Online Courses for Teachers

Differentiated Instruction: One Size Does Not Fit All

(Grades K-6) / Flex Course

PDI Course Number: 88T02 / UCSD Course Number: EDUC41487

Course Description

Are you struggling with how to meet the needs of the varied ability levels of your students? This online course helps K-6 teachers analyze the various learning profiles and readiness of their students so that they can effectively develop a differentiated curriculum to meet the needs of a variety of diverse student populations. Teachers will gain a clear understanding of the needs of multilingual, special education, and academically diverse classrooms, and they will learn how to adjust their lessons to accommodate the different needs and learning preferences of their students. Different strategies and resources such as tiered instruction, teaching through multiple modalities, and universal design for learning (UDL) will be presented so that teachers can better embrace and implement the principles of differentiated instruction into their K-6 classrooms. Teachers will also explore the many facets of executive function, and they will understand how students’ executive skills can be supported through differentiation. Very specific strategies for differentiation in each content area are presented along with ways to use digital differentiation. Teachers will also be exposed to a variety of techniques for assessing their differentiated learners. The impact of social-emotional issues on the learning process is explored, as well as how differentiation works within the pedagogy of culturally responsive teaching. By the end of this continuing education course, teachers will feel more confident as they strive to effectively and equitably differentiate their lessons with a wide group of diverse students. This online professional development course is worth 3 ⅓ semester units/5 quarter units (50 hours of training) from University of California San Diego (UCSD) Division of Extended Studies. For detailed information on receiving university credit for your PDI professional development course, visit our credit page.

Need help? Allison Wynne, PDI Program Coordinator, is ready to assist.

"The content offered in this course was superb. It was easy to understand and very easy to implement into my lesson plans. After teaching for 14 years, I felt that this course gave me a fresh new look at teaching." - Samantha McCann