UbD/DI Chapter 8

The beginning of this chapter brings to light a very good point about grading in a differentiated instruction classroom. How can we assess students using a differentiated method when report cards and other similar tools are mostly standardized? While teaching using differentiation might show that a student has remarkable strengths in one area, the evidence as reported at the end of a term might suggest otherwise and is therefore inaccurate. The authors go on to explain the two types of grading, the first using the letter or number system that many of us are familiar with, and the second being sharing evaluations with students and parents. I like that they believe the “primary goal of grading and reporting is to communicate to important audiences, such as students and parents, high-quality feedback to support the learning process and encourage learner success,” (129). I wish that more schools could follow similar beliefs and forget about the letter/number grade system. Certainly there might be instances where using number or letter grades might be necessary, but I think it is more important to give high-quality feedback to students. Giving a student feedback on how he or she could improve his or her work would realistically be more effective than telling him or her that the grade earned was a 47. Where in the real world will your final product earn you a 47? Where in the real world will you receive feedback on your performance or your final product? A number grade might come as a secondary form of evaluation, but the feedback is something that can be used to improve on. While I don’t know what my school’s policy will be on grading, I hope that I will be able to incorporate a lot of feedback into my grading system so that students have a better idea of where they stand in my classroom.

UbD/DI Chapter 9

This chapter takes everything that we have learned about backward design, differentiated instruction, and multiple intelligences, and puts it all together. It was nice to see a fully fleshed out lesson plan and see how each of the components work with one another to really give each student the most opportunities for meaningful and engaged learning. Seeing how everything comes together not only makes it more realistic to me, but it also helps to see why we plan lessons and units this way. I really liked how it summed up each aspect that we have already learned, but it put them all together. While I will be utilizing the backward design in my classroom, I know there will be times where I cannot remember how or why we incorporated a section of the WHERETOs or other elements of the model, and this chapter will be a good resource for answering any questions I might have.

UbD/DI Chapter 7

The WHERETO model organizes teachers’ lessons by posing various questions that ask the teacher to think more about the learner. Some of it deals with engaging and hooking students at the beginning of the lesson, and some of it deals with helping the learner with the material.  I have seen this model only briefly before, but I have a feeling that I will see it more very soon.  It will be a good model to help guide my planning and my instruction because the questions it poses ask me to focus on the students more than the material.

UbD/DI Chapter 6

This chapter focused on being a responsive teacher and responding to the various elements of the classroom that affect learning and how that is considered part of differentiated instruction. Responding to students in ways other than just answering questions can lead to lesson plans changing on the spot or in the future or it can result in clarifying something for a confused student.  It could also mean changing the lesson from class to class depending on the situation and the students in each group.  I liked the analogy between the classroom teacher and the jazz musician because both incorporate practiced/ rehearsed material into their “performance,” while large pieces of it are left for improvisation, depending on the situation.  I think this will mostly help me to begin thinking about various ways to respond to students.

UbD/DI Chapter 5

This chapter reinforced what I already know about designing units backwards to ensure that the end results are the main focus and not the activities to arrive there.  It talked about the different methods of assessments, which I don’t think most students realize exist.  Most of us are used to the typical tests, quizzes, and projects, but there are so many more that aren’t necessarily assigned or given that help teachers to determine the next course of action. I think that a lot of students don’t realize that they are being assessed throughout the course of study and assume that the end test or project is their only chance to prove that they know what they’re doing, and while this is unfortunately the case with some teachers, there are other teachers who use formative assessments to assist the summative assessment.  Then, if a student does not do well on the summative assessment, the teacher is able to look back at formative assessments and see if there is something along the way that the student struggled with or if it is another matter altogether.  I really like the idea of pre-assessments, formative assessments, and summative assessments, and I think that if they can be used together correctly they can be really beneficial to the teacher and the students.  Certain aspects of my subject area will be difficult to find all three of the assessment types for, but I think that I can be creative and find ways to assess my students from beginning to finish.

UbD/DI Chapter 4

This chapter showed me that there are different needs and requirements a teacher should perform in order to maximize student learning in the classroom.  The way this chapter was structured makes it seem like teachers need to be really good at a lot of different things, sort of a “jack-of-all-trades,” but I think the key to this is understanding the concepts behind each idea.  I like that the scenarios actually give examples for how each teacher used one of the concepts in his or her own classroom.  Instead of giving a generalized explanation, there are concrete examples that someone can use as a basis for his or her instruction.  I like how one of the teachers spent time working with each student, regardless of the ability level of the student. I will definitely use this in my classroom, especially during writing workshops when many students could use the one on one instruction.

UbD/DI Chapter 3

In this chapter, I learned about the importance and the logic behind the backward design approach to creating units.  It makes a lot of sense to me and I feel like it would be an obvious way to plan units for instruction, but I’m sure that there are teachers who prefer to create activities first and then figure out what the goal of them is.  Personally, I think that planning backwards allows you to get to the core of what students should be learning and I think it will help students to see how what they are learning is relevant.  I also like how it helps cut away the content that is not necessary or relevant to students, though it might be just as important. I will use the backward design method a lot in my unit development, and this chapter helped me to realize why it is such a logical method for teachers to use.  Backward design will also help me to differentiate my instruction, which is another important method for ensuring that all students are able to learn, regardless of their abilities.  As the book suggests, backward design and differentiated instruction go hand in hand, which provides structure for designing units that allow all students to learn.

UbD/DI Chapter 2

This chapter taught me that the student is what really matters in teaching.  A lot of people would say that that’s something obvious and that everyone should know that, but I think that some teachers forget that they need to focus on the student and get caught up in just teaching what they’re supposed to without making sure that the students are benefitting from it.  I liked the ideas and suggestions this chapter provided on how to teach responsively, meaning that you teach to all learners and you adapt your teaching to suit each learner. The suggestions helped make it seem a little less daunting I think, but I’m still not sure quite how I would apply that to my classroom.  I think that might be something I will think about when I am in the classroom this semester, not only looking at how my mentor teacher teaches responsively, but also how she can alter her teaching methods so that she is including more responsive teaching. When I am working on my unit and lessons this is something that I will be keeping in mind because I think that it is an important way to teach students and you are better ensuring that each student is learning because you are constantly assessing each student’s performance so that you can better respond to them. 

UbD/DI Chapter 1

This chapter taught me that both curriculum and knowledge are important for effectively teaching students of all learning styles, abilities, and backgrounds.  In their explanations for the logic behind UbD and DI, authors Tomlinson and McTighe say that, “quality classrooms evolve around powerful knowledge that works for each student.  That is, they require quality curriculum and quality instruction.  In tandem, UbD and DI provide structures, tools, and guidance for developing curriculum and instruction based on our current best understandings of teaching and learning,” (3).  I feel like this statement is perhaps one of the most important statements in the chapter because it explains what the core of strong, effective teaching is.  I think that if you are cognizant of this aspect of teaching, then you will be able to create units and lessons that provide optimal learning for students.  I understand what DI is, but I am still quite confused about UbD.  I know that if you use the two together, then you are effectively teaching students, but I don’t understand what the purpose of UbD is at this point.  I know that once I understand what UbD is better, I will want to use it in my teaching, but I honestly do not know how I would use it right now.  The axioms and corollaries that the authors used to explain how the two practices worked together seemed incredibly general to me and did not really help to explain them for me.  I’m hoping to understand UbD and how it works with DI better as I read more of the book.