UBDDI Chapter 7

This chapter really emphasizes that it is bad to simply cover material when teaching a unit. This is why a teacher must think of essential questions when they plan out a lesson. I think this is a good organizational strategy for building a course. When you are required to think of specific questions that you would like students to answer, the course will be more organized since the main ideas are right in front of you. I think the devil's advocate follow-up strategy will be one that I use often because I have a challenging personality. I like to hear the reasoning behind the answers a person gives me. The chapter gave a little more background on the facets, which helped me to remember them all a little more clearly.

UBDDI Chapter 6

Flexibility seemed like the "big idea" of this chapter. I might have done a little better in some of my science and math classes if I had known what the teacher really wanted me to get out of each of their units. Honestly, practicum might be the only class that I have ever seen the course objective or main ideas included in the syllabus. In the chapter, it is mentioned that a teacher must plan and improvise in a differentiated classroom. This makes sense to me. It is always good to have a plan in mind, but plans sometimes must be tweaked slightly in certain situations. The little diagrams in the section about teacher flexibility may be some of the things I turn back to once I am in the classroom.

MI Chapter 5

MI theory makes it necessary for a teacher to use many different teaching techniques and strategies in the classroom. I liked that philosophers like Plato and Rousseau were mentioned because it shows that even back during their time they understood that everyone learns differently. The figure that showed the different activities, strategies, and activities a teacher can use for each intelligence caught my attention because it has some good information in it. The chapter explains how to create a MI lesson plan and goes into detail with each of the eight intelligences.

MI Chapter 6

Chapter six explains different strategies for grabbing the class's attention, transitioning, explaining class rules, forming groups, and managing behaviors. I think the chapter makes it pretty clear that a teacher should not use only one strategy and that one strategy will not work for the entire classroom. A lot of the strategies and situations described seemed like they would work for elementary or middle school only, but there are ways to tweak the idea a little bit for a high school classroom. The chapter also says that sometimes the strategy used should be one from an intelligence that is not as strongly developed in the student. For example, a student who is more intrapersonal should be introduced to some interpersonal activities. This is one of the chapters I will probably return to as I start teaching because it has a lot of great suggestions.

MI Chapter 7

As a teacher, it is our responsibility to make the classroom comfortable for our of our learners. A typical classroom may not work for all of our students. I can remember in high school hating the classrooms that did not have windows (maybe because I have a strong naturalistic intelligence?). I understand that I will not be able to simply ask the school to make the classroom have windows, but there could be other alternatives to this that I might be able to come up with. Things like the paint color and desk setup also add to the atmosphere of the classroom.

MI Chapter 13

I liked this chapter! It showed me that the MI theory is not designated to the classroom. I’m not a big fan of computers, so it helped me out to see how the MI theory could be applied to a computer. If I had had this shown to me sooner in life, maybe I would not dislike computer in the way that I do. I am NOT a logical mathematical person, so I always assumed that I would be horrible with the computer and did not try to learn how to use it. I will try to see how the multiple intelligences effect my life outside of the classroom. This makes sense, since as learners we are to be constantly learning everywhere.

FIAE Chapter 6

The author lets the reader know that it is effective to include both traditional and non-traditional questions in tests. A lot of my high school teachers actually did this. The tests I’d take would include multiple choice, true or false, short response, and essay questions. Sometimes all of these were in one test. The reason I liked multiple choice was because even if I did not know the material, I could still eliminate answers and pass the test with flying colors. This is not a good thing because there’s no way that I would retain that knowledge, because I simply guessed! Essay and short answer reponses are a good way to know what a student knows and what they do not know because the answer is not right in front of them. The little suggestions, like actually having Ts and Fs on true/false sections of a test, were helpful for me to read. I like the idea of including two special questions for students. My physics teacher would ask us on a test, “What did you study that was not on the test? Create your own question and then answer it.” This was great for me because I would study so hard using the study sheet the teacher gave us and a lot of what I had studied was not on the exam. This way, students won’t feel like they ‘wasted’ their study time.

Chapter 6 FIAE

Abstract

Chapter six of Fair is Not Always Equal focuses on how to create a text that actually tests students’ understanding of the material. A test should not be ambiguous or fool the test taker, so the prompts should be very clearly stated. Wormeli also writes that tests should not be timed because by giving a student a time limit they will be put under pressure. Traditional and nontraditional methods should be used as well in order to create a balanced test for the student. Wormeli also suggests to find ways to cut down on errors, such as actually writing out the words "true" and "false" so there is no way to misread the students' answers. Another suggestion Wormeli gives is to have the missing word for "fill in the blank" sections be the last word of the sentence. This makes it easier for the student to understand what the question is asking. In summary, chapter six of the book emphasizes the importance of creating a test that assesses the students' understanding by creating tests that are straight forward, varied, and do not simply ask the student to recall memorized information.

Synthesis Cara

Most of us have taken a test that included a "trick" question or had a time limit. When we are in the classroom, we must remember how we felt when taking tests and remember why we are giving the test. A test should not consist of only one style of questioning. Multiple choice questions are okay to use if they are worded correctly and do not make up the majority of the test. A lot of students prefer multiple choice questions only because they can pass without understanding the information. True and False questions can also be used because these can test a students understanding of a lot of material in a short period of time. However, short response answers should also be included because they allow the student to show how strong their understanding is of a subject while multiple choice or true and false questions give students a chance to simply guess.

MI Chapter 10

I know that I have always hated standarized tests because I was a poor test taker in high school. Even if I understand concepts and ideas, I did poorly on tests. Having student portfolios is a suggestion in this chapter as it was in Wormeli's book that we are reading. The author introduces "The Five C's of Portfolio Development", which will help me as a teacher when I do decide to use portfolios in my students learning and my teaching. The chart of what to put in a MI portfolio helped me to get ideas for lessons. The "Celebration of Learning" stood out to me in this chapter because, again, it gives the students a choice in their learning. I would have loved to have had more of that while I was in high school!

FIAE Chapter 6

The author lets the reader know that it is effective to include both traditional and non-traditional questions in tests. A lot of my high school teachers actually did this. The tests I’d take would include multiple choice, true or false, short response, and essay questions. Sometimes all of these were in one test. The reason I liked multiple choice was because even if I did not know the material, I could still eliminate answers and pass the test with flying colors. This is not a good thing because there’s no way that I would retain that knowledge, because I simply guessed! Essay and short answer reponses are a good way to know what a student knows and what they do not know because the answer is not right in front of them. The little suggestions, like actually having Ts and Fs on true/false sections of a test, were helpful for me to read. I like the idea of including two special questions for students. My physics teacher would ask us on a test, “What did you study that was not on the test? Create your own question and then answer it.” This was great for me because I would study so hard using the study sheet the teacher gave us and a lot of what I had studied was not on the exam. This way, students won’t feel like they ‘wasted’ their study time.

FIAE Chapter 5

Before reading this chapter, I had never heard the term “tiering”. This is a chapter that I will continue to go back to because I’m still a little unsure of how to effectively make adjustments to a course or assignment. Some students might just need a time extension rather than an adjustment to the complexity of a lesson or unit. The list of things to take away in order to decrease the complexity of a lesson was really helpful for me to read and help me to understand the concept of tiering a little better. I’m sure once I go into the teaching field that I will tier lessons without even realizing it. My favorite part of this chapter was the section describing how to create a learning menu. The learning menu seems like such a cute and fun idea. It also seems very effective because students have a choice in the work they do. I’d like to use something similar to a learning menu in my classes.

FIAE Chapter 4

Chap FIAE
The three types of assessments mentioned are portfolio, rubric, and student assessment. A portfolio seems like an assessment of learning because it is a large amount of students work. If a teacher chooses to do a specific project as their assessment of the students’ learning then maybe they can use the portfolio idea as well and use both when “wrapping up” a unit. I’ve seen many rubrics while I was in high school and back then I didn’t care for them; I just never liked the one through four system because I had always been used to a percentage grade. Rubrics are effective to use, though, because they students are4 able to see exactly what the teacher expects. I think the suggestion of having the students design their own rubric is a good idea because they will feel like they have more of a say in what they learn and consequently may be more interested in the unit. When I was in high school, the only classes that we were required to give self-assessments were my English classes. Self-assessments are great because it allows students to realize what they really do know and what they are still a little unsure of in a lesson. I think as a teacher I will definitely use all three of these types of assessments because they are all effective.

FIAE Chapter 3

A teacher should base their instruction on the students in the classroom. I think it is a really good idea to give a pre-assessment before each unit because it will let a teacher know what all of the students understand. Formative assessments seem like they would be good as well. Honestly, I liked getting "pop quizzes" in classes that were not graded; the teacher just wanted to know where our understanding was with the material. Telling the students what you would like them to learn before beginning a unit is a good idea because then both the teacher and the students are on the same page. Also, a student is more likely to know whether they are struggling if they understand WHAT they are supposed to get out on the unit.

FIAE Chapter 2

It is sometimes difficult to know when a student has truly "master" the material from a lesson. At one point in the chapter, mastery is described as being able to apply the concept spontaneously. If the students can demonstrate each of the six facets (explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge), then they truly do understand the concepts. I really liked that the book gave a real classroom example of the types of assessment questions a teacher may want to ask in order to see whether or not the student understands the concepts. I think this chapter goes well with Chapter 5 of the UDDI book because it is emphasizing the importance of using different approaches to assessing students.

UBDDI Chapter 5

One style of testing is not a good example of what a student knows or understands. I am terrible at taking tests, even when I understand the material. The “photo album” concept is introduced in the chapter and we as teachers are encouraged to use this when assessing students’ work. In high school, I did well on projects and homework, however. The word understand can have so many different meanings, too, that it is difficult to find one way to measure understanding. Again, the author emphasized the idea of making concepts relate to the real world and the students’ lives.

FIAE Chapter 1

The first chapter of this book said what the UDDI in simpler and more real-life terms; teachers need to differentiate in the classroom in order for all of the students to get an equal education. The examples used to show what differentiated teaching looked like made the idea seem less scary and more do-able. I've had more teachers teach in this way than not. One teaching style does not work for every student, so a teacher should try different approaches in order to teach effectively to EVERY student. Even answering a question in a different way may help some students to understand concepts and perform well in the class.

MI Chapter 4

Teachers should introduce students to multiple intelligence theory in the classroom. A student who knows and understands what MI is will be more likely to recognize which of their intelligences is more developed and how they can help themselves to learn material. Also, it will be easier for a student to make suggestions to a teacher about how to teach a lesson in a way in which they will take in the material a little more easily. The “human intelligence hunt” seems like a really fun and cute idea for a freshman class, since the students may not all know one another.

MI Chapter 3

I feel like I have read this chapter already, because it was basically giving suggestions for assessing the multiple intelligences of the students. I like the idea of looking at school records, but I’m a little nervous that students may find that a little too intrusive. Personally, I think that the best way of finding out this information would be to pay attention to the students, talk to the students, and hold activities which will show a little bit more about the individual students. Talking to the parents, again, may upset a student. The inventory pages were great! Overall, I feel that this chapter was a little repetitive, but it still had some useful advice.

UBDDI Chapter 4

A teacher is responsible for the learning of many different students. Because of this, a teacher must get to know a student in order to find different approaches to teaching a lesson to ensure that each student is getting an equal education and is learning. I liked that the authors suggested that a teacher show a student what good work looks like and how to get there. I can remember being in high school and not knowing what the teacher expected our end results of a project to be. If the teacher had been clear about what good work looks like, I feel that I would have done better. Being clear, holding oneself responsible for each student’s learning, and knowing how the class should look are all important when teaching.

UBDDI Chapter 3

Course planning is broken down into small and understandable steps in chapter three. The suggestion of planning backward is very helpful for a beginning teacher. Planning a curriculum can be overwhelming because what exactly do you want to include out of what seems like an endless bucket of material? I found that thinking of the understandings and essential question first took away a lot of the frustration of planning out a course. This may be a chapter that I will continue to visit as I go out into the field.

UBDDI Chapter 2

Teachers must use different strategies to help them get to know their students. In the chapter, the importance of getting to know students was highlighted because knowing a student will help a teacher to discover how that student learns. I really liked the suggestion of having students answer a couple of questions about the class material at the end of the class. Knowing what the students understand, what they do not understand, and how they answer the question could be the first step into the right direction for that group of students. The book emphasized the importance of thinking of the students needs first. It is important to have a plan, but plans can change in response to the needs of students.

UBDDI Chapter 1

As the time drew nearer and nearer for me to begin practicum, I began to wonder how a teacher can teach the same material to a class of 20 students. The first chapter of this book introduced me to Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction and I already know that this book will follow me to my first classroom. The opening sentence of the last paragraph of chapter one really caught me; “Professionals in any field are distinguished by two characterizes: (1) They act on the most current knowledge that defines the field, and (2) they are client centered and adapt to meet the needs of individuals.“ (Tomlinson and McTighe 11) A teacher must know their subject and design a curriculum which is flexible to the needs of the students in the classroom.

MI Chapter 2

Chapter two explains that it is important for a teacher to understand their own intelligences. I plan on filling out the inventory in the book, although I think that I know which of my intelligences are more developed than the other. I’ve gotten ideas from this chapter to help me find ways to keep all eight intelligences in the classroom, even though certain ones may be more undeveloped for myself. Crystallizing and paralyzing events were explained, and I myself have had a paralyzing event in which a creative writing teacher negatively critiqued a story of mine. Up until a couple of years ago, I had stopped writing fiction all together. As I continue to work towards becoming a teacher, I hope to more fully develop each of my eight intelligences so that I can help a wider range of individuals and learning styles.

MI Chapter 1

When becoming a teacher, one should at least be a little familiar with the theory of Multiple Intelligences. A teacher should keep in mind that everyone has different learning styles and that not all students will be strong in the same intelligences. A curriculum should touch upon each of the eight intelligences in order for the students’ education to be truly equal. There are people whom are very strong in one intelligence, but weak in the others and vice versa. Each individual is different, so teaching grammar in a linguistic only approach will not help the student who has a strong spatial intelligence. When I begin building lessons plans, I am going to do my best to ensure that I include the eight intelligences in my teaching.