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.