UbD Chapter 8: Reflections

This chapter had to do with grading and how it relates to UBD and DI. The key principles are that: 1. Grades should be based on the goals and standards you have established. 2. Evidence should be valid and not be confused with learning disabilities or ELL issues. 3. Grades should not be based on how a student performed compared to the other students in the class. 4. Grades should be based on summative assessment as that reflects what learning has happened. 5. Avoiding grading based on an average which can be deceptive. 6. Grading should be based only on what the student learned, not on extra things like work habits and behavior. These should be reported separately from the grade.

I think the ideas are good for these concepts but putting it into practice is going to be difficult. The inertia of the education establishment makes it hard to make changes. Not only that, colleges and universities need to adjust what they will accept as evidence of achievement before real changes are made. As long as students have to meet certain criteria to get into college, high schools will provide the kind of reporting that colleges want. If they start requiring more valid and accurate assessment, then the High Schools will teach for it.

UbD Chapter 9: Reflections

This chapter brings together in summary form all of the pieces of UbD and DI that have been studied indepth throughout the book. It was enlightening to see it all laid out in a comprehensive manner. We have been studying it in a piecemeal fashion, and I work better when I can see the big picture first so I know where all of the pieces fit. Stage three especially makes the rest of it connect to what actually happens in the classroom, which makes it all make sense. This can be a really powerful tool in planning the actual lessons to be taught in the classroom and making them work together to maximize student understanding and capability.

UbD Chapter 6: Reflections

This chapter sort of brought a lot of things together for me. I was feeling a little like the description in the book of a teacher first faced with the concepts of UbD and DI. I was terrified at the thought of trying to keep all of the needs of my students in my head all of the time; and figuring out how to meet all of those varied needs seemed even harder. This chapter showed me that if I plan for expected patterns of variety in my classroom I will meet the needs of most of my students. By doing this I still have a little room left to make adaptations for those who are still having difficulties. Another thought in the chapter that really struck me was that when you differentiate for one student there is the unintended effect of helping other students I hadn’t considered.

UbD Chapter 5: Reflections

This chapter describes three important principles of good assessment practices. First is: photo albums vs snapshots. This means that to really assess what the student knows you need to look at multiple forms of assessment over time rather than the usual test at the end

Second is: match the measures with the goals. This is talking about crafting your assessments so that they provide the kind of information that addresses your stated goals. The different kinds of knowledge are declarative, procedural, and dispositions. This chapter also introduced the concept of GRASPS.

The third principle is: form follows function. It talks about different times to assess students and the various uses of these assessments. They include Pre-assessment/ Diagnostic at the beginning to assess what they already know, Summative/ Evaluative to assess their final learning, and Formative that assesses progress along the way. Of the three the most important is the formative because it allows you to tailor your teaching to the needs of the students.

This chapter also talked about the importance of offering appropriate choices of assessment and giving useful feedback to the student and the importance of the student using self- assessment and reflection to increase their learning.

I really liked this chapter because it helped me understand how assessment works and how it fits into my goals. Knowing how to properly assess students properly is the difference between a mediocre teacher and a great one.

UbD Chapter 4: Reflections

This chapter describes 9 attitudes and skills in lesson planning that are necessary to reach all students. I found that this chapter was a little repetitive. I felt like it was a review of concepts already covered. In a way it was a synopsis of the concepts covered so far and looking at them in a global manner. I think I would need to read it again to really understand what it is trying to say.

UbD Chapter 3: Reflections

This chapter discusses the backward planning model introduced in class on Tuesday. The reason for this approach is to focus all activities on the most important goals without getting distracted in order to have time for the essentials. The book clarifies where UbD leaves off and Differentiation begins as far as the planning is concerned.