sample herePreview the document):

o Pedagogical Content Knowledge: Explain which teaching strategies best address the lesson’s content and concept. Be sure to include how the lesson uses multiple intelligences to promote critical thinking and problem solving in an engaging learning environment. You must also clearly explain how the Common Core State Standard (CCSS) aligns with this section.

o Technological Content Knowledge: Explain how instructional technology will be used to compliment the lesson’s content. For example- a graphing calculator is used to check student’s algebra work or using spell check in a word document. You must also clearly explain how the CCSS and NETS standard(s) aligns with this section.

o Technological Pedagogical Knowledge: Explain how the instructional technology device(s) included in your lesson enhance student learning and classroom organization (such as online attendance and grading). You must also clearly explain how the NETS standard(s) aligns with this section.

· Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK):

o Analyze how your lesson integrates Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), and Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) to fully address TPACK in the creation of an engaging lesson that differentiates instruction, makes global connections through 21st century technological advancements, encourages critical thinking, and demonstrates content area expertise. The analysis will be at least two pages.

The assignment should be a minimum of four pages in length, not including the title and reference pages, and must include reference to the course text and two additional resources (scholarly article or online resource). The assignment must be cited in proper APA format. A title and reference page must be included.

Determine who the intended audience would be. Your determination must be based on your analysis of the tone and use of language.

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Technical writing can be defined, as we learned, in a variety of ways and by writing a variety of documents for your profession. This assignment gives you an opportunity to review a real-world document—a contract stating the work to be done on highway lighting installations. Your task is to apply the knowledge you have learned in this module to analyze the sample.

 

Read the excerpt of Roadway Lighting Maintenance document

Read the Justification document.

Please note there is a blank page in the excerpted document “Roadway Lighting Maintenance”. However, there is still enough content available in the document as is to complete the assignment accordingly.

Your task is to provide a synopsis of these documents. You must consider the following questions in your write-up. Your assignment should be in essay format, comprising 2 to 3 pages in APA style.

Identify the purpose of the document and analyze the problem statement.

Determine who the intended audience would be. Your determination must be based on your analysis of the tone and use of language.

Determine who the author(s) of this contract may have been. Your determination must be based on your analysis of the tone and use of language.

Describe how the author(s) have fulfilled their ethical responsibilities as technical writers.

Analyze the author(s)’ research methods. How would you have done it differently?

Describe a possible white paper for an external audience.  You may consider your workplace or any other organization. 

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White Papers: An Introduction to the Genre and Its Expectations

After watching the video, please respond to the following two tasks.
1. Describe a possible white paper for an internal audience.  You may consider your workplace or a community organization you belong to.  What might be a possible white paper topic that could be written for this audience?

For example, let us consider an example of an individual named Arnold. He coaches soccer for his local soccer team.  The soccer league does not have a Facebook page.  He could write a white paper to the board of his soccer league discussing why social media presence might be helpful to the league and why Facebook in particular might be a form of social media the league should consider.

This would be an example of an internal audience, as Arnold is familiar with the individuals on the board, coaches for the league, and is involved in the organization.

2. Describe a possible white paper for an external audience.  You may consider your workplace or any other organization.

For example, let us consider an example of a person named Sharon.  She works for a company that has developed a new method of taking care of outdoor turf for athletic fields.  She could write a white paper for athletic leagues in her area.   The white paper might compare current methods of treating turf to the new method. 

This would be an example of an external audience, as Sharon is not familiar with the individuals who will read her white paper, does not work for or volunteer for these athletic leagues, and is not involved in these organizations.

You will consider your own work or community situation.  What would represent an issue, problem, or development that you might respond to with a white paper to an internal audience? And what would represent an issue, problem, or development that you might respond to with a white paper to an external audience?

At least 300 words APA format.