DI+UbD+Chapter+2+Block+1

Synthesis - [|UbD/DI C2 B1]


 * **Names** || **Abstract** || **Reflection** ||
 * Archambault Michael ||  ||

Students shape the curriculum, not the other way around. As students change day in and day out, a teacher must be prepared to attack learning from a different angle. A lot of times there are unseen issues in a teenager’s life that affect their progress. This is called responsive teaching. Some things that jumped out at me during the reading were the reactions of the teens to at home issues. I understand that when things are bothering someone, they will not be prepared to pay attention and learn, but I guess I never thought about the kids not even knowing what the problem was. A lot of the problems are brought up subconsciously, and it would take an alert teacher to diagnose them. I like the emphasis on engaging the students with multiple fronts. It’s like a game of student/teacher statego.
 * Audy Melissa || The second chapter of this book goes more in depth in explaining, (as the title states), “What Really Matters in Teaching.” The answer is quite straightforward—the students. The chapter goes on to give scenarios of students whose learning was affected by a factor that the teacher must consider. One example demonstrated the thought process of a girl who could speak of content coherently, yet was unable to compose a competent piece of writing with proper syntax. Another student’s learning was limited due to her home life, and her refusal to learn was the only thing stopping her. The chapter explains that by “teaching responsively” one may find ways to overcome factors that are straining students. Though the idea of forming too close of a bond is discouraged, it is certainly beneficial to have some idea of what is going on in the students’ lives and how this may affect their learning. By considering such things, there are many methods of remedying issues that may arise. Examples of responsive teaching are given—ideas that range from giving students the option of working with partners, to simply reconsidering the way one presents what is expected within the classroom in a rubric style. || In response, I certainly agree, (as I hope most educators/future educators do) that considering the student is of the most essential factors in teaching. An absolutely brilliant person could make a horrible teacher if he or she does not consider ways of expressing their knowledge so that it is tangible to the learners they are to be working with. In my personal experience, I struggled with considering students’ needs as I tried to teach a group of 4th graders about simple geology, as their substitute teacher. I had no idea what I was doing—not only had I no experience with teaching elementary aged children, but I had never seen these kids before and knew nothing of their particular learning styles or needs. As I stood in front of the room examining the lesson plan closely, I spoke deeply about the content, yet I could see it going over the majority of the kids’ heads, and only one or two seemed to actually catch on to what I was saying. Luckily, I was only teacher for the day, and did far more than most substitutes do, and was later thanked for my efforts—it had mostly been busy work anyway. Had I known the students better, I would have been able to better direct my lesson to meet the personal needs of each student. At the time, I knew very little about approaching the various learning styles of students. I feel that now, I would be able to better deal with the situation and think of differentiated instructions to aid a variety of learners. ||
 * Boulter Elizabeth || Chapter 2 discussed the number one focus of teaching: the students. It explained the importance of understanding your students on a personal level as well as on a learning style level. They talked about the importance of shaping students and doing so through an elaborate curriculum that met the numerous needs of the students. They presented the information through student experiences and stories of real students and real teachers. They addressed learning problems, multiple intelligences (bodily kinesthetic learning), identity issues, and more. Showing that all students are different and come from various backgrounds, emphasized their point. Students need to be catered too differently. This chapter talked about how they don’t learn the same and even though they have things in common, teachers need to varied styles and multiple choices for their students. It went on to explain why it was important to focus on the students and presented numerous ways to go about “responsive teaching” (page 19). || Students are the focal point of teaching. Often times, students are overlooked and overshadowed by habit, old patterns and ways of thinking, and high-stakes tests. I liked the line about “teaching [being] judged by successful learning” on page 13. It’s all about the students absorbing the information and relating it to their lives. I liked one of the teachers’ plan with their student Yana. It was personalized yet had expectations. It allowed Yana to get beyond her learning problem and still fulfilled the required assignment. The teacher thought about the students needs and obstacles and made a plan to work through them. There was also a focus on building positive relationships with students and how they had the power to inspire learner success. It helped me realize how important a comfortable environment really was in their learning. I found the “patterns of instruction” and the “categories” of students especially interesting where you could use smalls groups as places to cater to students’ learning styles. ||
 * Brown Ryanne || This chapter put a lot of emphasis on the curriculums in schools. “whom” and “what” we teach is what draws the curriculum; it is the “how” that teachers must be cautious of when working to incorporate all of the different learning styles. No matter what the content or where the schools teachers are always going to face diversity in students’ background and more importantly in their learning styles. This chapter emphasizes that students must always be in the forefront of our minds when developing curriculum and deciding how to execute that curriculum. Each student may have an individual or personal need that we as teachers constantly need to accommodate. We must strive to constantly be supplying opportunity for success by varying the ways that we teach and connect with students. Demonstrated in this chapter are many scenarios and possible solutions to encourage this way of thinking. One last important point was that we must strive to improve our own learning, and continue to build on our knowledge to expect the same of our students. || This chapter was also really helpful. By really paying attention to the lessons on the students it makes it easy to prepare for what may or may not come into my own classroom. The suggestions for teaching strategies seem like powerful tools to keep. It seems like a really strong and positive thing to teach responsively and create an environment more comfortable for the students to put themselves out there and learn new things without fear. The chapter makes a lot of excellent points about students, especially high school students, and how they are searching for themselves and their place in the world. It is important to remember that we are helping to shape these students and we must do it in a positive way. ||
 * DePue Margaux || The great importance of the diversity, background and capabilities of the students is the topic being emphasized in Chapter Two of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design. Factors such as a personal crisis or dealing with personal identity can drastically affect how a student learns in a class. Similarly, learning disorders and special needs should be paid close attention to, as they also affect the ways in which students absorb information. In order to meet the special needs of their students, educators must learn to teach responsively, meaning that they must respond to a student’s learning requirements. To teach responsively, teachers must build positive relationships with their students, help students to make sense of information learned by connecting it with reality as well as paying attention to the interests and growth of the students. Teaching in different ways, letting students work together or individually, and finding out more about students’ background and interests are all ways to achieve responsive teaching. || What the chapter is truly emphasizing is the fact that how you teach really depends on whom you are teaching at the time. If teachers do not pay special attention to the needs of the students in their classroom, they will not know how to convey important ideas and information to them. People learn in different ways and if teachers are not sensitive of these ways and refuse to give multiple options to students as they learn, the students will become uninterested and disengaged, causing them to disconnect from the class completely. A teacher could have the greatest curriculum in the world, but if they do not know how to convey their ideas to a certain group of students, their efforts will result in failure. Educators teach people, not robots that are programmed to take in information without reason or connection to reality. Responsive teaching can help amend this misconception that some teachers have by emphasizing the needs of the students as human beings and not as machines ||
 * Dunne Kaisha || A teacher is not a miracle worker and can't fix every student or give every student as much attention as they want. As much as we wish we all had magic wands, we don't. Designing ones curriculum and preparing for the diversity that they may face in their upcoming classes is nearly impossible. One can have an idea of what to expect and then go from there. Taking into consideration that students that enter into ones classroom come from a wide variety of backgrounds and households is very important. Through out the year a teacher should never loose site of the students needs; they are there for them. A big part of this chapter was the fact that students are in school to find themselves, as people, as learners, and as future adults in society. They need to figure out who they are and where their going. || This was a big chapter for me because I fear that I will get overwhelmed with trying to help every student and loose sight of focusing on all of them as a class or visa versa. I feel like this soothed my nerves a little bit and helped me to remember what it was like for me at this age, just trying to fit in and find where I stood as an individual. ||
 * Hudson Kimberly || Students are the main focus of teaching; however, there are some issues that come in between a teacher and a student’s education. For example, there can be a personal barrier to learning that the student exhibits. This means that a personal problem of the student causes him or her to not pay attention to what is being taught. A learning problem might also cause a student to not retain information that is being taught. For this, a teacher has to unravel the problem of the student and come up with a method that works best in order for the student to succeed. There is also the issue of teaching responsively. The teacher should be able to adapt what they are teaching to the individual student and making sure that he or she is getting the important ideas. There are several reasons why this method is effective; one example is, if the student feels valued by the teacher, the student is then more likely to take an interest in learning. Also, allowing students to learn in their own learning style helps make learning easier for the student. There are several ways to teach responsively. One is to find ways to get to know the students; this shows that the student matters. Another is to teach in multiple ways. This allows those with different learning styles to still absorb the information. ||

As I read this chapter, I realized how much can get in the way of what a teacher is trying to do. I think back to last year and even high school and realize how on the days that I was mad, tired, or frustrated I didn’t really learn anything. I think that too often in the teaching world people forget that students have lives as well, there is drama, problems at home, relationships, and more that can get in the way of a student. Also, I really like the concepts of responsive teaching. I think the more a teacher responds, in general, to the students the more likely the students are going to take an active role in their learning. The same goes for when a teacher is able to teach in many different learning styles.
 * Korn Shauna || This chapter was all about how important students are in the role of being a teacher. The students determine the way you teach your subject, how in depth you go, and what you cover. Being a good teacher means being able to work around whatever comes up with a student. Whether that be a sickness, death in the family, issues at home, etc. Working with students is a big part of being a flexible teacher. This means allowing lessons to be configured to modify to what is going on in a students life. Teachers need to focus on what the student’s needs are and how they can reach them and adjust their abilities to find the right learning styles for each student. || I agree with this chapter and have always been in favor of getting to know what your students need. I worked in a middle school classroom my senior year of high school and saw how indeed different the kids were. I think that being a flexible teacher and working with students is really the only way to go, because if you don’t pay attention to what the students need you’re going to have a harder time making a connection with them. I like how this chapter talked about the different situations that can come about and the different students that you could have in your classroom. From these example I began to have an idea of not just some of the different types of students that you could have, but really the endless array of differences you could come across. This really got me thinking that there won’t be just two or three different types of learning that I will have to master, but many others that I haven’t even thought of yet. ||
 * LaRose Rebecca || The second chapter in DI/UbD is all about the student. As the student is why we are all becoming teachers, this is quite an important chapter. The chapter states that all students are the same yet different at the same time, and because of this, teachers should take the time to reach out by taking time to teach everyone in different ways that will touch each student individually. Differentiated teaching is explained as when a teacher can see that students have different learning needs and must be taught in different methods. The chapter outlines all of the ways that teachers can approach the responsive method of teaching. The chapter ends leading the teacher into the future of keeping all students in mind when designing a curriculum so as not to leave single students behind. ||


 * The most important part of this chapter is that it focuses on the fact that as teachers we need to be aware of what we are putting out as learning material. Even though there are certain ways we learned best throughout our school careers, we need to be careful that we also teach in other ways because some students do learn best in those ways. I want to work on learning how to touch all of the different intelligences often so everyone has a fair chance at learning. I believe that with the development of technology hitting all of the intelligences will become easier, it is just a matter of finding ways to integrate them into our developing classrooms. ||

The second chapter of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design had some scenarios about good students how started to perform badly in school, and how the teachers could have caught why theses students were acting out, but didn’t. Then the chapter went on to give some pointers on how to teach responsively, and get the students to respond to you. The chapter went on to say that differentiated instruction is not the same as taking the time to understand every single students’ needs, but instead just not teaching every student the same way and thinking they all learn the same way. Then the chapter gave some pointers on how to do this. I thought this chapter was pretty interesting. I liked how they gave the scenarios in the beginning of the chapter so that if I am ever in a situation like that, I could find ways to help my students. Also, I liked how they gave the pointers on how to get to know my students better, and how to better understand how each of them learns.
 * Murphy Amber || This chapter explains to teachers that it is crucial to recognize the barriers which are present among each student. Everyone has outside barriers which all effect students in different ways. It is important for teachers to constantly adapt and adopt new methods of teaching to address all the problems within the classroom. It is important for teachers to teach responsively. Although it is necessary to have a written lesson sometimes things change or require adapting to. The teaching profession challenges teachers to teach responsively day in and day out. || I agree that all students have different barriers outside of school. Although it is very challenging to dissect and figure out everyone’s barriers I believe that teachers need to adapt and be sympathetic to students needs. Discouraging students can have life long effects and these negative memories can deter students from trying things in the future. Thinking on ones feet is crucial in the classroom. Lessons plans are easy and simple to follow, however if the class isn’t engaged then it requires the teacher to modify the plan. ||
 * Nieuwkerk Hannah || Most students go to school, go home, do homework, and go back to school with homework in hand, ready to learn more information. Some students are not like that and it is imperative to get to the root of the problem before it ruins that student’s whole year (or several years) of schooling. Responsive teaching is important because it will be much easier to notice and identify the problem, or be proactive and prevent problems from starting. Several examples of responsive teaching are paying attention to the student’s background, making the student feel safe and more at home, giving the student a challenge that he/she is ready for, and lastly, allow for the student to learn in the way that is best for him/her. It is also important to get to know the student and greet him/her, teach to the whole group of students (not just the ‘middle learners’), allow group work and working alone, use a clear and concise rubric, and lastly, teach with diversity. By using these techniques, students will learn better and more comfortably, allowing for the growth of the mind as well as the character. || I love the idea of making my students feel more comfortable in the classroom because it would make me feel more comfortable, too. Having a drill sergeant for a teacher would not be beneficial in the least. I always liked it in school when the teachers would try to get to know me a little. And it got to the point where they would know if I was having a bad day, and they would leave me alone, knowing that it probably wasn’t a good day to have me lead the topic of the day. And I really appreciated this, it made me closer to my teachers, which in turn helped because I wasn’t afraid to ask ‘dumb’ questions. I was ready to fall on my face because they were always there to pick me up and guide me back to the right direction. Because of the bond we had, I was also more willing to do the work because I felt like the teacher knew what she/he was doing. ||
 * Scheffler Erich ||  ||
 * Scheffler Erich ||  ||
 * Simoneau Andrea || This chapter discusses factors that may influence student learning, and why responsive teaching is necessary. Personal crises, identity issues, socioeconomic status, upbringing, unusual learning styles, learning disabilities and even genetics are all things that may block learning, because the student is obstructed by those issues. Responsive teaching is needed to handle these issues, and the book details several ways to become a responsive teacher. The book does not advocate the teacher paying devoted attention to each student; that would be taxing and inefficient. Rather, it advocates the development of patterns of instruction that will serve multiple needs. Individual differences should contribute to the teacher making fine adjustments. Responsive teaching methods include offering multiple ways of expression (different media, different methods of presentation) small group teaching, varied modes of teaching, and informal assessments. || Like the first chapter, much of this seems to be basically good practice as a teacher. One must be responsive to the needs of one’s students to reach them effectively, and a teacher must also find out what those needs are, and consider what outside factors may be contributing to a student’s performance. It was helpful to have the book suggest several different ways for one to become a responsive teacher, providing suggestions that can be easily implemented into class activities. It was also helpful that the chapter outlined those factors, in neat chart form, that could serve as barriers to learning. It has given me something to keep an eye out for when I am working in the schools, and fortified me with possible battle plans. ||
 * Stevens Newcomb || The second chapter dealt with the students. These students come in all shapes and in all sizes. What the UbD and ID system really for the students is attempts to find the root of academic problems for individual students and attends to the student. Students are in fact human and they are not going to school for their subject but rather to find out exactly who they are. The teacher must understand the student if any curriculum is to work. || I became a teacher in order to help struggling students that had great potential. There can be many underlying problems with student who appear to underachieve. I can understand a student intentionally failing in order to fix their parents’ relationship. This makes teaching actually seem like being a doctor: frequently diagnosing problems in struggling learners: I would probably feel like Dr. House if I had a few underachieving students. ||