Please read this description carefully before registering.
Online Group Meetings
Prior to the first group meeting, you will receive an email with the link to join the live online orientation and meetings. Information and dates on this syllabus are subject to change.
Course Expectations
In addition to online group meetings, participants read and study online course content, complete required assessment tasks and communicate with a facilitator regularly. A detailed course syllabus will be provided to all participants and will outline the pace of the course.
Course Description
This course enables educators to develop, increase and demonstrate knowledge about applying the guidelines of differentiation to science instruction for the purposes of increasing student achievement for all learners. Content and activities emphasize how to use pre-assessment, continuous assessment, and summative assessments to design and deliver effective science lessons for whole group initial instruction and how to effectively use flexible small group instruction and individualized instruction, when needed, to respond to each student's needs.
Unit 1: Guidelines for Differentiating Instruction
Unit 2: Developing Science Competence
Unit 3: Developing Clear Goals and Continuous Assessment
Unit 4: Designing Effective Lessons for Teaching of Initial Understanding in a Whole-Group Setting
Unit 5: The Differentiated Classroom-Responding to All Learners with Flexibile Grouping
Unit 6: Designing Effective Project-Based Learning Units
Unit 7: Tying It All Together: Where Do I Go from Here?
Inservice Credits
Participants with questions about how this PLA course will count towards specific recertification requirements should contact their district recertification office or local PLA Coordinator prior to registration. FDLRS does not report inservice credits directly to FDOE. If a participant is not currently employed in education in Florida, the participant must contact their former school district or private school agency to determine if they are able to submit inservice credits to FDOE.
Important Details
- If a course does not meet the minimum number of participants, an alternative PLA course will be offered to all registered participants.
- All Discussion posts, Check Your Understanding Quizzes, and Dropbox Assessment Tasks are due by the due date provided in the syllabus.
- Active course participation is required. Active participation includes logging into the course regularly to read course content, complete required tasks, track your grades and read/respond to feedback. If a participant is inactive in the course, the may be removed from the course roster.
- The PLA facilitator reserves the right to change this syllabus at any time. Enrolled participants will be notified if changes are made.