UbDDI+B2+Chapter+4

Click on edit this page. toc
 * 1) Use the down arrow on your keyboard to get the cursor underneath the horizontal bar.
 * 2) Type your name, highlight your name and then select Heading 3 at the top.
 * 3) Copy and paste your reflection underneath your name.
 * 4) Insert a horizontal bar under your reflection.
 * 5) Click save

Sarah McGinley
Understanding by Design Chapter 4: What Really Matters in Planning for Student Success? 1/26/10

There are a few good points that were mentioned in this chapter. A teacher should have a good, strong quality curriculum to present but the teaching part of this process has to be just as good or the student will not learn well. The curriculum and the instruction must coincide to achieve a well engaged class. Also, the curriculum should be clear and concise, so there is no confusion on what the main idea is going to be. This is a great tool for me because I am a clipboard learner, which means I like to plan things out and work from a list. I need a certain amount of structure for the curriculum in order to be well prepared to teach my class. Having these types of skills will help me teach all types of learners and to have great skills in classroom management but there will be times where something might go wrong and therefore I would need to change my way of thinking. Someone could be disrupting the class and so I would need to be able to change the lesson for the day a little in order to take control of the classroom again. Therefore, even the greatest, well thought out plan could go wrong sometimes.

Alicia Kenison
Tomlinson and McTighe brought forth great examples in what I would like to bring to my classroom to ensure success. First, we need a compelling curriculum that is clear on what is essential and reflects understanding and awareness. We must think about all of our students, why write a two-page paper, if some of our students are not fluent in English? We must learn to be flexible, goal-oriented and responsive. I really enjoyed the last section where Tomlinson said, “There’s no such thing as a perfect lesson, a perfect day or a perfect teacher.” I know that I will face road-blocks where children don’t want to learn or can’t learn, but I will have to work with my knowledge to get the best work out of everybody in my classroom.

Jared Merrifield
Chapter 4: What Really Matters in Planning for Student Success? I am all-too-familiar with the differentiation between curriculum and instruction, as I walk the line between them quite often. The idea is in my head, and I understand it perfectly myself, but explaining it verbally to someone in a way that they will understand usually takes some time. My mind usually works faster than my mouth, and I tend to stumble on my words and ideas as they come out. That is one of the main skills I wish to acquire from this class: learning to explain better, and perhaps quicker. However, explaining the lesson in a way (or ways) that all my students will understand will be even harder. I can understand why some teachers tend to differentiate when there are struggling and/or advanced students in their class, but I can also understand why this method is ineffective. Teacher expectations should be the same for all students (regardless of race, class, etc) so none of them are given an unfair (dis)advantage. I agree with the section about accepting responsibility for learner success. I know of some teachers who are a bit too proud of their own successes, when they should be trying to improve on their past failures, whether that means making changes to the curriculum or trying a new method of teaching. I have also incorporated the respect factor when working with campers; in fact, the two primary guidelines for camp were "safety" and "respect." The result was an effective learning environment where everybody was getting along and having fun. We also got opportunities to "get to know" each camper, specifically in our cabin groups, and I hope that I will be able to do that in my classroom through efficient observation. Even though I was a seventh-grade student at one point, it is difficult for me in retrospect to consider the success of each individual student, not just that of the class. I'm sure it will become easier once I get more teaching experience under my belt, when I am actually in front of twenty students (not a GROUP of students).

S arah Robinson
Chapter 4 was a very informational chapter, it involved many concepts that teachers must know to learn how to teach a differentiated instruction. This includes being a teacher that has the ability to organize and use ideas in a clear way that is also demonstrated to the students. This chapter has impacted me in the way that I understand as a teacher I must accept responsibility for my students learning success. In my classroom I will never give up on a student that is not understanding what I am teaching, I will work harder and use different teaching styles to get my point across. This chapter made it very clear that you must build a learning environment that students feel safe to learn in. I have learned that I will have to make time to have to communicate with students individually; therefore, finding more information about this student as a learner and person. Within this chapter it has been learned that you must as a teacher allow different paces of learning. This chapter has also given me the idea that I should arrange my furniture in my classroom to allow small-group learning spaces. This chapter has impacted me in the way that I should be constantly taking notes on how my students are learning and what their progress is. Finally I have realized through out reading this chapter that not everything is going to go perfect but giving an honest effort will bring a good out come, and practice will eventually make perfect.

Amanda Fitzpatrick
This chapter was so informational, that I had to read it a couple of times to really get the full understanding of what the authors were trying to convey. Each point (which was followed by an explanation and then a scenario, an idea that I LOVE) is so important to effective teaching, because it's not all about the curriculum. If we as teachers get too hung up on the content that we are attempting to teach, but do not back it up with clear instruction we may know what we are talking about, but everyone else will be completely in the dark. This is an aspect of teaching that I think happens quite a bit (especially in college) because teachers forget that students may not have the prior knowledge necessary to just speak information the entire 50 minutes or so and not back it up with some real instruction. On the other hand, if teachers are too preoccupied with their instruction and making sure that all of the learners in the class get their own specific instruction, then the class as a whole will miss out on the bigger picture--what the lesson was really about. Although I have personally never fallen victim to this, I could potentially see myself in the role of trying to appease everyone in my lessons, and end up not getting enough information across.

Jason Malbon
There must be balance between focusing on curriculum versus differentiated instruction. Too much focus on designing the perfect curriculum without meaningful instruction will result in learning goals that are not realized. At the same time, great lessons without a strong curriculum will seem trivial and meaningless. The backward model eliminates much of the problem since what is important to know comes at the beginning of the process. Teachers who are dedicated to helping all students learn posses at least nine skills. Among them are; accepting responsibility for learner success, develop communities of respect and building awareness of what works for each student. These are skills that would undoubtedly need time and practice for expertise to be gained. Suffice it to say, educators have a lot on their mind at any given moment of the average school day.

Diana Quinlan
The first thing I learned while reading chapter four is that I need to find a balance between the quality of my curriculum and the way I present it. If I am unable to do so then the students will most likely suffer and that is not fair. Every student deserves the best learning experience I can give them. I also learned that it is important to give students who are struggling with the content extra opportunities to practice it. I believe that this works but I am unsure how to do this without those students feeling like they are being punished for not understanding. Pre-assessments will help me identify who those students will be. They will also help me make connections to my students that I can put into my lesson plan to keep them engaged. I strongly believe that learning is a balance between a teacher’s efforts and the student’s efforts. A student has to be willing to learn before I can teach them, but if they are not willing to learn it is my job to find a way to change their opinions about education. If my students leave my class knowing only one thing I want them to know that I refused to give up on them. I plan on making sure all my students understand that no matter how long it takes, I am going to help them succeed. I had one teacher in junior high school who always believed in my and never let me give up no matter what. If it wasn’t for him I would not be the student I am today and would probably not be going into teaching myself. This also shows respect for students which is huge in a classroom. I will not allow any disrespect in my class. I will find a way to make sure that all my students are involved and equal to one another. Another thing I want to make sure happens in my class is that I point out students strengths as well as their weaknesses. I have found that most of the time educators only focus on the second of the two and student’s self-esteem plummets. It is my goal to help students set goals for themselves, and then help them reach those goals any way possible.

Scott Bowden
I found this chapter interesting in that it forced me to think differently about teaching. I learned from this that there is no “perfection” in teaching. I have to be prepared for the realities of my situation and work with the students that I have to teach. I can use this information in my classroom when I design lessons and instruct classes because the material discusses how to change instruction and designing lessons to fit different classes of students. It isn’t merely “give the weaker student less work,” but instead strengthen the concepts and ideas of the subject matter for all students. All my students will need to be engaged in their learning and I need to give them something that will engage them at the appropriate level. I need to understand where each student is at individually so I can modify how I assign work, what quantities to give, what instruction to attempt, and what content I want the students to know. If I’m teaching Algebra and students A, B, and C all understand how to solve quadratic equations, but D, E, and F are struggling with more basic material, I can assign D, E, and F work to help them solidify knowledge and A, B, and C get assignments that force them to draw from everything they’ve mastered and go one step further. This information was important for me, because I never thought about assignments and instruction in this way.

Eric Cole
There are a couple of things that stick out for me in this chapter. First, is one small sentence of the chapter that really spoke to me. “It is the outcome that matters, and whatever route to the outcome works for a student is likely to be a help rather than a hindrance in constructing student success” (42). To often teachers perform overkill in their classroom. They want their students to get a taste of every learning style. They want every student to do a hands-on project, and an essay, and work alone, and work in a group, and etc.... Why do we do this? I have never understood why teachers do this. If a student works, and learns best when they read a book and write an essay on their own, why would we take them out of that comfort zone? That is how they learn. That is their learning style, and they are not going to learn as much if they are doing something else. So why do we do it? Second, is that teachers never like to admit when they are wrong. It is in our blood to be right all the time. So when we teach someone, and they don’t get it, well then, it has to have been the students fault. I love how this book calls this sentiment out. It is not the students fault that they didn’t learn. It is the teachers fault that they didn’t teach them well enough. I think this is a very true statement, and one that I will utilize in my classroom. Lastly, we as teachers need to be flexible. We need to be adaptive. If one thing fails, then we need to be willing to try something new. It really is that simple.

Susanna Cooper
In chapter 4 I was surprised when I read that only a few teachers actually use variance of learning styles in their classroom, even though they intend to. Although it wasn’t always the case, I felt that most of my high school teachers did quite well and giving my class a variety of teaching strategies and lesson plans. Yet they did it within a regular pattern that could be expected. I also liked that this chapter addressed that fact that the clearer a subject, or context, is to a teacher, the easier it is for that teacher to teach it to the students. This seems like a no brainer, but it is so true. If we think we know enough, then we aren’t doing the next generation any good. We need to really understand what we are teaching in order to teach it efficiently and not be worrying about any mistakes or “fuzziness”. Then all our efforts won’t be on teaching. Another really great point that I think is good to remember as teachers is that we evolve as time and context changes. We should be able to adapt to any changes we see and find new ways to turn those changes into a positive thing. We, as teachers, will be teaching young adults, teens change fast. I think that these small points are a good reminder when I am trying to connect with students and help them. If some way of teaching that worked before isn’t working now… change! Try something new. I loved the saying that our goal is the pursuit of understanding of important things, not perfection. As long as I feel my students are progressing on a positive direction each day and month at school, I should be happy.

Mike Lawson
Chapter 4: Ubd and DI What Really Matters in Planning for Student Success?

The goal for teachers is to make sure their students are learning, and having fun with it. So what must we plan for? The success of our students in and out of our class. The list on page 40 is a great list explaining characteristics of good teachers. I think that one of the most important characteristics of a good teacher is to establish interesting and relevant curriculum. Like Tomlinson and McTighe state in the book, curricular should be clear and interesting. I really like the scenarios provided in the UbD and DI book. Scenarios allow me to put myself in a situation and read what should happen, but also allows me to think of other options. Making time to meet with students is really important. I will always make time to meet with my students who may need extra help on anything from reading to projects. I think allowing students to ask me for help with establish a good relationship and environment, while giving them extra help to understand the material in the unit.

Jared Boghosian
We are not just teachers of material, "We are also teachers of human beings" (39). I believe this statement will be one of the foundations on which I base my beliefs. It is not just the curriculum it is how we instrust, when we learn to put them together thats when the stage is set for learning. I learned that for differentiation to work there must be some entertaining components and novelty for students to learn effectively. We as educators must establish clarity. If we are not sure of what we are teaching there will be an equal amount of confusion on the part of the students. I will need to be aware of information and tactics that engage and progress students' learning in the classroom. When applying differentiated instruction it will be prudent to remember that not every student will be able to finish every task in the same manner, or in the same amount of time. Most important thing I have learned from this chapter is the teacher can not do everything. Let the students take some responsibility, break the classroom up into groups and work with those who need special attention while the more advanced students can discuss and develop their ideas further.