UbDDI+B1+Chapter+1

Abstract & Synthesis
Dan Horne

As teachers we are required to tailor make our lessons to our student’s needs and abilities to ensure they grasp the needed information for the class. To do this all teachers must continuously think of four important aspects: whom they teach (students), where they teach (learning environment), what they teach (content), and how they teach (instruction). (Tomlinson, 2) If a teacher ignores the importance of any one of those [|components] then their entire lesson or class could be in jeopardy of loosing it meaning and effectiveness on the students. One example of this is that if one has the perfect curriculum for a class but that curriculum does not cater to all types of students then it is useless and not effective. The purpose of teaching is to ensure that all students are given the same chance at learning and that is where understanding by design and differentiated instruction are vitally important.

The two concepts of differentiated instruction and understanding by design are not only just important concepts they are needed together to be truly effective, you can’t have one without the other. Also no matter where you are in the world there will always be diversity in your classroom whether it be racial, religious, economic or just in different learning styles you will need to cater to everyone in your classroom. These [|learning styles] will be the hardest barrier to overcome as a teacher because there are vast combinations that can be present in your classroom and you must cater to all of them to have an effective lesson that all students will learn from and flourish as students.

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**Shila**
In chapter one titled “UbD and DI: An Essential Partnership” I learned about more than just Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction. The biggest thing that I learned was in the scenario for Axiom 4. In this scenario it discusses how the teacher, Mr. Axelt, preassesses his students before the unit to be able to pinpoint where each student was with their learning, this was not a new idea for me. However, farther along the scenario states that as the unit continues he uses “formative or ongoing assessments to chart the progress.” It then gives an example on how to do such a thing. I really liked this idea because it is a way to see where each student is without having to have a graded quiz or test, which is fairer for the students who are struggling.

Ben
Chapter one of //Differentiated Instruction/Understanding by Design// focuses on explaining why they are important concepts for educators to understand. It also explains why the two should be taken as a pair, rather than on their own, for most effective implementation. Interestingly enough, I didn’t feel like enough time was taken to defining these concepts on a practical level. Examples were given as part of a list of axioms and corollaries, but if definitions of “Understanding by Design” and “Differentiated Instruction” were ever provided, they were embedded so deep in the text that they bypassed me completely. If I were writing a shiny book about my educational theory, I wouldn’t bury the lead, but I digress. From chapter one, I learned the most from the example, featuring Mr. Axelt’s efforts to teach his class about the United States constitution. Perhaps by necessity, the axioms and corollaries themselves tended to be wordy, and the narrative style of the scenario helped me to work out what the authors were really trying to say. The examples, especially of the application of differentiated instruction, will help me to apply those ideas in my own classroom.

Erika
Three things stood out to me in the first chapter of //Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design//. The first was the discussion in the beginning concerning content standards and accountability tests. This section made me think about the traditional way of evaluating a student and how ineffective it may be. I realize that evaluation of students needs to include more than test scores. Secondly, I learned what Understanding by Design and Differentiated instruction is and how they relate. Understanding by Design focuses on what is being taught and how it is assessed, while Differentiated Instruction is concerned with who is being taught, where they are being taught, and how the teaching occurs. It will be important and useful for me to recognize how these interact when dealing with my own classroom. Lastly, one of the points that were made was that students don’t have to master the basics before being able to think through concepts. Students can come to understand through interaction with ideas.

Josh
The first chapter talks about the relationship between differentiated instruction and understanding by design being a partnership. It explains that only performing one of these techniques is not enough to make you an effective teacher. You need to be able to accurately assess who is in your class and how they learn and then continue to monitor them to make sure your lessons are staying relevant to their skills. I completely agree with the idea presented in the chapter that students do not need to be a master of the basics to be able to think. That is an important part for me to remember as I become a teacher. Getting a student to think is a major part to getting them to learn.

Tyler
After reading through the first chapter it is easy to see just how complex UbD and DI can be. It is also obvious that UbD and DI go hand-in-hand, its almost as if the need each other to really be effective. Another thing that I really took away from this chapter was that each of these programs incorporates both students and teachers effectively. Even if you teach in an area which is not highly diverse in race and culture you will always have students who are diverse in learning styles and intelligent. The main thing I will take away from this chapter is that you can never assume that everyone in your class learns the same way, and there is no doubt this will help myself and my students. It would be extremely ignorant of me to assume that every student is the same.

**Tim**
This chapter is largely an explanation of the logic behind combining Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction, and begins by clarifying their individual meanings. I was unaware of the precise nature of the two pedagogical ideologies before reading the chapter. It would seem that both “models” are not meant to stand apart but rather the symbiosis of the two into one creates effectiveness that benefits teachers and students alike. Through logical progression the usage of the two-in-one model is fundamentally sound and I cannot find any major piece that I disagree with. The way of thinking the combination puts forth is meant to guide all parties to consider themselves dynamic and progressive. The success and continued growth of students must always be the focus of the teacher while constantly looking to improve him or herself.

Kasey
The information in this chapter was very new to me. I learned that the Understanding by Design model incorporates the essential standards, and also how to use the standards to get authentic meaning and understanding and important information to students. The cornerstone of this model is curriculum design. By focusing on what we teach, and the assessments used to collect evidence of learning, we will achieve greater student understanding. Learning how to apply this model and design an effective curriculum will definitely impact me when I’m in the classroom. The second concept, Differentiated Instruction, also plays an important role in teaching. This theory focuses on varied instruction and processes that will enable students with different needs and intelligences to learn. The two models are not exclusive; in fact they work very well together. By creating a solid curriculum and using differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all students, the teacher will be much more effective. This chapter provided several examples of a teacher who used both UbD and DI in his classroom to meet the needs of his students, and this will help me when I begin my teaching career. Having real life examples of how to put these theories into practice is helpful.

Caitlin
Chapter one in //Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design// presents a number of axioms to the reader that act as guidelines for building and implementing an informative and effective curriculum in the presence of students with different levels of learning and various learning styles. The axioms are partnered with corollaries that improve upon the axiom, as well as a scenario that demonstrates effective application of the axiom. Each scenario walks the reader through a progression of different stages in a singular unit in a lesson plan incorporating UbD/DI, and from these scenarios I found a better understanding of how the axiom itself is applied in a classroom. I was also granted a look at how a teacher designs learning activities for students and how each activity can be geared towards different learners, while being varied and stimulating to the students. I feel that if I were to be mindful of these axioms when teaching in a classroom I would be able to better serve my students as an educator, because they create a usable guideline to making a differentiated and interesting unit. These axioms are also useful in a classroom because they allow for flexibility: they are again, merely just guidelines, which implies that while some may be useful and effective in a classroom, others might be pruned or simplified in order to better fit the class, and they allow the teacher to experiment with different approaches to teaching.

Kay Sue
This chapter states the case for the use of both UbD and DI and the wisdom and even necessity of combining the two to provide the optimum education for all students. UbD is a curriculum planning model that combines the need to prepare students for standardized testing and bringing meaning and understanding of the facts to them as well. DI is a model for understanding differences in student learning styles and crafting activities that meet the needs of all students. The two seem to lean on each other and it would be almost impossible to do one without the other. I think that it makes lots of sense. The Axioms and corollaries show how the two fit together and support the mutual goals. I will definitely make use of them in my classroom.

Heath Booth
This chapter addresses two different, but complementary, ideas about effective teaching, Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction. Understanding by Design focuses on the curriculum and Differentiated Instruction focuses on the needs of our learners. Each of these ideas can fail the students on its own. The use of these two ideas together reduces that chance and places the value of the learner’s needs on an equal level with the curriculum. It seems that the central idea we should be absorbing is finding an effective way to balance these two concepts.

Kyle Rines
This chapter focused on explaining and showing how a teacher can use both Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design in the classroom, for all different types of students. This made me realize that my teachers from high school had used things like this, and I thought about how they had to plan out every lesson and adapt to every different kind of student. This reminds me of the 'behind the scenes' aspect of teaching; not something the average person or student sees. This impacts my classroom for the same reasons. I realize that I will need to plan out and design lessons for every kind of student.

**Courtney Burns**
The key idea to this chapter is to stress that the profession of teaching is one solely based on the students, their needs as individual learners and learners as a whole. From this initial understanding a quality curriculum considering what and how we teach (understanding by design) and whom we teacher (differentiated instruction) can be formulated. As a teacher I must keep in mind that all students are different. Some may learn concepts quickly and some may need more time. Keeping this in mind I can’t get upset if a lesson plan doesn’t stay directly on course or as planned, nothing can be set in stone. Giving students choices (topics, presentation ideas) will be very important. This will allow my students to develop and learn in ways that will be most useful to them. I must keep in mind; however, that I am there as a facilitator and to give guidance. Leaving students on their own is never a good idea, I can make resource available for those who may want or need them.

Dylan Stefani
I learned that the best way to teach is to use both UBD and DI together in a classroom. UBD is basically there for the students. It goal is to help students better understand particular teachings. DI is there for another reason. DI works individually with the kids making sure they can learn from the teachers planning’s and curriculum. I have learned that to be the best teacher you have to open up your mind for any type of situation. Whether the individual needs to be taught a different way or whether you need to work with them privately, The individuals are the one’s in mind.

**Andy Shorey**
Chapter 1 Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction: In chapter one of Ubd and DI written by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe I learned how Differentiated instruction and Understanding by design can work together. Understanding by Design is mostly a curriculum design while Differentiated Instruction is mostly something that instructs us on how to teach different types of students. In this chapter it gave us examples as to how to do this. It took us through seven different steps all the way from designing curriculum to explaining that these tools are a way of thinking and not a set formula. For me the most interesting part was the scenarios that the book went through. It talked about how we are going to have all kinds of different students and how to design our teaching around that. I think that is going to be a very hard part of teaching and something that is very important to becoming a capable teacher.

Olivia Wandelear
Tomlinson and McTighe state that the two biggest challenges facing teachers today are “crafting powerful curriculum in a standards- dominated era and ensuring academic success for the full spectrum of learners” (2). This means providing quality instruction as well as quality curriculum that tends to each individual student’s learning needs. These two tools together form the powerful relationship between UbD and DI. Axioms, or fundamental principals of UbD lay out the ground rules, while the corollaries show how DI works to support and meet the needs of each student. Axiom 7 stuck out the most prominently to me, because it reminds the teacher that they too are constantly learning and developing new ways to succeed. Each educator must adopt the UbD and DI way of thinking and apply it their classrooms, which are of course, all different. Because the education field continues to grow and evolve, so must the educator and their methods.

Dan
In chapter one it talks a lot about the relationship between integrating differentiated instruction and understanding by design, and how they both work off one another and it is impractical to have one with out the other. I really liked axiom four because I believe that students who do move slower or faster shouldn’t be hindered because of it. The idea of find out what your students know before you start is a great way to find out how to properly shape your curriculum so that you cover all important aspects for at a level where all your students can understand the material properly. ===

Caitlin Alexander===

Chapter 8 of UBD/DI deals with grading and the difference between grading and assessment. Immediately it touched upon something that I have been concerned about for awhile, which is exactly how to grade students. I have always been worried about grading too harshly or grading too leniently, and not appreciating or taking into account the progress that the students have made while I am grading. For that purpose the chapter lists six different principles that are key to effective grading. One thing that I think is very useful is the last principle, which talks about separating grading and acknowledging achievement. The principle suggests grading students fairly and honestly, but also having a separate section of the report that focuses on what achievements and progress the student has made, outside of simple letter grades. Another thing that I found useful was the idea that teachers should have a report system as opposed to a report card. A report card merely shows grades and short comments, but a report system shows not just the grades, but also the achievements, progress, and the work habits of the students, so that parents get a better view of how their student is progressing outside of the simple number game.