Disclosed herein are methods for the in vitro differentiation of a precursor cell into definitive endoderm, which may further be differentiated into a human colonic organoid (HCO), via modulation of signaling pathways. Further disclosed are HCOs and methods of using HCOs, which may be used, for example, for the HCOs may be used to determine the efficacy and/or toxicity of a potential therapeutic agent for a disease selected from colitis, colon cancer, polyposis syndromes, and/or irritable bowel syndrome.