Chapter 5: Considering Evidence of Learning in Diverse Classrooms

Chapter five of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design gave me a good understanding of the assessment principles that are crucial to student understanding. One thing that I particularly liked was how it said “Including a variety of assessments is important not only from a measurement perspective but as a matter of sensitivity to varied learners.” From this I know that I can give assignments that I know certain students will have less difficulty due to the fact that this particular kind of work that I am giving them targets their strengths. If you focus, and consistently stay with the same kind of learning style your whole class is not going to work. Differentiated instruction is extremely important in this case, and you need to know the different kinds of assessments to cover all the different types of learning styles that the students carry in your classroom.

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

In Chapter 4 I learned that it is often beneficial to steer away from traditional teacher-student dynamics. It is often not enough for a student to act purely as a receptor and the teacher as a source of knowledge and direction. Teachers should loosen their curriculum so that students can discern where their interests lie. Students will usually motivate themselves if they are given the freedom to pursue their own interests, to some extent. Differentiated teaching allows for teachers to reach students at different levels, of various interests and learning styles. A way teachers can reach a wide array of students is by keeping the syllabus open for amendment and negotiation. A teacher never knows what the needs of students will be before the onset of the class, so don't ossify the curriculum too hastily.

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

In the beginning of Chapter 3 I found myself in agreement when the author stated: "This problem of content "overload" requires teachers to make choices constantly regarding what content to emphasize as well as what not to teach." Teachers often have so much content to work with that they cannot possibly incorporate all of it into their curriculum. This is especially pertinent to my concentration because there is a copious amount of information that could be discussed. However, a teacher has to make conscious decisions of what to exclude. Certain information may be easy to discard, such as events and historical events that deal with minority issues. For example, studying President Andrew Jackson may evoke different interests and emotions among students of various ethnic and racial backgrounds.

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

In the second chapter I was able to learn how to go about identifying your own multiple intelligences and identifying your own multiple intelligences is important when determining other’s multiple intelligences. This is extremely important when dealing with students. You need to know your own multiple intelligences to understand theirs. It offered a visual of “An MI Inventory for Adults,” which allows you to see what kind of intelligences you strongly possess. Although the chapter makes the point that “no test can accurately determine the nature or quality of a person’s intelligences” (page 21).

UbD/DI Chapter 1: UBD and DI: An Essential Partnership

In this first chapter the idea of combining Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction is emphasized. I was able to receive to clear definitions of what each model represented. The chapter also gave seven axioms, each with a scenario, allowing me to understand the two models clearly. The examples gave me an idea of realistic situations that could take place in a classroom.