Differentiated Instruction: One Size Does Not Fit All

(Grades K-6) / Semester Course

PDI Course Number: 88AXX / 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 teachers to analyze the learning styles and readiness of their students so they can effectively develop a differentiated curriculum to meet the needs of a diverse population. Teachers will gain a clear understanding of the needs of multilingual, special education, and academically diverse classrooms and will learn how to adjust their lessons to accommodate the different needs and learning styles of their students. Different strategies and resources such as tiered instruction, multiple intelligences, and universal design for learning (UDL) will be presented so that teachers can better embrace and implement the principles of differentiated instruction into their classrooms. Finally, teachers will understand the impact of social-emotional issues on the learning process. This course is worth 3 ⅓ semester units/5 quarter units (50 hours of training) from UC San Diego Extension. For detailed information on university credit, click here.

"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

Required Resource Book

This course has a modestly-priced required resource book (available in both new and used versions) that can be purchased through Amazon using the following link. Note that you can begin and participate in your course before the book arrives.

How to Differentiate Instruction in Academically Diverse Classrooms by Carol Ann Tomlinson

If you are registering for multiple courses, use the following link to access the book list for all PDI courses with direct purchase links through Amazon. PDI Course Resource Book List