UbD/DI Chapter 8: Grading and Reporting Achievment

Chapter 8 of UbD/Di is about grading. The chapter talks a lot about how to grade a classroom that integrates differentiated instruction in to the everyday learning environment. This important because as a teacher I will be required to put a grade on each of my student’s report cards. I need to be able to do so in a way that is fair and shows the amount of learning that students has achieved. It affects my classroom because if I want my students to learn they have to know where their grades are coming from. If they don’t then the only thing for them to assume is that the grades are arbitrary and in that case why should they try? Grading should be a summary of how much a student has learned from my class.

UbD/DI Chapter 9: Bringing it all Together: Curriculum and Instruction Through the Lens of UbD and DI

This chapter takes everything that the book has been discussing, sums it up and then gives a real life example of the model working. It was interesting to see another teacher working through the backwards design model and then making adjustments to the plans so that the students would get more out of it. The book was very helpful in offering ways in which to differentiate both for readiness levels and for different learning styles. I liked that it also listed the observable indicators of a UbD/DI classroom. I think this chapter is a very helpful resource when getting ready to plan my own units of study. It is an easy way to remind myself of how it all comes together in the end.

UbD/DI Chapter 7: Theaching for Understanding in Academically Diverse Classrooms

This chapter is about using the WHERETO design model to design a series of daily lessons in a unit of study. The idea is to use the six facets of understanding to help students learn. It is also necessary to get students interested in the topic by asking intriguing questions or giving them a mystery to solve. It is also important to put skills in a real world perspective so that students see why it is important for them to know. I like the idea of hooking students’ interest in the topic before going ahead with the rest of the unit. It makes sense to me that they would be more engaged if the lesson seemed interesting to them. It is important to use in my classroom because if my students are engaged they will learn more.

UbD/DI Chapter 6: Responsive Teaching With UbD in Academically Diverse Classrooms

Chapter 6 of UbD/DI is about finding ways to successfully differentiate in the classroom. At first is seems impossible to differentiate each lesson to every student’s specific needs but the chapter suggests looking at it differently. Instead of tailoring each lesson to each student it is better to look at patterns of learning or find groups of students that seem to be relatively in the same place or who learn in similar ways. This will be very usefully in my classroom when I am trying to find ways to teach all of my students in a way that makes sense to them. This seems like the best way to differentiate. It is much easier to look for patterns than try to tailor every lesson to every individual.

Synthesis of Chapter 3 of UbD/DI

Abstract:
This chapter introduces the backwards design model. In this chapter stage one was described as establishing the goals for the unit, stage two was defined as deciding what evidence will be used to figure out if the students have learned the material and stage three was defined as where the day to day activities that will help students learn and meet the goals from stage one are created. The backwards design model’s purpose is to keep teachers focused on the desired end. In this way teachers are working towards something and not just trying to cover a textbook. This way both students and teachers know where everything is heading.

Synthesis:
Overall the class found the model helpful in planning lessons especially in subjects where there was a lot of material. We all agreed that the model would both help us plan our lessons and help our students learn because having a clear focus makes it easier to differentiate in order to reach all learners, we have a clear goal so it is easier to assess how the students are doing in reaching that goal and because the students won’t just be doing activities or busy work but working towards learning something specific. The class thought that the backwards design model also addresses the gaps in state standards making it easy to meet them while engaging students.

UbD/DI Chapter 5: Considering Evidence of Learning in Diverse Classrooms

In chapter 5 of UbD/DI assessment practices are discussed. I learned that it is best to do many different and on-going assessments of students in order to get a much clearer picture of student learning. This way as a teacher I can try to play to my students’ strengths thus allowing them to show me what they have learned in a way that is not too challenging for them. This affects me in that I will have to be very creative in coming up with multiple assessments so that my students will have many choices. This will help me in my classroom because my students will be more motivated to do their assignments if they can choose their projects or find ways to be creative with them in their own ways. It will also mean that my classroom will be effective in reaching a variety of learners.

UbD/DI Chapter 4: What Really Matters in Planning for Student Success?

The fourth chapter of UbD/DI is about using differentiation in the classroom in order to help the most students possible achieve the curriculum goals. I learned that in order to successfully incorporate differentiated instruction I must have a positive attitude, be clear about curricular essentials, know what works for my students and be willing to take responsibility for my students’ success. I learned that all of these things will make my curriculum relevant to all students regardless of how proficient they are with the material. This is very important in my classroom because I want my students to be successful. I want them to walk away having learned something about life and about themselves. In order to do this I need to able to reach all learners regardless of learning style or proficiency.

UbD/DI Chapter 3: What Really Matters in Learning? (Content)

The third chapter of UbD/DI is about developing content. In this chapter I learned how to use the backwards design model to think about goals, essential questions, knowledge and skills that I want my students to obtain through the lesson. The chapter also suggested which areas are best to use differentiation in, in order to help the most students learn and show what they have learned. This chapter is very important for classroom because this is how I will develop curriculum for my students. This model is easy to use. It is also helpful in thinking about goals and how best to obtain them in the classroom.

UbD/DI Chapter 2: What Really Matters In Teaching? (The Students)

Chapter 2 of UbD/Di emphasizes on how important the students are when it comes to being an effective teacher. By reading this chapter I learned that there are sometimes outsides factors affecting a students learning and that the best way to help these students to respond to them when they seem to have a problem. By allowing them to shape the way I teach I can more effectively help them learn and hopefully get past their difficulties. This is going to be very important in my classroom because this means that my teaching will have to change with every new group of students. If all students are different than I can’t just create a curriculum and reuse it every year as is because the students will be different. They will learn differently. It is better to change it up to match the students, thus helping more of them be successful in my class.

UbD/DI Chapter 1: An Essential Partnership

In chapter 1 of Ubd/Di I learned that Understanding by design is a model that focuses on what and how teachers teach while Differentiated Instruction is more focused on who, where and how. When put together, the two complement each other in a way that helps teachers be effective. This is important for me to know because I will probably be using them in conjunction when I start creating my own curriculum. If I want to be an effective teacher I need to keep in mind all the different factors that affect learning. The chapter describes these factors as “elements” and lists them as who I teach, where I teach, what I teach and how I teach. It does kind of make sense that all four would make a difference. I have had teachers who had one or two but because they missed the other two were not helpful in teaching me the material.