Recognizing, Teaching, and Responding to Diverse Learners

3 credits · Peabody College - Professional

The course examines factors associated with literacy development, such as text, cultural-social issues, language, instruction, and cognition. Current and relevant research investigating practices that support the literacy development of learners' developmentally appropriate and specialized literacy instruction, student learning and learning environments, social and cultural contexts, and text factors are discussed. Focus on methodologies for accommodating students with diverse learning needs in regular classrooms and special settings, with opportunities to use informal assessment tools to collect and analyze data to inform instruction. This course is also designed to be a "job-embedded" experience that combines regular contact hours with full-time, in-school experience with students with special needs. The goal is to ensure that candidates both understand their responsibilities with respect to the law and language of special education services and develop the capacity to recognize and respond to all students who are not flourishing academically, emotionally, socially or psychologically. All students are either full-time residents, halftime, full-year student teachers, or other students working in school at least half time. [3]