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Synthesis by Brittany Blackman
Chapter two of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design covers how students are the most important aspect of the classroom. They make it clear that every student has the ability to do well, when given the proper help. Teachers need to understand that every child is different. They are different in the way they learn, they’re different in what they want in a teacher, they’re different in their backgrounds, and they’re different in how they’re personal lives impact their work. This chapter emphasizes how important it is to keep in mind how diverse your classroom really is, and how you need to include all of them in your lessons. You need to get to know your students. They mention that it is improbable to personally know every single one of your students, what is going on in their lives, and how they learn best. They do, though, give ideas for ways around this barrier. One example that seemed to stick out to a lot of people was having your students keep a journal, and turn it in without getting graded on it. That way you can write comments, make changes in lesson plans, and show the children that you care without having to memorize everything. Almost everyone talked about the importance of getting to know their students when they are teachers. Everyone thinks it’s really important to know your students needs and meet them. Everyone wants to cover an array of needs in their lesson plans. Another way that teachers can do this is through informal assessment. It’s a perfect way to keep up on your students, and make sure you aren’t leaving anyone behind.

Brittany Blackman
The second chapter is all about the students. My favorite part of this chapter was the examples of children that had trouble succeeding for various reasons. The first example was of a young woman that was purposefully doing poorly in school in hopes that her parents would be forced to discuss her issues and possibly get back together. Her teacher was doing everything she could do to help, and her mom was even supporting her at home. This is an example that hadn’t crossed my mind before. How do you help a smart student that is //trying// to do poorly? I almost wonder if the guidance councilor should have talked with her to see why everyone’s attempts weren’t working, but I don’t want to say that the teacher should have “shuffled her on to someone else”. Is it inappropriate to try to help a student in that case, or would having the councilor step in be the right thing to do? The other example that stuck out was of a young man that was also purposefully doing poorly in attempts to fit in better and have a social life. This stuck out for the same reason; I never considered the idea of students purposefully not doing well for reasons other than no motivation or not understanding the material. I’m going to have to really consider the best way to tackle this type of problem. I also liked the section that discussed reasonable ways to better get to know your students. I particularly enjoyed when Carol Tomlinson and Jay McTight wrote, “It is overwhelming to think that it might be the teacher’s job to understand fully the needs of every single student…” (19). Depending on what kind of school you teach in, that is a very unrealistic goal. What you can do though, is anticipate different types of learners and intelligences and base your lesson plan on that. I also liked the idea of having small group teachings where you can meet individual needs then.

Leanne Fasulo
The beginning of chapter two explains that students’ personal lives will impact a classroom. There will be students who are considered to be troublesome for walking around the classroom, but are actually just highly kinesthetic. Then there are also the students who purposely fail even though they have the potential to do well in school to bring attention to a completely different matter. Some students will be so overwhelmed with trying to figure out their identity that they cannot pay attention to their coursework. These things teachers should keep in mind so that they do not just label a child as being “difficult”. Teachers need to be aware that there are reasons as to why kids do the things that they do and should not be given up on. Everyone has the potential to do well in school; they just need the right guidance. Teachers should build relationships with their students, and have a variety of different assignments to make the classroom a better place. They should also understand that even though it seems stressful having students from all different backgrounds and learning styles in some ways they are very similar. The best way to reach all these students is to focus on patterns of diversity. Each unit could have a project, a few lectures, and maybe even an essay. This way a teacher can still give the organization that some students need, and a mix to the other ones.

Tyler Oren
Chapter 2 of Integrating is more deeply concerned with the differentiated instruction aspect of the instruction model, as it focuses its priorities on what matters most, the students. The chapter discusses learning styles that both foster and discourage growth, along with personal emotional, and identity based barriers to learning. In this chapter the authors discuss several privilege, biological, preference, and learning styles that can have a severe impact of a child’s development. The authors remind us that as teachers we are instructing a group of completely unique students, each will learn differently, and that it is in their best interest to continually amend our lesson plans and methods of instruction to match their best learning styles, rather than forcing them to adhere to an arbitrarily selected method. The authors refer to this method of teaching as responsive teaching, and continue to examine the strategy and the benefit it serves to the classroom, as it facilitates better relationships and environments for learning, while building connections onto content, which it places in a realistic context to motivate the learner. While the authors express great enthusiasm for differential instruction for each individual student, they also understand the enormous responsibility and commitment that is attached, and admit that it is not realistic to offer an individualized lesson to every student, your brief time with them simply does not permit such a luxury. They do however offer strategies for getting to know your students so that you can more easily and effectively adapt instruction to fit their learning style.

Kelsea Trefethen
Chapter two presented interesting ideas as to how a student’s personal life can affect their educational experience. Things like home life, confidence, learning disabilities, etc, can have a measurable effect on how students learn. This chapter also covered how educators should go about teaching with those challenges in mind, and why it is important to do so. This chapter reminded me of the idea another book gave to me about having student write in a journal for at least ten minutes every week. The idea behind this is that it would give students the chance to inform me of anything going on in their life that I should be aware of.

Evgeni Bouzakine
The chapter starts right off by making it clear that students are the primary focus. There will be all types of students in your classroom. You will encounter all types of students that have very different lives and different learning abilities. It could either be learning disabilities or domestic issues. There are many other factors that will contribute to the type of student you will encounter. As a teacher, it is important to know as much as possible about your students. It is easier to be able to relate the curriculum to your students. If students took in information all the same and sucked in all the information you gave them, it would not be required to teach in different styles. But because students all differ it is important to know about their home life, along with their school life. Our lesson plans must adapt to the students in order to meet all of their learning styles. I believe it is important to have a teacher who can understand and care about them in and out of the class. As mentioned in chapter two, “They are looking for adults who accept them, value them, guide them...” It is vital to developing student-teacher relationships to a level of comfort, so students are willing to share their problem with you. There are different model approaches to responsive teaching that I will use later in my classes

Johnny Buys
Chapter 2: What Really Matters in Teaching? (The Students) Tomlinson and McTighe identify the two major aspects of teaching being the “what” and the “whom,” as in the “what we ought to teach” and “whom we teach” (12). Arguing that the “combination of personal knowledge…content standards, and teaching materials” becomes more structured and predictable as experience continues until the flexibility for students’ personal needs enters the mix (13). Every student enters a classroom with their own baggage of personal experience, natured and nurtured. It becomes the teacher’s responsibility to create curriculum that believes in the possibilities of each student and how that curriculum can assist students meet these possibilities (15). Tomlinson and McTighe identify this responsibility’s main role as assisting students in their search to “make sense of the world around them and their place” while also “seeking themselves” (15-16). By focusing on the “quest for self and meaning,” teachers will recognize the diversity of their students through the shared need (16). Providing attention to student’s individual backgrounds, learning profiles, competency, personal interests, and relationship knowledge are vital for teachers to effectively work with students. Tomlinson and McTighe encourage “implementing patterns of instruction” to meet individuals without being defeated by the overwhelming amount of depth each student possesses (20). Assessment becomes essential to gauge the success of meeting students on an individual level. By encouraging self-discovery and group learning students create for themselves what is best for their learning. Once this independence is established and efficient, the teacher finds efficiency through targeting struggling students individually or on the level of needed. Individualization occurring on a group level requires an appreciation for diversity. Through individualization and recognition of a shared sense of searching for identity, teachers encourage “learning within students,” versus ineffectively trying to throw knowledge and learning to them (22).

Kalib Moore
Chapter 2 of UbD and DI discussed as the title said, "What really matters in teaching? (The Students)" (Tomlinson & McTighe 12) The authors discussed different learning barriers for students, such as personal learning barriers as well as identity issues. They then went on to explain how a teacher would go about solving these issues with students and get them back on the right track. (Tomlinson & McTighe 13&14) I found this chapter to be interesting and surprising; I did not realize that there is such a wide array of student learning limitations that I was never aware of. The part of this chapter that impacted me the most was the section entitled, "Find ways to get to know students more intentionally and regularly." (Tomlinson & McTighe 20) I believe that getting to know your students is one of the most important rules a teacher should follow in his or her classroom. In the chapter they explain that teachers should, "stand at the classroom door and address the students by name as they come and go, use dialogue journals through which students have an opportunity to establish a written conversation with you..." (Tomlinson & McTighe 20) The authors make it clear that not all students are going to feel comfortable speaking to you about personal issues and that it is more likely for them to show emotion through a written journal in which they can be more open. Using a neutral tool to connect with my students, such as a journal, will be a necessity once I am in the classroom.

**Cyril Lunt**
Chapter Two of Integrating Differentiated Instruction + Understanding by Design is mostly about, as the title suggests, what the core of teaching is. This, of course, is how the teacher acts towards his students, and realizing that students come from all directions. The chapter describes several students who, for different reasons, find themselves having trouble focusing on either their studies, or school in general. One girl, Elise, is trying to get her parents back together after their recent breakup. Another, this time a boy named Noah, is a highly kinesthetic learner, and cannot focus if he’s sitting down and being still for long periods of time. Near the end of the chapter, the two authors suggest several other common factors with would lead to students not succeeding, and what could you could do, as an educator, to remedy it. They leave the chapter with a small preview of the next chapter, which is about class content. I like how in the chapter, they talked about how students have lives outside of the classroom, and treated them as individuals, rather than as a totally captive audience that does as told. I’m very much of the belief that students need to be treated like people in order to gain your respect, so it’s nice to see a text book that admits that. In any event, I liked many of the examples they gave to help along students who have stressful home/afterschool lives. = =

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Kyle Kuvaja
Chapter two of UbD/DI begins with an interesting way of looking at the students that we teach. The authors emphasize that the educators are there to meet the needs of the student. A teacher should not be using the same curriculum, but changing it based on the effectiveness that it had shown on the students’ learning. The book brings up many situations that a teacher might encounter. Some teachers may have faced a student with a personal hardship at home that caused an outlier in the effectiveness of a curriculum. Another example involves the issue of race versus academic achievement. I found this interesting as I have not been exposed to much ethnic diversity in the classroom. Most students are not looking for expertise in the core subjects, but for the teacher to help them make sense of the world. In helping them discover themselves, we as teachers can learn about the students’ varied learning styles and develop an important relationship. Both of these are essential to student learning. While it is important to understand that all students learn differently, it is equally important to realize that a teacher is not expected to tackle each student individually. As teachers we need to develop teaching strategies to make sure that our lessons stretch across multiple learning styles, allow group work so that students can learn from each other, and assign regular assessments to ensure student understanding.  The real-life stories impacted my way of thinking. I believe in developing a strong student-teacher relationship in hopes that I may help them with problems in and out of school. I feel that it was important for me to understand that I am not expected to look at each individual as a project, but rather develop strategies that should allow them to progress on their own

Christina L Quach
 This chapter talked about how it was important to look for things that were affecting students. There will be situations when they are not performing as well as they can, and sometimes they will need a teacher to help them discover what is in the way of their learning. It also talks about a number of things that teachers need to be aware of to make sure that they understand the students’ learning styles. Teachers can figure this out by looking at the students’ backgrounds, environments, and interests. Lastly, it discussed different options to give students so that they can get the most out of the class. This includes changing around teaching techniques and being thorough and clear with instructions and where the class is going. One thing that really interested me at the end of the chapter was when they discussed encouraging students to trying to express themselves in new ways.  I do not remember any of my teachers getting to know me a little better to try to figure out how to teach me. The only person who tried to pull apart what I was experiencing to help me do better in school was the guidance counselor.  This will be important while teaching because I plan on making my classroom very welcoming. It is important to me that the student feels comfortable and welcome in the class so that they are more likely to participate. Also, I know from the little teaching I have done that I grow attached to kids and want the best for them. I understand that my job will be to help them do the best that they can. Thankfully that is one reason why I want to be a teacher, and I am really looking forward to this part.

Richie Johnson
Chapter two begins by breaking down the “arts” of teaching, mainly being what is being taught, and to whom. The importance of adjusting curriculum and how the curriculum is taught depending on the current needs of the students is noted, as well as how these needs are subject to change. This all boils down to Tomlinson and McTighe’s point that, though plans are necessary for a teacher to have, they must also be able to be adjusted accordingly. Next, representations are given for some of the reasons as to why students needs vary, and how they are capable of changing over the course of their education. The first example involves a child named Elise whose grades are progressively declining. Despite great efforts, no one is able to account for the reason as to why this is, until sometime pasts. Apparently her parents had split up at the beginning of the school year, and Elise thought that if she maintained poor grades, her parents would have to join together in order to solve the problem. This example shocked me greatly in a few different ways. Firstly, how horribly sad the fact is that a child would commit herself to intentionally doing poorly in school in an earnest attempt to reunite her parents. Secondly, the thought occurred to me of how very capable a child is of evading even the most well thought out plan that a teacher may create in order to teach specific curriculum. Accordingly, I am able to recognize the importance of understanding how a child’s environment inside and outside of the classroom can greatly affect their ability to learn, and therefore how essential it is to be aware of such things.