Sandra Kaplan
Sandra N. Kaplan is an Emeritus Professor of Clinical Education with Distinction, University of Southern California. Her emphasis has been on the development of curriculum and instruction across grade levels with a focus on the areas of differentiation, "thinking like a disciplinarian," interdisciplinarity, and depth and complexity. Sandra has conducted Department of Education research grants related to differentiating curriculum for gifted and talented students across grade levels pre-school to high school and has been a consultant to school districts and State Departments of Education. She has been president of the National Association for the Gifted and California Association for the Gifted. Her current publications include "Project CHANGE," and "Differentiated Curriculum and Instruction for Advanced and Gifted Learners.
Keynote Address
Teacher AND Student Directed Differentiation
The elements of differentiation traditionally provide modifications in curriculum that extend, interpret, and introduce curricular experiences that recognize and respond to differences among students. Traditionally, differentiation is defined and administered by teachers. The concept of perceiving and implementing differentiation as a shared responsibility of both the teacher AND student will be discussed and demonstrated with the goal to retain the purposes and elements of differentiation and introduce student self-directed differentiation models and practices. Emphasis of student-directed differentiation necessitates and maximizes both the roles of the teacher and student as shared and collaborative responsibilities to differentiate the specific features of depth, complexity, and the "E'' of elaboration, extension, elimination, and exaggeration. The specific student-directed differentiation strategies and models implemented across grade levels and subject areas will be presented.