UbD/DI- Chapter 4

This chapter focuses on how crucial it has become to incorporate differentiated instruction into the classroom and the curriculum. It also emphasizes the importance of striving to become not just a good teacher but a successful teacher. There are two different ideas that arise when one wants to become a successful teacher, these two ideas are curriculum and structure/instruction. Both of these aspects have to have and equal balance, combining them effectively for the students. The teacher also needs to focus not on their success but the students’. In order to be able to teach and combine these ideas effectively a teacher must be able to master them. When a teacher can do all of this and create a prevailing curriculum the students can have a better chance of learning, knowing, and better yet understanding the material. Differentiated instruction may be one of the best ways to evoke an open bond or relationship between teach and learning, the teacher and the student.
A teacher must be able to act and react to the students wants and needs, this involves being able to teach and mold the classroom to the students strengths and weaknesses. When teacher wants to become the most effective there are nine steps one can follow: having a clear curriculum, accept responsibility for the student success in school, create a respectful environment, talk and share with other about multiple intelligences, have well developed classroom management, help students, have flexibility, use a variety of instructional strategies, and reflect on student progress.

This chapter helped me to understand that there are different ways that a teacher can respond to the students in order to convey the material and be effective. The nine steps or skills really resemble the MEL theory, using different concepts and applying them to one’s own ability creates growth within the teacher and ultimately the student. The teachers need to be learning and growing with the students in order to be effective. It is interesting to know that a teacher can be successful and effective in so many different ways. This makes me wonder why there are so many teachers who are outdated and ineffective out there.

UbD/DI- Chapter 3

In this chapter we review what really matters in learning. The biggest problem when it comes to teaching is that teachers are overwhelmed with too much content to teach given the available time. This problem of too much content is equally as hard as figuring out what to emphasize and what not to teach. Because teachers are constantly being upheld to such rigorous standards teachers begin to face such problems like the standards are too big or the standards are just too small. Some content standards are not the only problem though; textbooks too often hurt not help the problem. When teaching students the learning results should be considered in terms of understanding the “big ideas” and the core processes within those content standards. Big ideas and essential questions provide a new way to see and address the standards. The main goal of all teachers and school efforts is not just to improve student learning of important content, but to go above and beyond.
When using the backward planning model there are three stages to consider. Stage 1 is to identify desired results, what you want your students to know and be able to do and understand. Stage 2 is to determine acceptable evidence, how to determine or know that your students understand the material at hand and are proficient in it. Stage 3 is to plan learning experiences and instruction, what activities and learning styles can best help the students. A teacher’s job is to teach with the goal of improving content and check regularly if students are up to par on the learning. When teachers plan backward, by design, they are less likely to succumb to the problems of activity or coverage-oriented teaching. We want to improve the students’ learning by encouraging people to work smarter. The big ideas and essential questions are the basis or pillars for the various disciplines. Flexibility, finding a balance and essential skills are very important to a teaching classroom.

This chapter helped me to realize the importance of using backward planning. This backward design provides a structure for teachers and the support to become more flexible and grow. This blending of UbD and DI provides a focus on essential knowledge, understanding, skills and flexibility in guiding and coaching learners to the desired ends. This chapter reveals that teachers face many more challenges then what one may think. Not only do teachers have to teach these models and content but they are learning as well. Every student is different and will learn different, a good teacher understands that and can overcome any obstacle.

UbD/DI- Chapter 2

The most important thing this chapter had to offer was the idea that an expert teacher is not a teacher but a student as well. This teacher tries to continually seek a deeper understanding of the core of a subject and further wisdom. This chapter describes several cases in which a teacher may find him or herself stuck or frustrated by the factors that can prohibit learning. Some of these factors include a student’s personal crisis which interrupts the teachers plans, a student’s identity crisis or where personal identity becomes a barrier, a students learning has become a problem and they can not learn the same way any longer, as well as students who simply learn different then others. The important thing to remember when faced with these barriers is that optimism is crucial. If we keep trying hopefully there will be an answer out there to the problem at hand. This chapter also reveals that students can be very much alike and very different. The diversity in the classroom has become huge, making the teacher’s job of being flexible ever more important.
Having a quality curriculum is essential as well as finding a link between the basic needs of the students and that curriculum. Teachers need to be responsive to their students needs, which means being in tune with their learning. The students can benefit from teachers who are attuned to their needs for multiple reasons. Important reasons to remember are attending to teacher-student relationships, attending to the learning environment, attending to a student’s background and needs outside of the class, attending to a student’s readiness, attending to a students interests, and finally attending to a student’s learning profile. After becoming a responsive teacher, they must now find ways to know their students, incorporate small group teaching into the schedule, learn to teach the high end, offer a wider variety of options, regularly use informal assessments, teach in different ways, allow different work, and use clear rubrics. All of these things contribute to the overall success of a classroom, a teacher, and more importantly the student.

All of the examples within the chapter help to clarify my understanding of what it is the teacher’s job truly has become. The teacher is no longer a link between a child and some material but so much more. The teacher has taken on a role of mentor, friend, educator, inventor, and motivator. The most important thing that can come from implementing all of these techniques and strategies is that we realize learning is supposed to happen with the students not to the students. Teaching allows a connection between the teacher and the child or student, which can create more than educational learning. It can create a new experience and a life altering affect.

UbD/DI- Chapter 1

This chapter introduces the idea that differentiated instruction and understanding by design need to be interconnected in order to create the best possible learning environment. With both of them working together there is a logical and practical appearance to the approach of the teacher. It has become increasingly clear over the years that teachers can not ignore the ever changing faces of their students and the diversity of them who populate the classroom. It is the job of the teacher to create a powerful curriculum in a world dominated by standards and pre-existing notions of what the classroom should be. DI and UbD need one another. UbD focuses on what we teach and it helps to guide the implementing of important principles in the curriculum. It is mainly a curriculum design model. On the other hand DI focuses on who, where, and how we teach. It’s primary goal is to help teachers focus on steps that will guarantee effective learning for all of the students. This makes DI an instructional design model. The UbD and DI help to provide teachers with tools and direction towards developing a classroom and a curriculum based on the best understandings of teaching and learning.
There are several fundamental principles of these two ideas coming together. The important principles to remember are, the main goal of quality curriculum design is to develop and enrich understanding, evidence of a students’ understanding is revealed when they can apply their knowledge, and effective curriculum development helps avoid problems that arise when the student can find no clear purpose for the material or task. Some more principles to know are that regular reviews of the curriculum as well as the students’ work can help to improve the classroom and curriculum with the needed adjustments, teachers need to provide students with as many opportunities as possible, the teacher and student must work together to ensure effective learning, as well as knowing that UbD is not a program it is a way of thinking. One of the most important things to understand is that a teacher is more than a teacher; he or she is also a learner.

This chapter, although extremely dense with ideas, helped me to understand why combining different techniques and teaching methods is important. When a teacher can use more than one method it can apply to a wider range of students making the teacher more accessible and the material easier for the students to tackle. I understand that UbD and DI need to be together in order for effective teaching and learning to take place. The idea that a classroom can be full of different learning styles, group and individual work, different plans and approaches to material, new ways of thinking, and a combination of everything that the student and teacher want to accomplish, makes me realize that the possibility of a student succeeding is ever growing.

MI- Chapter 4

This chapter involved teaching students about the Multiple Intelligence Theory. This theory can be explained to children as young as second grade and as old as the teacher. It can be explained in a matter of five minutes if explained in a way that is interesting and easy to understand. Children can always benefit from different teaching approaches that help them reflect on their own learning processes. How well and in what way to teach the MI theory to a class of students depends on the size of the class, the developmental level of the students, their background, and the kinds of instructional resources available. But the best way is to simply explain it to them. One important quote that Neil Postman, a New York university professor, expressed is that “children go into school as question marks and leave school as periods.” The main approach is to ask questions that promote and build inclusion.
One way is to explain they multiple intelligences is as linguistic intelligence as word smart, logical-mathematical intelligence as number or logic smart, spatial intelligence as picture smart, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence as bodily, sports, or hand smart. There is also musical intelligence as music smart, interpersonal intelligence as people smart, intrapersonal intelligence as self smart, and naturalist intelligence as nature smart. There are many activities that can enhance or reinforce the teaching of multiple intelligences. Activities include such things as having a career day, field trips, biographies, lesson plans, quick experimental activities, wall displays, shelf displays, readings, MI tables, a human intelligence hunt, board games, and MI stories, songs, or plays.

This chapter allows me to see how important it is for my students to know and understand the MI theory. When students can understand multiple intelligences then they can take their schooling farther, they can become more active in what they are doing and use the best possible method for studying. They can know how to work and what to work on. If students understand all the multiple intelligences then they can work on their most dominant intelligence.

MI- Chapter 3

This chapter focused on how to describe intelligence in students. It described that all children can show what Gardner called “proclivities or inclinations in certain intelligences” from a very early age. The best way to assess the students’ multiple intelligences is to simply observe them. One way to do this is to focus on observing how they misbehave in class. There are also several other ways to get an assessment information about students’ multiple intelligences such as collecting documents, reviewing school records such as their grades over the years or test scores. Often the best classroom to find all eight intelligences at work is within the kindergarten classroom. More strategies to get an assessment of information about students is to talk with other teachers, to talk with parents, to ask the students themselves, and to set up special activities which enhance their intelligences. Talking with parents is beneficial because they can then come to future parent-teacher meetings with a better understanding and additional information about that student that can be useful for the teacher.
Asking the students themselves is the best way to understand them because no one will know them better than themselves. Also, setting up activities within the classroom can create a better learning environment. Putting up reinforcements around the room which students can use to enhance their multiple intelligences can facilitate the development of their inclination towards certain intelligences. Every student is going to learn and understand different therefore trying new and unique ways to appeal to a diverse selection of multiple intelligences.

This chapter allowed me to understand how describing multiple intelligences within students can be extremely beneficial. Using different techniques to assess the students’ intelligences helps to understand them better and to be able to find new ways of teaching. This can help motivate the students and ultimately help them to become better learners. I really like the idea of students being able to work and enhance their own multiple intelligences. When students can take their education into their own hands it creates the best possible situation in a classroom, a positive learning environment.

MI- Chapter 2

This chapter described how to apply the multiple intelligences to ourselves and to our personal development. Before teaching the MI theory and applying it to the classroom environment, the teacher must apply it to themselves as an educator and as a learner. The chapter discusses how to identify your own multiple intelligences. Gardner discusses that standardized testing only measures a small portion of the entire spectrum of abilities. Thus meaning that standardized testing does not fully measure the intelligence of a person. The MI theory is a good model for revealing some teaching strengths and taking a closer look at areas needing improvement within the teacher. Some important things to remember when dealing with implementing any new theories are being able to draw on your colleagues’ expertise, asking the students for help, as well as be able to use the available technology. This chapter also discusses how to develop these multiple intelligences. The idea that someone can turn a “weak” intelligence into their strongest intelligence is not far fetched. However whether or not intelligences develop depend on three things, biological endowment, personal life history, and cultural and historical background. When there are forces such as these working against the person it would be hard for them to develop their multiple intelligences any further.
There are also experiences such as crystallizing and paralyzing experiences that are key in development. Crystallizing experiences are the “turning points” in the development of a person’s talents and abilities. They are considered sparks that help to ignite certain intelligences and foster their growth. However paralyzing experiences are those that “shut down” the intelligences stopping that growth. All of these things can affect positively and negatively the development of the eight multiple intelligences. But such things as access to resources or mentors, historical-cultural factors, geographic factors, familial factors, and situational factors all affect the outcome of a person’s intelligences. The MI theory helps not only the students but the teachers to understand how to better teach all students within the classroom.

One particular part of this chapter I liked was the idea that our multiple intelligences can be altered by so many different factors in our lives. Depending on the home environment, culture, background, social situation, and personal development, a person can either foster or discourage their different intelligences. There are so many different things that can affect a child’s life therefore the teacher really needs to be in tune with the life of the student inside and outside the classroom. The only effective way to help a student grow in the classroom and in their intelligence is if they can understand them.

MI- Chapter 1

Within this chapter I have learned the basic idea behind the Multiple Intelligence Theory. This theory first began from the idea that there was this thing called “intelligence” and there was a way to measure it with a test or score. After this idea developed further, Howard Gardner, a Harvard psychologist, sought to expand the possibility of intelligence. He created the theory that intelligence has more to do with the ability to solve problems and with understanding different material in different settings. There are eight intelligences according to Gardner which are labeled as linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. Within each intelligence every person has the ability to develop those skills and others as well. Gardner also set up a basis for the multiple intelligence theory. This meant that each intelligence had to meet certain criteria to be considered a true intelligence. There are eight factors that form the criteria he used in order to include the eight intelligences. The factors are labeled as potential isolation by brain damage, existence of savants, prodigies and other exceptional individuals, distinctive developmental history and a definable set of expert “End-State” performances, an evolutionary history and evolutionary plausibility, support from psychometric findings, support from experimental psychological tasks, an identifiable core operation or set of operations, and a susceptibility to encoding in a symbol system. The key points of the MI theory are that every person can posses all eight of these intelligences as well as develop each intelligence to sufficient level of competency. Gardner also believed that intelligences work together in complex ways making it possible for there to be many different ways to be intelligent in each category.

This chapter allowed me to gain further insight into how the multiple intelligence theory actually works. It is one thing to know and be familiar with a theory or tool but another thing to actually understand that theory or tool. The MI theory has taught me that all people are capable of being extremely intelligent. However, we just see different people in different ways. This leads to the labeling of certain “problem” or “disabled” students as such instead of being labeled as intelligent and gifted. I really liked the idea that each intelligence had to meet a certain standard in order to be known as an intelligence. This helped me realize that everyone has something that they can be good at and not to put anyone down for learning differently.