UbDDI+B2+Chapter+9



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Cam
This is the grand finally of the UbD textbook, where all the information comes together and makes complete sense. It really tells the reader how to apply everything they have learned, into the real world. There were some definite highlighted main points that still serve as useful pieces. One of which being the idea of having a differentiated class in order to see to the success of the students one by one. As teachers, it is also our duty to apply and if the piece does not fit, then to transform the application into something that could be understood by students. Another important method that is underlined in the chapter is the observational indicators. By observing ones students and collecting many completed assessments, teachers are then able to see if their students have found a foundation of understanding and learning. My past teachers tended to heavily side with visualizations, which is why I am a visual learner. I can remember some classes where I had to memorize, where as some I just understood. It is easy to say that memorizing the content was non-helpful and now serve no purpose in my intelligence(s). This impacts me as a teacher because it is marking the very beginning of my life as a teacher. This obviously impacts my students because they need someone who is well-educated, not only in the science area, but the educator field as well. The sum of this chapter is a small portion of my professional career. If the body represented education as a whole, then this book would be only a filing of the fingernail.
 * Chapter 9; Bringing it all Together: Curriculum and Instruction through the Lens of UbD and DI **

Dani
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.
 * Chapter 9**

Jason
This chapter actually put all the things we learned into one lesson plan in order to see real application. I learned how to put together a good lesson plan along with getting to see what the final piece looks like. The two aspects of the chapter that stuck out to me were the importance of flexibility in the classroom (i.e. time, space, and various groupings) along with the importance of collecting data, from various sources, on students; if you do that, then you will be able to look at multiple assessments and recognize if learning and understanding have taken place. Having gone to private schools, I was more or less taught how to do things the college way (i.e. the ability to write papers, take tests, and listen to lectures). So at times it is tough for me to understand the differentiation because we really did not do much of it in school. So I still have issues with getting my mind around certain topics, but seeing it written out makes much more sense. When it comes to my classroom, I recognize the need to be able to differentiate, and therefore I will incorporate different assessments and methods of study. I think I will impress upon my students the importance of working in groups because it is a skill that one must work on, and it comes up in this chapter – it is also a good idea to offer options on assignments because it gives the students the feeling of having more control in the classroom.
 * UbD/DI Chapter 9: Bringing It All Together: Curriculum and Instruction Through the Lens of UbD and DI **

Nicholas
**Chapter 9:** This chapter taught me about “observable indicators in UbD/DI classrooms. The specific indicators that I focused in and learned most about were those of the teacher and the student. A few of the indicators for the teacher that really intrigued me were ones like, “the teacher helps students connect the big ideas and essential questions of the unit with their backgrounds, interests, and aspirations.” Another one would be, “the teacher hooks and holds students’ interest while they examine and explore big ideas and essential questions. This approach includes acknowledging and building on the variety of student interests in the class.” These are the type of indicators that are really going to contribute to how students learn and the effectiveness of the methods you choose. I for one know not only the importance of these examples, but know that all the indicators are interconnected and each and every one is as important as the last. Now for the student indicators there were a couple I really enjoyed for example; “students contribute actively to effective functioning of classroom routines and share responsibility with the teacher for making the class work” and “students regularly reflect on and set goals related to their achievement, progress, and work habits.” I especially like the last example because reflecting and setting goals are not only important within the classroom, but in life as well. Students need to learn what works well and what doesn’t work well and set new goals for the future. As a teacher I hope to really spark my students’ creativity and have them really think about what they’ve done and where they want to take themselves.

Lindsey
Chapter 9 discusses the actual application of the backward design model. In order to proficiently explore the model, the chapter worked its way through the stages. It was really helpful to see the stages in completion and the way they fit together to create a unit through backwards design. In addition to providing the unit plan, the chapter goes on to discuss differentiating the unit. I found this to be extremely helpful as up until this point we have only looked at hypothetical differentiation. While it is evident that planning needs to occur in advance, I didn’t really stop to consider the ways I would apply differentiated instruction in the actual classroom, but assumed instead that this would merely happen naturally. However, this chapter suggests that the teacher must come up with countless methods of differentiating the classroom with the acceptance that many of the plans will never be put into action. Another interesting aspect of this chapter was that it provided the teacher’s final unit rather than the unit while in progress. This is significant as students will be exposed to the “real” unit rather than the unit as it is created. I enjoyed the chapter’s inclusion of countless methods of differentiating the classroom, whether working with students who have a difficulty comprehending text, or students whose native language is not English. In addition, there was a follow up of this information which explored the long term success of the student, as well as methods of helping those students if they continued to struggle. The chapter provided a list of expectations presumably present in a differentiated classroom, stating that teachers will in time learn to gauge the most important of the items and recognize whether it is problematic if a circumstance is not prevalent.

Andrew D
This chapter is about using the backward design model and differentiation when need be to ensure all of the learners achieve the goals of each unit. Teachers who use the backward design model and differentiated instruction follow nine steps that start with identifying the desired learning results and end with gathering the evidence of student learning in a number of different ways. The chapter gives an example of a 5th and 6th grade health unit using backward design. It is a very enriched unit with lots of very good curricular ideas. However, because of how diverse classrooms are today, even with such an enriched well crafted curriculum, not all of the students will be able to achieve the stated goals with the unit as is. The chapter then goes on to list a number of ways that show evidence of how a teacher can effectively differentiate in the classroom. This chapter impacted me because it showed me how there is never a perfect curriculum. It is impossible to satisfy the needs of all of your students without differentiating. You may believe you have created the perfect unit, but if you go through that unit never making any changes or tweaks, a lot of your students will leave without reaching the desired outcomes. This will impact my classroom because I know of the importance to differentiate within each unit and how I will always have to be changing and tweaking the way I teach my students.

Jenna
Chapter nine of __Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design__ explains how an educator can actually apply the backwards design model. The chapter walked through the essential steps of the backwards design model and it was extremely helpful to see that the chapter advised the teachers to first create goal clarity in the desired content in all stages of the unit. Once a teacher has created clear goals, then they can examine the options for differentiating the unit. The nutritional unit model was extremely useful because it allowed me to see what the bigger picture would be like in the end and how all of the stages would tie together. Once I clarify what is essential for students to know, understand and be able to do at the end of the unit, what will constitute evidence that students know, understand and can do, and discover the steps necessary to guide the students to the desired outcome without "handing" the answers to them, then I will be able to differentiate. My initial ideas of differentiation will evolve through my unit as I discover students' weaknesses, strengths, etc. Once I discover the learning variance among my students, then I will have to plan countless methods of differentiated instruction in my classroom. This method of creating differentiated instruction is excellent because it is exposing the students to the "real" unit and not just the experiments of the unit created by the teacher. This chapter was beneficial to me because it suggested many ways and methods in which I could exercise differentiated instruction. It provided many useful strategies that could help me to adjust an assignment, help a student who does not speak English, provide options for varied ways to express the desired outcomes, etc.

Marcy
This chapter re-outlined the goals of understanding by design and differentiated instruction at the beginning. It then gave an example of a lesson plan using the backwards design model to show what instructional planning might look like. This type of planning focuses on goal clarity and flexibility of the methods used to arrive at that goal. After, it described about how to differentiate to fit the instruction to the learners. It stated that differentiate instruction is more fluid, I guess that fits with the need to be flexible. While teaching a differentiated lesson it is important to work in the reverse way than the backwards design model. Where as you would start at the goals and work to the activities in UbD, while teaching a teacher has to consider where the students are already and work towards the goal. It then gave several examples of differentiated parts of a lesson. The chapter closed with a list of indicators that would show in a classroom that uses these two methods. This affects me as a teacher by reiterating and showing in a concise list all the things I have read about in the book. The main points that I took from this is always keep the goal in mind and in the minds of the students and be flexible. This affects my students by being in an environment with a curriculum and a teacher that all promote learning.

Andrew F.
This chapter simply provided a overview of the past chapters of the book, as well as gave indications of a UbD/DI classroom that teachers following the framework of this book should exemplify within their own classrooms. These "factors" were split into four sub factions, "the learning environment", "the curriculum", "the teacher", and "the learners." It seemed like these indicators were mainly common sense pieces that should be emphasized in all classrooms, not just ones that follow the understanding by design model. The chapter states that classroom environment should be students being treated with respect and diginity, teachers setting high expectations to learn the big ideas and essential questions, and that each of the student's learning styles are honored. Which to me seems like common sense and that every classroom should obviously display (though for it to be written there must clearly be a problem in our classrooms.)

The book also states that the curriculum has a design that is easy to understand, that assessment is done by using real life performance tasks, and that we as educators allow students to show understanding in a multitude of a ways. Again all of these things shouldn't have to be written down, they should not be a problem in the first place. The part of this chapter that was really shocking was the part about the teacher, that a teacher should be clear on expectations and how the students will be assessed, that a teacher has to use multiple strategies to reach different learners, and that a teacher must change their curriculum to fit the different students that fill our classrooms. Now these were just a few of the many key parts to being a successful UbD/DI teacher, but honestly if this stuff is things that normal educators aren't doing within the classrooms of this country I am very worried.

No wonder our drop out rates are so high, and that these students just do not see the point in education. We are not doing our jobs as educators in the lives of these kids, and these students are not being engaged in anyway. I feel like if all these things need to be written in my education textbook, then we as future educators really have a challenge ahead of us. Also I know that the smart, strong, and very capable students that I'm proud to call my colleagues are the ones trying to solve this problem, the next generation seems to be in good hands.

Lizzie
This chapter described UbD and DI and how to integrate them both in the classroom. It starts by explaining what differentiated teachers do that is different in order to help their students. A list of nine goals for UbD and DI really explain how important it is within the classroom. There is an example of a backwards design unit plan for 5th and 6th grade nutrition, and it integrates ways to differentiate. There are also other ways that teachers can utilize assessment and how they can adjust for specific students and every student’s learning style(s). There is also a section that points out how crucial it is to ensure maximum student growth by understanding what the makeup of the classroom is by both content knowledge and other skill sets. This chapter also discusses ways to outline the pre-assessment process and ways to help teachers progress through the lesson to the final assessment. There is a list of different tasks outlined for the specific unit that encompass differentiation techniques, and is also specific to certain types of student learners. There is a list of indicators that someone would see if they were to observe a differentiated classroom and ways to see how the teacher is using backwards design. Within this list, there are things to look for within categories. The categories are “the learning environment”, “the curriculum ”, “the teacher”, and “the learner”. It illustrates ways that teachers can show and use backwards design and differential instruction in the classroom.   The point is to be flexible, have plans and goals, and to have a comfortable classroom environment. You have to differentiate, and treat the students like they are customers, and anything you can do for them to help them master the topic, is what is going to make you a more effective teacher. The environment in a classroom is not something I continuously think about but I can understand why it is critical for students to feel safe, “comforted”, needed, belong, and most importantly respected. It was nice to see a chapter that had it all come together, connecting everything in the chapter to the other chapters in the book as well as in class. “Bringing it all together” helped to show why these strategies and tools we learn are so crucial.

Ted
Chapter 9 of Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction was intended as a wrap-up of the Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction models. For me, the most helpful parts of the chapter were the ones that described the health unit according to the models. The chapter definitely made it clear that using these models is not an easy process – it takes systematic planning and dedication, but it is absolutely worth it to help the students succeed. The chapter warns against letting us cower in our comfort zones and make steps to keep learning new things. I personally am ruing the fact that it’s irresponsible of me to learn Spanish, but I recognize that it’s probably going to be important for me to make that step someday. I think I need to work more on curriculum planning, as that’s where I feel I’m having the most trouble.

Ben
This chapter talks about creating instruction around curriculum through the view of the UbD/DI design. Doing this set up will create a clear outline of the students should be expecting throughout the year. They should know be able to establish what is essential to know, understand, and be able to do. The evidence that proves they know, understand and be able to do should also be clear. Finally the steps for students to get the material should be easily understandable. So using UbD/DI template will make it easier and more fair to my students. This way they all have a clear and equal understanding of what I expect of them. If done correctly, administrators should be able to come to that class and observe indicators from the students.