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    • Cohort 22

How can we set all teachers up for success to learn new technologies and become facilitators of 21st century learning?

In order to provide learning opportunities and access for ALL we need to provide differentiation to help all learners reach their fullest potential. This can be done if we keep if we keep Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development in mind.

The Zone of Proximal Development Explained

 Home         Standards        Inspiration


The ALPS Project Zone

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It's about providing Scaffolding and Remembering
The Zone of Proximal Development 
to Ensure Access for All

ALPS stands for Advanced Learner Programs and Services.  Our mission is to support the educational needs of students who are academically gifted, academically highly gifted, and high achievers/ motivated learners.  ALPS also works to support Twice Exceptional gifted students with learning challenges.  The basic premise of ALPS is that learning happens best when instruction is delivered one level above one's readiness. 

Reflecting on 18 years as a classroom teacher in Title 1 schools and a teaching assignment which has included GATE certification training and a role as K-8 advanced learner support for NVUSD, has shown that we have many complex student mystery boxes in our classrooms.  Some are easier to differentiate for than others. As teachers we can meet the needs of about 85% of our students.  But when we have outliers at either end, we need to be flexible and ‘think outside the box’ to meet their needs.  Often what is good for one outlier is good for ALL.  If we combine voice and choice with the right amount of scaffolding and offer authentic project-based learning opportunities, we set all learners up for success and inspire ALL students to keep moving forward academically. 

The ALPS Project Zone was created to provide scaffolding to our digital immigrant teachers helping them to change their practices, learn new technologies, and become facilitator's of 21st Century learning.  It was also designed to support our digital native students by providing scaffolding so that they can move forward at their own pace through the inquiry process.

Characteristics of a Highly Effective Teacher

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Resources

Together we are better and it takes a lot of resources to bring a project to fruition.
Click Here

Lessons

To see the projects available in the ALPS Project Zone:
Click Here

Common Core Standards

To see the Common Core Standards addressed in the ALPS Project Zone:

Click Here

About the Author and Inspiration

Dana Cope is a Teacher on Special Assignment for the Napa Valley Unified School District. To learn about her inspiration and journey click below:
Inspiration Click Here
Touro Journey Click Here

Meeting the Needs of ALL Learners

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Sociocultural Needs Click Here
Technical Needs Click Here
Informational Needs Click Here
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