Week 5 – Discussion 1

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Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

 Planning for All: Differentiating Instruction

Your written response to this discussion prompt assesses your ability to discuss teaching and learning with leadership. This discussion also supports your achievement of Course Learning Outcome 3.

Teachers have a powerful role in the classroom and larger school community. School teachers, administrators, curriculum and instructional specialists, and educators/trainers make hundreds of decisions a day; these decisions affect many people. As such, it is important for educators to ground their decisions according to the latest research and in alignment with the established vision for their organization.

Initial Post: Post an initial response that addresses the following areas:

Read Phelps’ (2008) article titled “Helping teachers become leaders.” Compare his statement with at least two vision statements that you find via a Google search. In the discussion forum, create your own vision statement. Phelps provides an example in the article. As Phelps (2008) suggests, go beyond mantras such as “all students can learn” (p. 119).  The heart of your vision should address an educational dilemma in a diverse learning context. For example, a possible dilemma in the mantra “all students can learn” is that there are teachers who believe that some students do not learn, which is indicative of a “one size fits all” type of teaching. Your vision statement will address a problem you see in education and describe how you choose to solve that problem. Reflect on how your beliefs will influence your classroom practices. As Phelps (2008) indicates, “Formulating one’s vision in writing makes its achievement more likely” (p. 120).

Guided Response: Answer any follow-up questions your instructor may have for you after reading your post. Read your classmates’ posts and respond to at least three of them. Ask questions that challenge their practices and beliefs while promoting their growth and development. Comment on how your classmates’ vision statements can help create a thoughtful, diverse community. If you came across a version of a vision statement that you think would aid your peers, share it with them.

Though two replies are the basic expectation, for deeper engagement and application of the material, you are encouraged to provide responses to any comments or questions others have given to you (including your instructor) before Day 7. This ongoing engagement in the discussion will deepen the conversation while providing opportunities to demonstrate your content expertise, critical thinking, and real-world experiences with this topic.