UbDDI+B2+Chapter+1

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Synthesis - Justin
The first chapter of this text, like in many others like it, is an introduction to the main ideas. In the case of //Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design//, it introduces us to those two topics. Understanding by Design (UbD) is based on the content in which we want to teach our students in our curriculum. Differentiated Instruction (DI) is how we want to instruct our students. Just by reading what these two topics are, it sounds like they were made for each other. We want to be able to teach our content in ways that will allow for all students to learn to the best of their abilities. UbD and DI also allow for teachers to be flexible in being able to accommodate all different learning styles. As teachers, we will want all of our students to learn in the way that is best for them so that they can take in the content and really understand it.
 * Abstract**

A major piece of teaching is being able to include every student so that they have equal opportunities to learn content. After reading through all of the entries below, it became clear to me that all of us have a common goal, we want our students to succeed. We do not want to leave anyone behind. As teachers, we will want to be able to change our [|style(s) of teaching] at any given moment to insure that students are able to keep up. If at any point, a student says that they are having a hard time understanding content presented in a certain way, it is our job as the teacher to adapt to the students. At times, it may even be necessary to change the curriculum itself if students are having difficulties or are excelling. All in all, it is imperative of us as teachers to remember who we are teaching, what we are teaching, who we are teaching and how we are teaching (Tomlinson & McTighe 2006). For anyone looking for a visual summation of UbD/DI, there is a [|powerpoint presentation] by Gregory Holt that will explain the basic aspects of the two topics. Powerpoint, all rights reserved.
 * Synthesis Reflection**

Justin C.
When reading the first chapter of this book, there were a few statements that popped out at me over the others. The statement that stood out the most was when the book lists four critical pieces to a classroom environment that all need to be considered when planning out a unit. We, as teachers, need to remember who we’re teaching, where we are teaching, what we are teaching, and how we are teaching our content (2). To me, this seems like a lot that needs to be considered, but I can also understand why all of these pieces are necessary. They are all present in the classroom and have to be handled in an appropriate manner. By this, I mean that teachers can’t leave out some students to get the necessary content point(s) across. The unit has to be altered to the point where all students can get the most out of their learning experience.

Tiarra
Understanding by Design (UbD), and Differentiated Instruction (DI) are two approaches to curriculum and teaching that are deeply and inseparably intertwined. UbD deals with the **content** of what we teach and lays the groundwork for crafting a powerful curriculum that will advance deeper understanding in our students. DI on the other hand, addresses the way in which we **instruct** this curriculum, and focuses on the questions of who we teach, where we teach and how we teach all students effectively. Together both education models work together to help upcoming teachers think in a way which will create “quality classrooms that evolve around powerful knowledge that works for each student” (3). In my own experiences throughout high school, I found that the teachers who followed the practices found in these two designs were the most effective and I hope to one day use these same methods in order to help my students reach their highest potential. I feel that setting clear goals and implementing powerful yet flexible lessons in which students are able to feel a sense of purpose is greatly important. It is my belief that the best thing you can teach a student is to want to learn; nobody likes busy work, not even teachers, and the big ideas presented in UbD and DI lay a foundation that allows students to learn powerfully in whatever way might be fit for them, a feat that makes education not only bearable but fun.

Danny
Pretty much everything in this chapter is new to me. I had never heard about Integrating Differentiated Instruction or Understanding by Design until we discussed it in class last Thursday. This book is the first piece of literature that I have read about this subject. One thing that impacted me when I read it was the scenario in Axiom 3 on pages 6 and 7. In this axiom it discusses the fact that there will be struggling learners and advanced learners in your classroom. When you have struggling learners you will need to make adaptations for them, but it is important for these learners to still get the skills and information that is trying to be understood. When you have an advanced learner in your class you what to continue to have the focus be on the specific unit’s information and skills trying to be accomplished, but you need to make the level of difficulty harder or more sophisticated. I will try to use this in my classroom because if a student is struggling and there are no adaptations made to help them learn then they are more likely to get turned off to the assignment. The same thing goes for a student who is more advanced and is given an easy “busy work” assignment, they are not likely to get much out of the assignment.

Tyler
Due to standardized tests and curriculum goals, teaching and learning have both become more difficult. Teachers are not able to properly teach material, and spend most of their time trying to get students ready for tests, as the students test scores are supposed to be an indicator of the success of a school or education system as a whole. On the other hand, student should be in school to learn, not to meet certain scores on a standardized test. However, as a student I can say I am much more concerned with getting a good grade on something than actually learning the material. This becomes especially problematic when you consider that every student comes from a different background, has different learning abilities, and different interests. A teacher is supposed to get everyone to the standards, yet with all the diversity in their students, this can be a difficult task to achieve. This plays a large role in why I even became interested in teaching. When I was younger and actually tried in school, I was constantly being held back. I would learn something much faster than a majority of the class, but I was forced to stay back in most cases, because the teacher could not teach me more without leaving much of the class behind. A teacher has to teach in a way that allows for the fewest possible students to fall behind. I had one teacher though that managed to teach differently. She took the handful of us who were ahead, and gave us different options. We were able to do the same assignments, only we were challenged to go more in depth, focus on more detail, or more simply, learn more without going onto subjects that the rest of the class wasn’t ready for. I found this similar to some of the concepts discussed in the chapter. Like it said in the book, even with the best curriculum, or the best instruction, unless both were combined, a classroom can fail. The book divided teaching into four categories, who, what, where, and how teachers teach. The idea behind combining UBD and DI is because contrary to being two different systems, they are actually complementary systems. UBD covers the what and how, and DI covers the who where and how. Between the two of them, you cover all four categories, and hopefully together they improve both the curriculum design and provide varied ways of teaching to effectively deal with multiple types of learners. As a teacher, I would do my best to effectively teach everyone in the most effective manner. While I had one teacher who really was successful at it, most of the others didn’t even make an attempt to teach everyone, and instead taught the entire class one way. To be quite honest, it was for that very reason that I quit trying in school. I didn’t see the point in trying if it got me nowhere. No matter how well I did, no matter how quickly I was able to finish things, I got nothing more than anyone in the class got. Due to this, I slowed down. I let myself sink to the level of everyone in the class. I had no motivation to do my best, so I stopped, and eventually, slacking off became a habit. To this day, I still slack off. I know that on the few assignments where it actually matters, I can pull through and do spectacular work. Unfortunately, I only do that type of work when I am borderline failing. I would do whatever I could to avoid this happening to my own students. I don’t know about other teachers thought on this, or why most people get into teaching, but it seems as if many just don’t care about the students. Maybe once they did, earlier in their career. Over time though, it would seem that they lose that urge to really help and inspire, and teaching just becomes another tedious job, where they are forced to come in every day and deal with kids when they really don’t want to do it anymore.

Dan B.
Chapter one talks about Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction. Understanding by Design is basically a curriculum model, so you can teach things clearly and effectively. The goal of Differentiated Instruction is to make sure that a teacher can convey the information that they are trying to convey to a variety of different students. These two things go together, and it would not really make sense to do one without the other. I really liked and agreed with axiom one. Axiom one stated that the primary goal is to deepen and develop student understanding, with all students and not just those who excel. I agree with this, I think that a teacher needs to aim to try and make everyone in the classroom understands what I am teaching, and not just those who really want to learn about the subject.

Jonathan B.
This chapter focuses on the necessity and practicality of combining the concepts of understanding by design and differentiated instruction. The goal of this combination is to provide a useful, effective curriculum while at the same time making sure that all students find success. It is very important that both of these models work together at the same time, the chapter makes the point that a curriculum cannot thrive without both of these. The various axioms and subsequent corollaries involve practical development, delivery, and review of curricula. The scenarios provided display Mr. Axelt's adherence to the aforementioned models not as a class format, but an educational philosophy. The various axioms discussed in the chapter focus on the practical aspects of //efficient// acquisition of information base and skills—both of these being developed simultaneously, so as work build off each other. As a teacher, I would focus on this efficient acquisition of knowledge and skills for students of all levels.

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Chris D.
In chapter 1 of Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction, the ideas of both were introduced and explained as to what they pertained to with teaching. Understanding by Design, I learned, focuses on the content that teachers teach to students and what material needs to be assessed. It’s also known as the curriculum design model. On the other hand, Differentiated Instruction focuses on who, where and how teachers teach. Both are going to be important for not only my success as a teacher, but my students’ success as learners. By utilizing the UbD model I will be able to plan a curriculum in such a way that ensures my student success. Since everything doesn’t go as planned, I should be prepared to alter the curriculum as soon as I see that my students are either understanding my lessons quicker than I anticipated, or are on the opposite end where they’re having a more difficult time grasping the concepts that I’m presenting to them. I won’t doubt that I will have to change my curriculum more than once in a year. That’s not to say that my students are going to be bad students though. Every student is unique in that they each have their own learning styles and learn at different speeds. It will be up to me in order to make an effort to target the majority, if not all, of my students’ different learning styles to ensure their success.

Jen R.
Throughout reading chapter one, I learned that Understanding by Design focuses on what we teach and assessment evidence we collect, the big picture, where as Differentiated by Design is centered more around who we teach, where we teach and how we teach. I also learned how crucial the combination of Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design is in order to create effective learning strategies for all students. The connection between these two learning styles is one that must be maintained throughout all aspects of a classroom in order to ensure success through teaching. It is important that that we as teachers keep the best interest of our students in mind and focus less on centered learning, but work to fulfill the needs of each individual student. This chapter has impacted me to gain a better understanding of these concepts and truly work to understand their use and full potential. In my classroom, I will strive to center my lessons on these two concepts and ensure that they will be presented throughout the work of my students to the best of my ability.

Grace K.
Chapter 1 was all about adaptation. Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe stress the need for teachers to have a willingness to adapt with every new class of students, every new unit, or every new assignment. The goal of integrating Differentiated Instruction with Understanding by Design is that these adaptations will ultimately happen almost naturally, as a teacher’s experience with the methods increases and their knowledge of their students deepens. Tomlinson and McTighe argue that the two tools, Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design, are complementary to one another, with UbB providing the “big idea” of a unit. Having this idea (referred to as “essential knowledge, understanding, or skill” [Tomlinson & McTighe 6]) in mind while developing a unit or lesson allows a teacher to focus on what is most important for their students to learn, and this in turn allows the teacher a focal point to keep in mind when adapting the unit to specific student needs. As a teacher, UbD will help me avoid “activity oriented teaching,” and instead make sure that each activity I ask my students to complete will ultimately enhance their understanding of a subject (Tomlinson & McTighe 6). Utilizing DI will also help me ensure that students get the most out of an activity. Tomlinson and McTighe also argue for the necessity of revisiting work; teachers should periodically review their own units as well as student achievement in those units, and adapt when they see a way to improve their instruction. I felt that this chapter and the “axioms” and “corollaries” explained in it were really about keeping unit design at the forefront of our thought as teachers, no matter how long we’ve been in the profession. Review and adaptation should be constant aspects of our career if we want to best serve our students.

Grady B.
In reading this opening chapter of //Integrating DI and UbD//, I have already begun to much more clearly envision how I will be able to bring these two dynamic concepts into my future classroom. It initially seemed fairly overwhelming- the idea of having to customize educations for the 120 or more students that I may see on a given day, 120 young people with completely different learning styles and needs. However, as I got into the section of the chapter that discussed the axioms and corollaries, the practical ways of achieving this seemed much less daunting, as the goals of DI and UbD were dropped into a realistic classroom setting. I was especially struck by the scenario on page seven, in which the teacher, in order to preassess his students, simply surveyed them on their current understanding and interests in the subject. I can see how something so simple could not only allow a teacher to easily frame their instruction for what students actually need to know, but also allow the students to feel more important and valued in the classroom by feeling like they have a voice in the direction that the class is moving in. Additionally, this chapter succeeded in selling me on the idea that the most effective classrooms are ones that use “powerful knowledge that works for each student” (pg. 3), or rather, that one needs both quality information and instruction that reaches all students.

Will L.
In the opening chapter, it describes the difference between ‘Understanding by Design’ (UbD) and ‘Differentiated Instruction’ (DI). UbD refers more to the traditional ways of teaching. This differs from DI because DI focuses more on the diversity amongst students and adapting to various learning styles that come with each student. UbD focuses more on relaying the material equally to everyone, without really adapting to different learning styles. When I become a teacher, I will be sure to at least attempt to decipher the various learning styles of all my students. This will be effective so that everyone is happy and learning.

Kaitlin T.
From reading chapter one of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design it became clear to me that both Understanding by Design (UbD) and Differentiated Instruction (DI) go hand-in-hand. Carol Ann Tomlinson states, “teachers consistently attend to at least four elements: whom they teach...where they teach...what they teach...and how they teach.” UbD focuses on a teacher’s content and his or her assessment used to collect evidence. DI, on the other hand, regards whom a teacher educates and where the educating takes place. I spent most of chapter one being confused and I’m still trying to figure out how I can apply what I read to my future classroom. “Axiom 5” states: “It is not the case that struggling learners must master the basics before than can engage in thinking,” (8). Most students are able to spend time developing meaningful ideas which enables them to better understand a concept, even without the mastery of basic knowledge of that concept.