UbDDI+B2+Chapter+6


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Tiarra
In chapter 6, Tomlinson and McTighe place the spotlight on the importance of responsive teaching in academically diverse classrooms. The chapter does a good job flushing out essential questions that should be at the foremost of any good teachers mind, and provides answers, examples, and suggestions for responding to those questions which I’m sure I will look back upon frequently in the future. One thing that I enjoyed reading was that differentiated instruction doesn’t necessarily mean catering to the needs and interests of each individual student but instead suggests that when you aim a lesson towards one group of people, many others benefit. Of course you should always make an effort to give individual attention to students, however by paying attention to and addressing various barriers and springboards in your classroom you are able to identify certain patterns to which you may adjust your lessons. When you use differentiated instruction to target groups of students, not merely individuals, success becomes a lot more achievable and realistic under this plan. Another thing pointed out by this chapter is that Reflection and discovery should be both teacher and student guided. As teachers we must work to balance our time and resources with student opportunities in order to maximize growth and understanding regarding a unit’s “big ideas.” So far I feel that this has been one of the more helpful chapters that I have read this semester and hope to use what I have learned here in my future classroom.

Justin C.
Chapter 6 talks about ways in which teachers need to adjust their styles in order to fit in with their student’s needs. We may go in to a new lesson, completely confident in our lesson plan as it is and can excel at teaching it that way. If there is a student or group of students who do not understand through the teaching method being used, it is incumbent upon us to change our methods to fit the students. We cannot forget that the most important piece of teaching is the student. I feel that when I am first starting out in my classroom, I will have troubles getting all of my students to stay focused. Math is a subject that a lot of people, from my own questioning, are not that interested in. It is a love / hate relationship. There does not seem to be any gray area in between. I feel that it will be a challenge to get the majority of my students interesting in mathematics and I feel that I am up for the challenge.

Will L.
This chapter focused on the idea of responsive teaching and how teachers need to be flexible when working with students. The constant reminding of the use and success of backwards planning, when it comes to lesson plans, has become a staple amongst successful teachers. Throughout the chapter, there are many templates for successful strategies for being a flexible teacher in the classroom. I found those templates extremely helpful and I shall be referring back to them once I get my actual Practicum placement. The key fact from the chapter is that a teacher’s flexibility in the classroom reflects on how they are willing to adapt to student’s preferred instruction.

Dan B.
The main point in this chapter was flexibility while teaching. As a teacher you should have an idea of what you want to cover in your lessons, but you need to be able to cover the material in a variety of ways in a differentiated classroom. You can go into a classroom and think that they way you cover it will be fool proof and all students will get it, but you may be wrong and if you are wrong you need to have another way to present the material, you need to be flexible in your teaching styles to ensure that everyone can understand the material. As a teacher I plan on having multiple ways to teach my lessons; I know that there is a chance that a student may not get the material the first time around and will need to have it explained in another way. I know that to be a successful teacher I will need to be able to teach in a variety of ways.

Grace K.
As noted in its title, chapter 6 of UbB/DI focused on the necessity of responsive teaching and the challenge of implementing it in diverse classrooms. Tomlinson and McTighe recognize the fact that differentiation may be intimidating to teachers, so they spend time again in this chapter stressing the fact that differentiating instruction does not translate to an Individualized Education Program for every single student. Instead, it challenges teachers to look for ways to address possible student issues even before they come up. Differentiation should be in our minds as we design a lesson, not just as we stand up to teach it. “Anticipatory planning” is an important part of differentiating instruction, and it allows teachers to continually add to their collection of resources. The authors stress that teachers need to avoid “busy work,” and instead make sure that every student is doing work that relates to the “big picture” of a unit, and that every student is taking part in high-level thinking. The emphasis of work should always been on big ideas, essential skills, and high levels of thought. Differentiating instruction is all about making these pieces accessible to all our students. = =

Danny K.
This chapter talked about the importance for teachers to be flexible and for teachers to be able to adjust their teaching style to the styles of their students. On page 87 there is a good chart that shows instructional strategies that support various teacher roles. On page 86 the author talks about the importance for students to know the learning goals of a unit. The author also talks about how students need to know what will consist of a successful assignment. I think these two things are very important for teachers to make their students aware of and I will make sure I do this in my classroom. I always found it frustrating as a student when I didn’t know what the learning objectives were for an assignment and what would get me a good grade.

Chris D.
The first thing that caught my eye in chapter 6 of UbD/DI was students needing to know the basics. This applies heavily to my content area because there are a lot of basic skills involved in math which are used for more complicated formulas. As a teacher, I will need to make sure that my students spend enough time to learn the basics and understand why they are crucial to learn. If they’re not learning the basics I will have to make sure to not jump ahead without them as this would surely cause my students to become unsuccessful, which is unfair to them. Another key thing I read about was that I should share with my students the content standards I have set for them at the beginning of the unit. I agree with this because it would allow my students to know what’s expected of them and what they will learn, as well as how they will demonstrate this knowledge.

Jonathan B.
Chapter six discusses the importance of a connection, an understanding between student and teacher which allows for the teacher to respond with effective teaching methods. The chapter addresses essential questions regarding how to go about effective teaching in an academically diverse classroom. Teachers need to be flexible so as to be willing to alter their teaching strategies according to the diverse needs of their students. I think that pre-assessment would be a valuable tool to use in this regard. Beyond that, the chapter stresses the ever-present importance of getting to know your students so that know what stimulates them, what interests them, and what helps them fully understand the material being taught. I would use pre-assessments and questionnaires in my classroom so as to help direct my flexibility in teaching style.

Grady B.
The aspect that I found most immediately noteworthy in this chapter was the discussion about the best way to ensure that lower-performing students achieve to their full potential. The readings have covered it previously, but the idea that the best way to advance the learning of struggling students is through exposing them to big idea, as opposed to rote memorization of the “basics,” seems like a pretty revolutionary idea. The book notes, however, that all students need to be exposed to the basics, but that this should never constitute a full lesson (pg. 85). I also liked the idea that the teacher needs to wear many different hats in order to be the most effective to students (pg. 86). Although it sounds like more work on the surface, I feel like each role, instructor, facilitator, and coach, all play complementary roles in the classroom. I certainly see myself trying to be all of these things for my future students.

Tyler S
The idea that even the slower progressing students should be given a chance to do the big things, not just the basics in an effort to have them catch up. I completely agree with this, only rather than limiting this to one group, I would say that over focusing on the basics is a bad idea for anyone. I know that I myself absolutely despise doing the basics over and over again. For me, it is usually because I understand them right away, and doing them time and again seems useless. However, for someone who isn't progressing as quickly, it has the same effect. If they did not learn it the first time, re-drilling that basic into their heads isn't likely to have much of an effect. Often times in math I found that I did not fully understand some concept. We would spend a week or two doing that type of math before we moved on, and that entire time, I struggled to figure it out. Once we moved on to something else that required that earlier mathematical technique or formula, it was as if a light bulb popped on in my head, and all of a sudden I would completely understand that thing with which I struggled on for weeks. Sometimes you just need to move on to grasp something, rather than attempting over and over again to do the same thing. = =

Kaitlin T.
Flexibility is key in a classroom; there needs to be a sense of the flexibility within an educator’s instruction. We know that no two students learn material in the same manner, so why would we expect that same two students to learn at the same pace? Our students may very well need extensions or the opportunity to use other resources. When flexibility is present within a lesson plan and/or unit, students have more of an opportunity to grow as learners. I realize how important being flexible will be in my classroom, but I’m struggling with the idea, especially the idea of extensions. Yes, some students will genuinely need the extra to firmly grasp certain material. But what about those students who simply neglected to do the work correctly and in a timely fashion the first time? Should they honestly receive an extension for the work they put off in first place?

Jen R.
I learned in this chapter that we as teachers must continue to incorporate these new techniques as well as the techniques of the future to further enhance our student’s ability to learn at a higher level. This chapter stresses the importance of understanding that each student learns different and each student will understand the meaning of what is being taught to them differently, and at different times. As a teacher, this chapter has influenced by furthering my understanding that each student learns differently and by detecting my student’s individual ways of learning I will be able to be a more effective teacher. With my teaching skills, I need to flexible and adapt to new learning techniques that will ultimately help my students learn.