UbDDI+B2+Chapter+2

toc

A bstract: Sarah Robinson
After reading chapter 2 it is obvious that most of the chapter is devoted to the students. As teachers we can dramatically shape the lives of students, and as teachers we should take our jobs very seriously for that very reason. Through out this chapter it is learned that teachers are always learning and finding new ways of teaching their content. [|Getting to know your students] as a teacher can be very beneficial because it allows you to find what is the best way to teach students. This chapter has also taught that by getting to know your student also allows you to find out what motivates them and in turn you can help get them motivated in the classroom. Teachers need to take the time and make sure that every student is succeeding, that could involve going over their homework or individually meeting with the student. This chapter has impacted most people in the way that it made them realize they want to build a comfortable learning environment to ensure learning for all students. In the chapter it is taught that as a teacher you have to be ready for all sorts of situations to come with your students both good and bad and you have deal with them the best you can.

Synthesis: Sarah Robinson
From reading this chapter as a class it can be seen that most of the class got the same ideas out of this chapter. In this chapter it was discussed that teachers should get to know their students and take the time to reach their students effectively. Many of us from the class agree that we as teachers hope we can achieve the goal of reaching our students effectively, and this involves teaching them in their preferred learning styles. As a teacher it is important to cover all that should be taught, but it is also important to add some excitement to the class which in turn will help students want to come to class and learn. Many class members stated in their entries that teachers are always learning and should be finding new ways of teaching, and the chapter does touch on this very well. In this chapter it was mentioned that a teachers success depends on the learning success of their students. Many members of the class agree upon this statement and added that they would like to have a classroom that had an [|affirming environment], which would be a great learning environment. Overall most the class agreed that they wanted to get to know their students to ensure the best learning for their students because they would get to know their learning styles.

Sarah McGinley
Understanding by Design Chapter 2: What Really Matters in Teaching? (The Students) 1/21/10

The main message in this chapter is that teachers never stop being a student. Teachers are constantly learning and finding new ways to teach. The technology is becoming more and more advanced and if this will help teachers teach their students more efficiently then the teachers need to know about it. Student’s learning styles throughout different subjects could also be different and therefore teachers need to be able to change their lesson plan to meet the student’s needs. This could mean teachers need to learn different teaching techniques as well as different ways of reaching students on a person level. Teachers need to be able to teach all types of students on a physical, mental, and emotional level. When I become a teacher, I will take the teaching techniques I learned with me as well as keep learning about other techniques that are constantly being developed. I also want to be able to get to know who my students are and what I can do to help them learn from me the best way possible. If students want to tell me about personal things then I have no problem with that as long as it helps them concentrate on what I am teaching them afterward.

Jared Merrifield
Chapter 2: What Really Matters in Teaching? (The Students)

I wholly agree with the introduction to this chapter. It states that humans are incredibly complex, and our teaching styles will greatly impact students’ lives. I certainly know the truth of this; teaching is much more than standing in front of some kids and running one’s mouth. It is important to get the students interested, motivated, and perhaps having fun, whenever possible (providing that they are still learning, of course). This will not only keep the students engaged, but it will help them understand the lesson better. Also, it’s not always effective to stay “true” to the original planned curriculum – sometimes, it must be “tweaked” to appeal to the students (especially students with learning barriers, like what the chapter addressed early on). Many of my own teachers hosted special hands-on projects and games that pertained to the subject, and I hope to do that with my own students. I also understand and agree with the concept for “responsive teaching,” which is a way of truly getting to know the students in terms of interest, learning style, and background, and teaching them based on that knowledge. I know it will be a difficult and time-consuming task to adapt to all the students (and for all the students to adapt to me), but I’m sure the end result will be infinitely rewarding. Several of my teachers in the past had to deal with autistic, mentally/physically challenged, depressed, and apathetic students, and yet, all these students managed to graduate from high school.

Sarah R.
Chapter 2 was very informational on how to build a strong sense of what it means to be a teacher. It impacted me very strongly by making me realizing that I am going to have to take the time to realize the learning styles and sometimes problems of most my students to make a good learning atmosphere in my classroom. I have learned that best teachers realizing that their success depends on the actual learning of their students, and how much their students have learned. This chapter has impacted my plans as a teacher because now I realize I have to be ready to deal with students personal crisis and change my plans to fit and help these students who are have difficulties or problems. I have learned that by taking time as a teacher to help a student who is having some learning difficulties I may be able to help that student realize they have a learning disability, which in turn could have them excel as a student by addressing this learning disability. I have also learned by addressing students interest will help them learn more clearly in my classes. Lastly by making an effort to get to know my students and provide an environment for diversity will help myself be a better teacher to my students and in turn will help my students feel more comfortable in the classroom, and learn better.

Jason Malbon
It’s all about the students. Efforts in curriculum design and instruction would be meaningless without total understanding and dedication to student needs. With all of the planning, implementing, changing, and re-implementing, we need to be flexible and make changes in a moments notice. The chapter discusses several students whose struggles fall well beyond curriculum and lesson planning. A students’ cultural environment, family life and special leaning needs challenges his or her teacher to be perceptive and creative. Only through an observant and tuned-in teacher where these students able to gain the help they needed and begin learning. I appreciate the passage and the end of the chapter that states: “Learning happens within students, not to them”. (p 22) Another lofty goal of mine is to become this kind of educator. One who promotes learning from within, not shovel work upon them because it’s “what we do”.

Eric Cole
This second chapter focused on students and what we need to know about them in order to become effective teachers. If this chapter could be summarized in one phrase it would be: listen to your students. We, as teachers, like to think that we know best every time we walk into a classroom. We spend weeks preparing lesson plans, and a solid curriculum, and when we walk into the classroom we think we know exactly what we want to do. The truth of the matter is though that it is not until we get in the classroom and start learning about our students that we will be able to know how to effectively teach them. Every classroom is going to be different. Every student is going to be different. It is up to us to talk to our students, to listen to them, and to incorporate their lives, and their ideas into whatever curriculum we want to teach. How does this apply to me and what I thought of teaching? Well, to be honest, I pretty much knew all of this already. I enjoy how this book tells us this information like it is new and groundbreaking when the truth is that anyone who went through high school knows all of this stuff. I remember sitting in high school clearly thinking that I wish the teacher would ask me what I would like to do. I wish they would give me the choice to work alone or in a group. I wish they would teach me in multiple ways, or challenge me as a “smarter” student. Now, I don’t know why, but somewhere along the line most people forget thinking that. Most people forget how they felt in high school, and so when they become a teacher they do exactly what their peers did. I haven’t forgotten though. I remember thinking all of these things, and I will change things when I get into my classroom. I will utilize those thoughts, and create a curriculum, and an attitude in my classroom that will be different from anything that has been seen. My classroom will truly be my own.

Susanna Cooper
I really liked chapter 2 since it was from the student’s perspective. By reading personal stories and student problems I began to think about how I could handle these types of situations. I loved the point about how education should equal learning for the students. As a teacher, I should be creating the right environment and use the right materials to make that happen. The central element is the students focal point, how to keep the students engaged and focused. I also liked how this section kept saying that the students are looking for adults who accept them and their capabilities. I have heard this more than once and so it is really sinking in. The chapter ended by saying that we should let students express what they learned in what ever way they prefer. The students all are given the info in similar ways, then they choose how to “digest” it and express what they learned in ways that they understand best. I know that I can’t always let the students do what they want to do, but I feel that in my own classroom it is important to give multiple options to the students when they are learning something I feel is vital for them to comprehend and master. I also think that for my personal use, using systems like the exit cards can help me evaluate where my students are at.

Amanda Fitzpatrick
This chapter carried on the use of the storytelling (which I have decided is an interesting way to learn about the different components) which taught me the different ways in which a student may learn, and how the teacher in the story responded to that student. I thought that this was a very productive way to get teachers thinking about the different scenarios that could occur in their classroom, and by reading what the teacher did to respond to those students you can either gain ideas on how to help some students who have similar needs or one can come up with their own methods of teaching different students differently. The "teach responsively" section also opened my eyes to the various things that a student needs to be successful in the classroom--and still there are many more components the just the ones listed in this section. For example, it never occurred to me that the "climate" of the classroom as any impact on student learning. However after reading this section and reflecting on my high school years, it occurred to me that the classes in which I did not feel were in a affirming environment where I could make an impact on the welfare of the group were also the subjects I performed poorly in, and also the subjects that I have disdain for to this day. However, the classrooms in which I had an impact on the class and had positive reinforcement in my studies were the ones in which I enjoyed the most and had the best (grade-wise) outcome. Hopefully in my classroom I will be able to create an environment in which all feel safe and that they are being taught in a way that makes them feel appreciated and that they have a say in what exactly they are learning. (This will most likely benefit the "puppies" of the group most, but still others will most likely benefit from this.)

Diana Quinlan
Chapter two of //Integrating Differentiated Instruction + Understanding by Design// focuses mainly on way to make students successful. While reading this chapter the first thing I learned is that teachers must be continually learning. In my classroom it will be important that I am up to date on my content but it will be equally as important that I am constantly studying my students as well. Each student learns differently so it is imperative that I be aware of those differences so that I can design a lesson plan to accommodate the variation in learning styles. This chapter also reminded me that all students are capable of succeeding but it is my job to help them do so. I can help students reach their full potential by making sure my curriculum addresses all of their needs and makes connections to ideas and activities my students are interested in. After all, students tend to be more engaged when they are learning about something that is important to them. I can also help students by working one on one with individuals who have learning disabilities, who are overcoming personal issues, and who are being peer pressured not to learning. While reading this chapter I was reminded that the way we teach is judged by student success. If I’m teaching a lesson plan that my students do not understand then it is my job to change it so that they do understand it. Even the best lesson plans will most likely change once they reach the classroom. Most importantly though, I learned that students are looking for adults who “accept them, value them, guide them, and represent for them what it means to be a competent and caring adult” (16). I need to find a way to model all of those things.

Jared Boghosian
In this chapter I have discovered that in order to be an expert teacher I have to be continually learning and expanding my content area. However, just as important as content is the students. Unlike content area that changes every few years, students change every few weeks, or days even. To be considered one of the best teachers it is worth noting that how well you teach is represented by successful learning from the students and the students influence how you teach in the future. Successful learning comes from recognizing a students specific needs and finding a way to get through to them. A good quotation that I found interesting and helpful to keep in mind, “the best-laid plans of the best teachers are just that--plans, subject to change” (13). I learned it is always best to play to the interests of your students, you probably will not be able to please every student’s interests but I as an educator will do my best to spread out and adapt to different interests on a project by project basis.

Scott Bowden
This chapter was all about how to reach students effectively. These points were mainly discussed using instructional differences like dividing up students into groups and fostering positive student-teacher relationships. I feel that some of the material can help me in my classroom, like the story about the girl who had jumbled ideas. I thought the teacher handled that really well and I would like to try something like that in my own classroom. I believe that it’s important that I get to know my students in a less formal way than a simple platonic relationship and that doing so can help them learn. I need to be able to motivate all my students and let them learn in the way that’s best for them, regardless of if it’s how I learn the best. Meeting the needs of the students needs to come first and these stories showed me a really good way for me to do that.

Mike Lawson
Chapter 2: What Really Matters in Teaching (The Students)

Understanding that students are number one is the most important thing as a teacher. Also understanding that all students have little intricacies separate how students learn can help create a better environment for learning. Teachers have to know how to deal with specific problems that the kids will present to them, and how to deal with them. I also liked reading about how teachers should teach responsively. As a teacher I will have to cater to all the students needs and understand how their background and personal life will affect how they learn. The section at the end will definitely help me as a teacher. Being able to look at little tidbits of advice and information will go a long way while I’m absorbing all this new information. I know that when I go to teach my first class I will have looked at these sections so many times. Hopefully I’ll have them memorized.

Alicia Kenison
Tomlinson and McTighe’s focal point of this chapter was on the student’s needs and growth process. “Teaching is an art” that we must analyze and figure out (1) what we want students’ to know, (2) what we want students’ to understand and (3) what we want students’ to be able to do. In any situation, students may only be waiting for the bell to ring and have absolutely no interests. We must make each lesson exiting and entertaining. As Tomlinson said, “Learning is a journey that should be shared” (page 13), so we want the experience to impact the child’s life and not just leave them twiddling their thumbs until class is dismissed. No matter how interesting we make a lesson, we will always face barriers though. A barrier can be something happening at home, between friends, a relationship issue, etc. and we are not always inclined to these barriers. This is where getting to know your student’s is important. As I become a teacher, I want to be there for my students. It is important to know our students multiple intelligences to adapt our curriculum to how each individual learns best, like Noah who learned best when he was on the move (page 15). I want to be the teacher that knows her students and switching the plan each day to make being in my class fun and exciting. For example, one day we could have small groups and the next day an interactive lesson and so forth. I also think that it is a neat idea to keep a dialogue journal with each student so that they can “talk” to you even if they are too shy to confront you during or after class. This technique would bring you closer to your students, but you would have to careful about their spilling of personal problems. I would tell my students to not write anything that they wouldn’t be comfortable sharing with others in case I had to report abuse, etc. This chapter basically initiated different strategies and such to run a productive and class and be a respected teacher.