Chapter 8 UbD/DI: Grading and Reporting Achievement

The Eighth chapter in UbD/DI talks about the difficult task of grading and reporting in a differentiated classroom. The chapter discusses 6 key principles to grading that everyone in the class picked up on. The first one was that grading and reports should be based on learning goals and performance standards. This is so students can see exactly what they're being graded on for each assignment and create better products. Principle two is that our evidence for grading should be valid. This would mean we are not taking other factors into account that could skew a student's grade. Principle three states that grades should based on established criteria. This goes along with the first principle in that in helps students realize what exactly they are being graded over. The fourth principle discourages teachers from grading on averages and especially on bell curves. The book suggests that the J curve is a much more appropriate system to use. Principle five says to focus on achievement and report other factors separately. This is referring to some teachers who include things like participation and such in their grades. These things may have nothing to do with how well a student demonstrates their mastery of a subject yet the are still graded and can have an impact on a students final grade if included. The last principle that is discussed about grading is to focus on the achievements students are making and don't get caught up in the grading process. Ultimately we as teachers will be able to determine what grade a child deserves based on what we have viewed them accomplish with our time with them. The chapter ends by discussing how students grades can effect their motivation to learn and how they view themselves so it's important for our grades to not simply be a letter or a number but we need to give them some positive feedback an make sure they continue to have a desire to learn.

I think that overall the class liked this chapter. For a topic as tedious as grading the authors did a pretty good job making it into something worth reading. Almost everyone in the class commented on something different that stood out to them in the chapter which I thought was interesting; we all saw something which was important to each of us and there was very little overlap. Some people talked about how it made them think back to their own days in high school and reflect on how they were graded. Almost everyone like how the different parts were broken down into the principles and each was explained as to why they were important. I think that after reading this chapter everyone had a really different outlook on grades then prior to reading it, and whether or not they take it wholly to heart I believe most of the class will take at least some of the principles and apply them in their classroom.

Chapter 8: Multiple Intellgences in the Classroom

Chapter eight talks about classroom management, and how multiple intelligences influence the elements of management. The chapter provides specific methods of how to grab the attention of someone with each of the eight intelligences. The chapter also suggests that rules and regulations of the classroom would be more likely to be followed if the students have at least some input as to how the classroom is run, and what rules apply. The chapter also describes effective transition, discipline, and other communication methods.

Overall, the majority of the class enjoyed this chapter. The general consensus is that as teachers we must be fully prepared to appeal to all learning styles, and what better to apply the multiple intelligence theory to than management? It seems like classroom management is at the top of everyone’s concerns, and having a way to reach all students and learners is like having an ace in our corner.

Chapter 12: MI and Cognitive Skills

Chapter twelve in Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom titled "MI Theory and Cognitive Skills" discussed how the cognitive development of students and their own personal learning styles affect their ability to think and remember different materials that are presented during the class. Many comments were made about how much of the material being learned and then not retained. Students are presented the materials in a way that are not specific to their own personal learning style which affects how it is stored in their long term memory. It is almost as though current teaching styles are encouraging rote learning. Another cognitive skill that was discussed was problem solving and how students from the United States are one of the lowest ranked in the world in their ability to solve problems. A students ability to process and solve problems is also related to their particular learning style. Gardner’s idea of “Christopherian encounters” was also discussed. The chapter concluded by discussing Bloom’s taxonomy and the multiple intelligence theory and how they are interrelated.

Overall, the general consensus on this chapter was incredibly interesting because cognitive development, the ability of students to recall details, and think in depth is becoming more and more of an issue. Many of us have emphasized the desire, as future teachers, to teach our lessons and materials in various learning styles so that long term memory will be increased and more learning will take place in the classroom. The section on problem solving was also great to read because it reinforced the importance of multiple intelligences on our students learning abilities.

Multiple Intelligence in the Classroom Chapter 11

The big idea that is presented in the chapter, and voiced through my peers reflections, is that multiple intelligence is a great way for students who have a learning disability to comprehend the material. When material is presented in a manner that is understood by any student, whether they have a learning disability or not, they tend to not only comprehend the material, but they begin to apply their knowledge. Therefor, it is extremely important for teachers to try and teach to all the intelligences. For instance, if a student has dyslexia they have a hard time reading for the most part, and if most of the lessons being taught have to do with reading information to learn this student may become completely lost. If teachers teach to all the intelligences then the student with dyslexia should be able to learn the material through oral or visual presentations. This is why teachers need to create lessons that incorporate as many of the multiple intelligences as possible so that they can reach out to the different kinds of learners in their class.
This chapter seemed to be rather useful; generally everyone hit upon the same notion that it is important for teachers to recognize that all students are different in there learning needs, therefore teachers must take the time to develop ways to incorporate all of intelligences when delivering a lesson. One way to help teachers deliver a lesson to students who have a disability is to develop a IEP. Individualized educational programs are designed to help students, teacher, parents, and administrators figure out the best possible way to help this child learn the material. The most important part in an IEP is understanding how the student learns and accommodating, through multiple intelligence, the students learning needs.

Chapter 1 The Differentiated Instruction Mind-set: Rationale and Definition

Chapter one, Fair Isn’t Always Equal, reveals that teachers have been using differentiated instruction for hundreds of years, but it wasn’t until recently that society decided to name it, and define what it actually means. The book defines differentiated instruction as “doing what’s fair for students,” and applying this concept to help them acquire the information they need to continue learning the material at the same pace. There are some teachers and parents that are concerned with this form of teaching because they believe students will come to rely differentiated instruction, and in turn they will not be able to learn without receiving this method of teaching. The example given in the chapter explained that there were two students of equal learning, but one student had glasses and the other one did not. If the student, who wore glasses, was asked to remove his glasses both students would be in an equal state of learning; however, the student who needed his glasses, to be able to read his assignment, was now at a disadvantage. Differentiate instruction is similar to providing a child with glasses. The student might be able to understand the material without his or her glasses, but it will take them so much longer to accomplish this task, not because he or she didn’t understand but, because the material was unclear. Scott Willis and Larry Mann website provides examples of how to incorporate differentiated instruction in the class without creating overbearing amounts of stress for the teachers who are trying to use this method to teach.
The class seemed to really enjoy this chapter, and found it rather useful in better understanding how to use differentiated instruction in the classroom. Most students enjoyed the reference made towards how teachers have been using differentiated instruction for decades, and the examples of how most students probably have experienced this kind of teaching method and were completely unaware. They also commented on enjoying the part in the chapter that gives examples as to how teachers differentiate instruction to children, therefore, I found a website that has tons of examples that will help us in the further understanding how to use differentiate instructions in our lesson plans.

Integrating UbD/DI Chapter 5

Chapter 5 of UbD/DI talks about effectively assessing a students work and how does a teacher test for true understanding. It begins by giving three basic principles which are; consider photo albums versus snapshots, match the measure with the goals, and form follows function. Viewing a students progress over time is analogous to viewing a photo album rather then a single snapshot of a person, you get a better idea of who they are with the album. There are three types of educational goals that are distinguished when it talks about matching the measure with the goals and they are; declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, and dispositions. The book discusses the challenge we have as teachers to assess for understanding, since understanding can be used in many diverse ways. One way this chapter suggests to frame assessments is through the GRASPSs model which stands for goal, role, audience, situation, products, and standards. The three types of assessment strategies which should be used to assess students include diagnostic or pre-assessments, formative assessments, and summative assessments. Providing feedback for students early and often was key to promoting their understanding of the material as well as providing them opportunities to self-assess and reflect.

I think the class, as a whole, liked this chapter because it gave so many different examples of ways to assess students instead of through standardized testing. One of the things many people commented on was the GRASPSs model because they liked how it let students apply it to a real world situation. Everyone also agreed with having the photo album view of a person's work rather then a snapshot because we felt that you couldn't get an accurate measure of someone from one example of their work.

Chapter Two Synthesis-Fair Isn't Always Equal

Abstract:
Chapter two in Fair Isn’t Always Equal discussed how to achieve mastery with differentiated instruction when there is too much material to cover in a short period of time. One step to becoming a master in the desired subject is by using the six facets of understanding: explanation, interpretation, perspective, self-knowledge, application, and empathy. These six facets help focus a students thinking which helps them better understand the material presented to them. As teachers, we also need to determine what constitutes as acceptable evidence to demonstrate that the student has achieved mastery. There are many different methods such as projects, tests, and quizzes, but one of the most effective strategies to ensure that the students have become proficient in the subject would be to give them a written exam. When a student has to write, they cannot conceal areas that may be weak. Many teachers also like to track a few important creations over the course of a unit to monitor their success and keep track of mastery. Chapter two ends by giving out some resources to help teachers create an effective curriculum.

Reflection:
Overall, chapter two seemed to cause a lot of students to reflect on their own personal lives. Many of recalled classes through grade school and high school where they could get away with just the memorization of facts. Many remembered that this method of learning often led to high scores on exams that week, but also to forgetting the material the day after. They also reflected upon the idea of mastery of a subject and how to determine what the most important ideas that the curriculum should focus around were. Chapter two also spent some time clarifying what the six facets of understandings are and how to utilize the facets in your classroom to determine the mastery of a subject. I, like many of my classmates, was glad that this was reviewed because it reinforced what I had previously learned.

Fair Isn't Always Equal, Chapter Three

Chapter three of Fair Isn’t Always Equal focuses on the importance and essentials of successful assessment methods. It describes three different types of assessment. Pre-assessment is valued because it allows the teachers to develop a better understanding of each student’s readiness before starting the unit. The chapter suggests completing all of the summative (or end of unit) assessments, to make sure they reflect the essential knowledge the students should be retaining. From there, formative assessments, which are more frequent and provide feedback for the teacher, can be developed. It is very important that the formative assessments are also authentic assessments; that is, the ability to apply the information to real-world situations. It’s also very important that the assessment matches the format in which the information was originally taught- it’s silly to give a math student a word problem if all they have been solving from are complex numerical equations.

The general consensus for the class was that they liked this chapter in that it was useful to either solidify the importance of the assessment area of teaching, or because it differed from their own classroom experiences in school. The assessment types were described in great detail, and played off each other and linked to each other nicely. Some had never been exposed to either summative or formative assessments, and explained that it would be more beneficial to have a healthy balance of the two in order to assess correctly and efficiently.