UbDDI+B2+Chapter+3


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Abstract
Tomlinson and McTighe empathize with teachers about the amount of information that has to be taught when taking both standards and curriculum into account. They understand that the initial reaction is that all student creativity will have to be stifled, but in chapter three they introduce us to the backwards design model. This model allows us to establish big ideas ( or goals) first and allow students to delve deeper into their material. There are three stages: stage one -establishing goals, stage two - making assessments, stage three - planning the lessons.

[|Synthesis Leah] Since none of us have much field experience it is understandable that we would be concerned about the overwhelming aspect of combining [|curriculum] with standards. Our fear was made clear when reading through all the summaries. How do we avoid the "sin of coverage?" Panic set in as many realized the added work that the [|standards] truly meant. Luckily, the backwards design seemed to assuage most of our dread. Setting the goals first, seemed bizarre to many, but made sense. Assessments appeared to be a very natural second stage lastly followed by the actual lesson planning. I found the simile that one classmate used very interesting; comparing the [|backwards design model] to writing a thesis paper. " I find my thesis to be the goal of my paper and it comes before any other text." toc

Sarah
Chapter Three discussed the ever-present standards for learning and how to structure classroom time to meet those standards. The method primarily explored was one referred to as “Planning Backwards”. This method comprised of first establishing the goal for the students (for example, passing the standard), then determining an effective way to determine if students have understood the material (example, how will they bet tested to demonstrate completion of the standard?) and finally, preparing class time and presentation of the material to ensure the success of steps one and two. This is a very important strategy for all teachers to be familiar with as we will all have to teach curriculum that allows students to meet state and national standards.

Scott
This chapter taught us all about the backwards planning model. The model was created to help teachers solve the problem of having too much content to teach in too little time. States and other administrative units attempted to remedy this problem by identifying standards that students must meet, the result was that teachers taught facts and specific content for students to memorize. Facts and content should be used in exploring and applying larger ideas. A solution to this problem is the backwards planning model, where I should identify desired results, determine adequate assessment, and plan instruction to meet these needs. By using the backwards planning model I should be able to avoid committing the "sin of coverage." The template used in applying the backwards planning model make unit designing look easy. It is important that we only differentiate instruction and that we do not change the needed criteria for students.

Ryan Snowman
Chapter three discusses the “overload” problem that content standards and textbooks create. Too often, teachers educate in a way just to meet the standards, while students are left without any real knowledge. To put it plainly, they do not learn the material when taught in this fashion. Enter the backwards planning design. By planning backwards, teachers identify the understandings and essential questions first. That is Stage 1. In Stage 2, teachers determine assessment. In other words, teachers determine what evidence is acceptable, so that they know that the students have achieved the desired learning results that were identified in Stage 1. In Stage 3, they plan the lessons and activities that will help students reach their goal. The backwards planning design seems to me like an effective way to plan a unit. This will be important for all teachers because it gets away from the “overload” problem, and actually makes sure that students are thinking conceptually.

Leah
The overwhelming pressure of being able to make lessons fit state standards and still cover all the material in a curriculum is daunting. This chapter elaborated more on the backward design model, telling us to first set goals, then make assessments and acceptable evidence for those goals, and lastly make lessons an activities for our students. Planning units with the end goals in mind from the beginning is very comforting because it will be hard to be led astray. Using this model will make incorporating Maine Learning Results, or any other standards, easier and still allow for an in depth teaching of a subject, and will positively impact a classroom.

Corinne
What struck me in this chapter is how unrealistic the curriculum standard is, and admits that a teacher does not have enough time to cover everything that is required. How then with al of these requirements in place does a teacher decide what to teach? Historians debate among one another what events are or are not important. Like a historian, isn't it then a matter of the teacher's opinion what events are important enough to teach if there is not adequate time to teach everything. What also struck me about the fact included in this chapter is that, if teacher's are pressed for time already, what time is left for creativity or to make sure that students understand. The chapter's solution was to focus on the big ideas and generate essential questions. I like this method of teaching mainly because many broad ideas or themes relate to different events in history, so that by understanding the big idea in one unit, the student receives the tools necessary to relate and understand other areas of history.

Ryan
Something I realized in chapter three was that how much is crammed into a year of school and how much is not covered because of the amount of information that must be learned. It was very interesting to see the steps of the backward design. This information will impact me as a student to learn as much as I can about the backward design model and learn how to plan my time well so that the most of the content can be covered in a year. This is information is important I believe to learn now as a student before becoming a teacher. This information will impact me as a teacher to come up with interesting lesson plans that capture all the main points and standards. Also to spend the right amount of time on each topic.

Mykayla
I would have never guessed that working backwards was the best way to organize a unit plan. I am a logical thinker in that way because I always assumed that to plan something one should go chronologically and not backwards. After reading the chapter it seems that the backwards design makes more sense. I will know exactly what I am striving for so my students will also know what they are working towards. The template that the book provides seems really easy to follow so practicing this design will be simple to accomplish. I was surprised to read that the design allows for differentiated instruction to be planned along with the unit. It makes it more effortless to plan everything at the same time and not have to worry about the differentiated instruction later. It can all be done at once.

Jennie
I think that the way the Backward Design covers big ideas is a really good way to go about planning a class. In an English class, if we have main ideas that we have to cover, we can fit books, plays, and poems into those ideas. There are certain classes that I can see this being difficult but doable. In an English class, the things that need to be covered could be literary themes that range from plot and theme to metaphor and simile. This also makes it easier to figure out how to use the different multiple intelligences and different learning styles in so that every one can understand that is being discussed in class.

Brittany
Teachers are responsible for choosing the material that they present to their students. Creating lesson plans by planning backward is becoming a very popular method for teachers to use to ensure that all the important material is covered. The main goal of teaching is for the students to actually learn the material and not just be introduced to it. Teachers need to focus on how and what they are teaching their students to make sure that the subject matter is comprehended. Through reading chapter three of //Integrating: Differentiated Instruction + Understanding by Design//, I learned that it is not about the amount of material that is covered in class, but it is more important that the students are actually learning. When creating a lesson plan, it is important to plan activities to accompany the lectures and readings. By incorporating activities and hands-on learning experiences, students begin to get a more realistic comprehension of the topic. I intend on using backwards planning and hands-on activities to instruct my future class so that my students will have a better grasp on the subject.

Drew
This chapter really enforces the backwards design model and other issues that we have discussed previously in class. The beginning targets some specific issues concerning the implementation of standards and the content complex of what to teach in a short period of time. I didn’t know that textbooks were being written with standards in mind. I always thought that teachers just used the books, reviewed them, and found areas of the text which would better enable us to meet standards. The backward design model seems very logical and I would like to explore it further in my professional career. To come up with the end result first is a brilliant plan! You know first what you want to achieve, then you draft out how you want to achieve it. It reminds me of how I would go about writing a thesis paper. I find my thesis to be the goal of my paper and it comes before any other text. Following this, I would write the body which leads full circle back to my thesis having reached certain goals (statements of supporting facts) along the way. I feel like I’ve been using my own form of the backwards design for some time now. I was just too naïve to notice.

Tim
I began the reading of this chapter and was immediately hit with the fact that most teachers are facing way to much content to teach in their allotted time given. In an effort to subside this potential disaster, many areas have created sets of learning standards. While some people believe they are helping, the learning standards are actually making it so more time is needed for a teacher to relate all his/her content to students. The authors instead have proposed a three stage backward design process for curriculums. The authors have discovered that by using the backward design model, they have seen results such as more clearly defined goals and have encountered more “purposeful teaching”. This chapter will impact my classroom because it straight up told me that content standards are in fact adding to the “content overload” problem. Too many teachers are using their course book as a syllabus, not only does this create a dull class but the book will also be covering unnecessary content that will only extend time spent on unimportant lessons.

Kirsten
This chapter was EXTREMELY helpful to me as I've started thinking about my unit and what I plan to focus on. The backwards planning method really came to light to me as well. The idea that we have to establish clear goals for our class first makes total sense. In fact, I wasn't quite sure how someone would even start to plan a unit or lesson without some goals laid out first. Also, the examples about the standards and how they can either be narrowed or broadened to fit a unit and still fill the guidelines set up by whomever were very useful. I also thought the emphasis on what should and should not be differentiated was helpful. Like, the established goals for a unit should NOT be differentiated, but assessments and learning plans can or should be. This makes total sense, because you cannot change the guidelines by which you come up with the established goals for one child, but you can change how he or she acquires that knowledge.

Jordan
The chapter, “What Really Matters in Learning” had a strong focus on content, more specifically, how content overload has become a huge obstacle for our teachers. It was stated that standards have come to overwhelm our system, and if students were allotted just thirty minutes of instructional time for each standard that is to be met, Tomlinson and McTighe predict that students would be in school for nine years above and beyond the twelve we are already in school! Instead, they suggest that teachers should focus on the “larger, transferable concepts” (Tomlinson and McTighe 25) and use the backwards design process in order to do so. I have learned that this process involves three steps: figuring out what the results are, how to assess these results appropriately, and then plan the lesson. The backwards design process is something that I found very little use of in the classroom. In my physics class, we were so rushed to get through twenty chapters of material that it seems like we never stopped taking tests. The greater learning outcome in this case, was not achieved, for nothing that was covered in the class had any true substance. From this experience, I feel that have a greater urgency to use the backwards design process to avoid giving my students a meaningless lesson. I believe that the backwards design process offers a good template to organize a lesson with intentions of a greater learning outcome, my overall intention as a teacher.



Cara
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.

Rachel
Contend demands are a major aspect of teaching, which relates to the Understanding by Design model. A teacher needs to be able to meet the educational standards of what he/she needs to cover in class. The problem is that during this process it can be easy to include too much or too little information. I, as a teacher, need to ask myself what is most important for my students to learn and what information is unnecessary. Another part of being effective is to be goal orientated and to plan with the end in mind. This is key for curriculum planning. I need to ask myself what my students are required to be taught but always what they need to know, and this is the main idea of combining Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction.