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.