UbDDI+Chapter+9+Block+1


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

Ethan Guthrie Herrell
Understanding by Design: Chapter 9

This is very much a summative chapter: In a short phrase, the integration of Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction bring together the virtues of clear and validated goals with flexibility. One without the other becomes useless, really. Flexibility without an idea of what we’re trying to achieve just has us flapping in the wind. Goals without flexibility are often never reached, and thus become hypocricies. The chapter quickly lists a few ways that we can make the necessary combination of Understanding by Design with Differentiated Instruction:

1.Find juicy, deep topics the students will both be interested in and are worthy of their interest and frame them as essential questions that they have to create answers to.

2. Always know ahead of time, and have extensively planned, how the kids are going to prove that they know what you want them to know. And know exactly what aspects of your chosen product are the proof.

3. Accept the sometimes huge gaps we see in kids, and make the most of it. It only harms learning if you let it. It is not unfair to treat them differently. Maybe it’s not “equal”, but it is fair in the context of the goals we want to achieve. Students shouldn’t be made to think they are in a struggle for the teachers’ attention.

Finally, always be assessing your students and yourself for master and effectiveness. toc

Alex Randall
UbD/DI Chapter 9 This chapter basically sums up the major topics of the entire book into a matter of pages. It combined the ideas of backward design and differentiated instruction. The chapter also takes the key ideas of the book and synthesizes them into examples and even into a whole lesson and a breakdown of that lesson. Having the topics bulleted was useful to have at our disposal. It helped remind us of what we've already learned in the passed few weeks, though it was difficult to read //because// it was a review

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

Chapter 9 in Carol Ann Tomilinson and Jay McTighe’s book UbD/DI begins by summarizing the major topics I’ve learned through reading this book, backward design and differentiation. The chapter gives a very good summary, the principles of backward design and differentiated instruction are:

//(Tomlinson and Mctighe page 142-144)//
 * 1) 1. Identify desired learning results for the subject and topics they teach.
 * 2) 2. Determine acceptable evidence of student learning.
 * 3) 3. Plan learning experiences and instruction based on the first two principles.
 * 4) 4. Regard learned differences as inevitable, important, and valuable in teach and learning.
 * 5) 5. Address learners’ affective needs as a means of supporting students success.
 * 6) 6. Periodically review and articulate clear learning goals that specify what students should know, understand, and be able to do as a result of each segment of learning.
 * 7) 7. Use systematic pre-assessment and ongoing assessment aligned with designated goals to make instructional decision and adaptations.
 * 8) 8. Employ flexibility instructional planning and classroom routines to support success for each learner.
 * 9) 9. Gather evidence of student learning in a variety of formats.

I thought this would be a perfect time in my blog to show a quick summary o everything we’ve learned so far. Working both backward design and differentiation together creates the way of thinking up and coming teachers need when thinking about curriculum, assessment, and instruction. The chapter gives a few examples to reference and look at that will help my planning as a teacher in the future. I really liked one part of the chapter where it showed an example of an original assignment and then showed three different differentiated versions of it.

Cidney
This chapter brings together UbD and DI and provides concrete examples of how each are used together in the classroom. Different strategies for incorporating differentiated instruction into a lesson that was designed using the backwards-design method were given through the example of a nutrition unit for middle schoolers. Seeing the information in context was incredibly helpful, and allowed me to get a big picture idea of how UbD and DI synthesize to create a meaningful lesson. Tips for altering the instruction and performance tasks were given, and a lot of them seemed very applicable to scenarios outside of this unit.

Seeing the principles of UbD and DI in a concrete example was beneficial to me, because I could see each of the aspects that we have been talking about come together in one unit. I also really appreciated the section that gave examples on how to differentiate lessons and performance tasks because it gave me a good starting point to start thinking about how I would differentiate in my own classroom. The chart on page 145 is also very useful because it captures the essence of UbD into a single graphic, that, as a visual learner, I can easily reference and use when designing lessons for my own classroom.

Colby Hill
UbD/DI Chapter 9 I have to say, these bullets of the important points that this book has gone over is nice to read. This book is fairly dry, so it’s nice to get a reminder of all the big things. Many of these, as I probably mentioned in the earlier posts, are definitely good things. For example, specifying the big ideas worthy of understanding, and deciding what “evidence will indicate that students understand the big ideas” (142). Overall, from 142-144 there holds a plethora of good ideas for teachers who are crunched in time and can’t read the whole book.

Either way, this chapter holds answers on how to exactly put the theory into use. One thing the chapter suggests is focusing on the students. Any teacher would say (or they would hopefully say) duh! But this is suggesting that a teacher should look at the desired results in relation to the student. For example gather information about interest that relate to the unit/subject. Pre-assess for entry levels of the unit. Of course, the IEP could never hurt either in this instance.

I like that on page 162, Tomlinson and McTighe mention what the classroom would like if the different UBD factors were implicated. This is just so the teacher can get an idea whether or not they are doing what they should be. The only problem with this is that some of the things the author says should be implicated in every classroom, not just a UbD classroom. For example each student is treated with dignity and respect, feels safe, and makes contributions that are meaningful.

Karina Sprague
Chapter 9 was essentially a recap of the entire book. The beginning of the chapter focused on the main goals of UbD and DI, which I thought was very helpful. After reading the majority of the book, it was nice to have a reflection to keep me focused on the main ideas, especially since a lot of the main oals got lost in the explanations. I enjoyed how this chapter reviewed a lot of the things by using a real life scenario. Although the book used a nutrition unit from a health class, it was easy for me to picture the creative process and the lesson could be altered to fit any subject.

I really enjoyed figure 9.1 (page 145). As a “clipboard” learner, organization is very helpful for me, especially graphic organizers. This organizer was just long enough to clearly cover all the main ideas, yet short enough to not become cumbersome. It will be a nice resource to have in the future while I am planning lessons. Instead of reading an entire book or article, I can flip to one page and get all the information I need. Overall, understanding by design and differentiated instruction go hand in hand. Throughout this book I have discovered how easy and natural differentiated instruction can be. My time in the field has also showed me that the successful teachers are usually the ones that can relate and adapt to their students. I will definitely incorporate UbD and DI in my future classroom.

Elizabeth Sargent
This chapter focused on how instructional planning, backward design and differentiation should be used by teachers to ensure instructional fit for all learners. Both differentiated instruction and Understanding by Design require teachers to be comfortable doing things out of their comfort zone, which means they need to take risks and expand their repertoire and also constantly improve their way of teaching. Combining these two planning processes helps not only the teacher by creating a better curriculum and instruction, it also gives students a variety of flexible options in the classroom.

When looking at the sample of the lesson plan and I reminded by the lesson plan I am creating right now. It has all the required standards, performance tasks, and also includes instruction techniques for the variety of learners that teachers could come in contact with. A good way to pre-access your student variety is through a diagnostic pre-assessment that determines where students stand relative to desired learning goals. As a teacher, you must make sure that the material you present in the classroom is challenging enough for all students. This is not going to be easy, because learner variance is critical and must be varied. All students are not at the same level of understanding. Some students have received some of the information you intend to present already, and some may have never heard of it. As a teacher, it is my job to make sure that I am challenging students individually, and a good way to assess individual achievement is through individual rubrics, changed with differentiation in mind.

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

It seems first nature to use a backwards design plan. However, not all teachers think that way. It is not always first nature to share parts of our lesson plans either, but we should do that as well. I think one of the most important things we can do is to prepare students for the lessons we teach, especially by sharing our desired learning results.

I liked that there were multiple examples of how to use both differentiated instruction and understanding by design. For example, in a health class a teacher can assist certain student who may have trouble reading. Or the teacher could also provide short definitions when talking about key words during a discussion. The teacher could also model what it is the students should be doing or provide them with an example to guide their activity or discussion.

Another part of the book that seemed important was the section on determining student success. There were many creative suggestions for assessing students, something that I feel teachers do not spend enough time on. If assessment were more differentiated, perhaps we would perform better.

= =

**Jordan Hale**
Chapter 9: Bringing It All Together: Curriculum And Instruction Through The Lens Of UBD and DI

If someone wanted a summary of this book, i would hand it to them and tell them to read chapter nine. Teachers must address a multitude of factors to incorporate the backward design model of understanding by design and differentiated instruction. When done correctly, the lesson plan will target almost every student and accomplish the right goals for the learners. The authors discuss such factors and principles of backward design and differentiated instruction. They are: 1. Identify desired learning results for the subject and topics they teach. 2. Determine acceptable evidence of student learning. 3. Plan learning experiences and instruction based on the first two principles. 4. Regard learner differences as inevitable, important, and valuable in teaching and learning. 5. Address learners' affective needs as a means of supporting student success. 6. Periodically review and articulate clear learning goals that specify what students should know, understand, and be able to do as a result to each segment of learning. 7. Use systematic pre-assessment and ongoing assessment aligned with designated goals to make instructional decisions and adaptations. 8. Employ flexibility in instructional planning and classroom routines to support success for each learner. 9. Gather evidence of student learning in a variety of formats. The rest of the chapter included real life scenarios of a backward design lesson plan focused on a nutrition unit.They continue to give an example of an adjustment to an assignment. In the final thought, the last lines say "We believe the effort will pay off in more engaging and effective classrooms-for students and teachers alike. In the end thats what makes teaching both dynamic and satisfying"(165). This line to me was a pretty good summative statement about teachers and their craft. Teachers must be dynamic for students, parents and colleagues. The must be dynamic in their lesson plan and their teaching styles. But in the end, when you see your hard work pay off when a student succeeds, it is a good feeling. UbD and DI is a powerful tool that can help both teachers and students succeed in the classroom and it will be ever a part of my future career.

Spencer Hodge
Chapter nine was basically a review of the whole book. They covered everything that had already been covered in the book, and really brought it all together. I also like the part at the end when they described what a differentiated class would look like. The learning environment would allow the students to feel safe and valued in the class. The teacher would outline what the student was expected to know and how they could achieve it. The teacher would also give the students options on how to do projects, and would give different students different assignments based on how far along they were in their understanding of the subject. The students would know what was expected of them, and they could tell you exactly what they needed to do to meet those expectations. I thought it was a good way to bring everything together; and it really helped me to understand it better.