UbD/DI- Chapter 9

This chapter described UbD and DI and how to integrate them both in the classroom. It starts by explaining what differentiated teachers do that is different in order to help their students. A list of nine goals for UbD and DI really explain how important it is within the classroom. There is an example of a backwards design unit plan for 5th and 6th grade nutrition, and it integrates ways to differentiate. There are also other ways that teachers can utilize assessment and how they can adjust for specific students and every student’s learning style(s). There is also a section that points out how crucial it is to ensure maximum student growth by understanding what the makeup of the classroom is by both content knowledge and other skill sets. This chapter also discusses ways to outline the pre-assessment process and ways to help teachers progress through the lesson to the final assessment. There is a list of different tasks outlined for the specific unit that encompass differentiation techniques, and is also specific to certain types of student learners. There is a list of indicators that someone would see if they were to observe a differentiated classroom and ways to see how the teacher is using backwards design. Within this list, there are things to look for within categories. The categories are “the learning environment”, “the curriculum”, “the teacher”, and “the learner”. It illustrates ways that teachers can show and use backwards design and differential instruction in the classroom.

The point is to be flexible, have plans and goals, and to have a comfortable classroom environment. You have to differentiate, and treat the students like they are customers, and anything you can do for them to help them master the topic, is what is going to make you a more effective teacher. The environment in a classroom is not something I continuously think about but I can understand why it is critical for students to feel safe, “comforted”, needed, belong, and most importantly respected. It was nice to see a chapter that had it all come together, connecting everything in the chapter to the other chapters in the book as well as in class. “Bringing it all together” helped to show why these strategies and tools we learn are so crucial.