Discussion Post: Planning For All- Differentiating
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
Textbook: Mertler, C. A. (2017). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
The response should include a reference list. Using one-inch margins, Times New Roman 12 pnt font, double-space and APA style of writing and citations.