Supporting Differentiated Instruction: A Professional Learning Communities Approach, Sep/2010

Educators and experts now recognize that a one-size-fits-all instructional approach is unlikely to maximize achievement for all learners. The challenge is turning this realization into a differentiation process that best serves all students. This book pragmatically approaches the collaborative spirit of professional learning communities (PLCs) and the rigorous work of differentiated classroom instruction, addressing both teaching decisions for professional staff and learning decisions for students. It examines how PLCs provide the decision-making platform to implement instruction that is responsive to varied learning styles and needs.

Teachers need plausible methods to put the profound theories of collaboration and differentiation into classroom practice. This practical guide offers tools and techniques for reflective dialogue in implementing a PLC that supports differentiated instruction. The chapters can either stand alone or create a comprehensive view of differentiated instruction. Takeaway objectives at the beginning of each chapter guide discussion, and each chapter ends with action options of highly interactive strategies.

About The Authors:
Robin J. Fogarty, PhD, has trained educators throughout the world in curriculum, instruction, and assessment strategies. She has taught at all levels, from kindergarten to college, served as an administrator, and consulted with state departments and ministries of education in the United States, Puerto Rico, Russia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Great Britain, Singapore, Korea and the Netherlands.

Robin has written articles for Educational Leadership, Phi Delta Kappan, and the Journal of Staff Development. She is author of Brain-Compatible Classrooms, Ten Things New Teachers Need, Literacy Matters, How to Integrate the Curricula, The Adult Learner, A Look at Transfer, Close the Achievement Gap, Twelve Brain Principles, Nine Best Practices, and Informative Assessment. Her work includes a leadership series called From Staff Room to Classroom.

Dr. Fogarty earned a doctorate in curriculum and human resource development from Loyola University Chicago, a master’s in instructional strategies from National-Louis University, and a bachelor’s in early childhood education from the State University of New York at Potsdam.

Brian M. Pete comes from a family of educators—college professors, school superintendents, teachers, and teachers of teachers. He has a rich background in professional development and has worked with adult learners in districts and educational agencies throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

He has an eye for the “teachable moment” and the words to describe what he sees as skillful teaching. He delivers dynamic, humor-filled sessions that energize the audiences with engaging strategies that transfer into immediate and practical on-site applications.

Brian is coauthor of Data-Driven Decisions, Twelve Principles That Make the Difference, Nine ‘Best Practices’ That Make the Difference, The Adult Learner, A Look at Transfer, From Staff Room to Classroom and From Staff Room to Classroom II. His educational videos include Best Practices: Classroom Management and Best Practices: Active Learning Classrooms.

Brian earned a bachelor of science from DePaul University in Chicago and is pursuing a master’s in fiction writing from Columbia College Chicago.