Our Focus for the Back to School 2013 Edition...
Effective Instruction for Diverse Learners

Back to School!  Teachers and students are rested, the weather is cooling off, and we are ready for a great new school year!  What a perfect topic to kick off the 2013-14 school year - Effective Instruction!  Inclusive schools are focused on closing the persistent achievement gap, engaging all students, and building a more positive school climate.  While a number of our issues planned for this school year will focus on student engagement, social inclusion, and school climates that support and encourage students, this issue provides our subscribers with several great resources designed to improve instructional delivery and outcomes for diverse learners.

Check out the excellent materials from Vanderbilt University’s Iris Center and from The University of Kansas on instructional strategies.  The word “strategy” is very important in this context because we need to be organized and purposeful when we teach so that students learn and are able to apply increasingly challenging new knowledge.  You will also enjoy the Universal Design and Adolescent Literacy strategies and resources. 

We have also highlighted one of our favorite instructional planning tools! The Instructional Design Tool (IDT) transforms the complex task of differentiating instruction into a user-friendly set of teacher decisions.  The results offer successful pathways to enable a wide variety of students to master on-grade level content.  We have provided a quick three-minute tutorial to introduce the six parts of the planning form. 

Successful inclusive classrooms ensure success for every learner.  Thankfully, wonderful educators, researchers, and practitioners have scores of resources to make this an easier and more effective task! 

Best wishes for an Inclusive School Year!