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Program and Service - In the Classroom

Acceleration Whole grade is an educational intervention intended to present students with appropriate levels of academic challenge.  It is a progress where students move though an educational program at rates faster than conventionally prescribed based on academic readiness and motivation. Learn more…http://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/cecil/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=8RGJ5S4B8B47  

Compacting Curriculum Compacting is an instructional technique that is designed to make appropriate curricular adjustments for students in any curricular area and at any grade level.  The process involves determining the concepts and outcomes of a particular unit or segment of instruction, documenting which students have already mastered most or all of a specified set of learning outcomes, and then providing replacement strategies or content for the already mastered concepts.  This enables a more challenging and productive use of the student's time.  

Depth and Complexity Icons Depth and Complexity Icons are an instructional strategy used to increase the dimension of a daily lesson.  This strategy encourages teachers and students to dig deeper into instruction concepts (depth) and draw relationships between and across subjects and disciplines (complexity).  Developed by Dr. Sandra Kaplan, President of the National Association for Gifted Students and a Clinical Professor of Education at USC, depth and complexity icons can be utilized to differentiate instruction and plan learning experiences that provide activities suited to the learner’s needs.  Learn more…http://www.byrdseed.com/introducing-depth-and-complexity/  

Differentiation (also identified as responding to the needs of all learners) “The idea of differentiating instruction is an approach to teaching that advocates active planning for and attention to student differences in classrooms, in the context of high quality curriculums.” Carol Ann Tomlinson.  Learn more… Carol Ann Tomlinson
Differentiated instruction is the cornerstone of the CCPS Challenge Program.  Teachers intentionally plan with the purpose of providing instruction that is accessible and appropriately challenging to all students.  Differentiation can occur through the academic content, through instructional processes or through the product produced as a result of learning.  Differentiated instruction is based on student’s interests, learning styles and/or academic readiness.  

Enrichment Enrichment is generally described as activities for students that emphasize higher level thinking skills, controversial issues, and less structured teaching strategies. Enrichment often occurs when students have mastered portions of content and are academically reading to ‘go deeper’.  Enrichment strategies often include: higher cognitive levels of thinking, critical reading, expanded vocabulary development, wide exposure to literature, critical thinking, use of imagination and creativity, and exploration of values.  

Kingore The Kingore Observation Inventory is a series of classroom lessons utilized to enrich classroom learning and lift the level of thinking and challenge for all students.  Throughout these lessons teachers are able to collect information needed to make decisions about levels of differentiation for students.  Kingore Observation Inventory (KOI) serves as one component of identification for gifted learners and creative thinkers.  In Cecil County Public Schools, Kingore lessons are utilized in grades three and six.  Learn more… Bertie Kingore  

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) UDL is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone--not a single, one-size-fits-all solution but rather flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs.  Learn more… https://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl

Cecil County Public Schools approaches all new curriculum writing through a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) lens.  This approach will provide a deeper understanding of the ‘what’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of learning.

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