Chapter 6: Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design

Abstract:
Teachers must eventually begin teaching the unit they have been designing. This chapter will help teachers deal with different strategies to help guide them as they try to implement Understanding by Design into their own classroom. Some of the strategies mentioned in this chapter are: students need to make connections in the classroom on their own, students need opportunities to learn the basics and opportunities to apply them in meaningful ways, post and review the essential questions that will be gone over in the unit, and sharing the standards and desired outcome with the students. We must understand that differentiated teaching is both structured and improvisational. We must develop lesson plans and manage our time in the classroom as best as possible yet understand that one can only be prepared for so much. Flexibility can be used in many different ways throughout a classroom such as: time, space, resources, student groupings, and partnerships. One of the ways to help with flexibility is by clustering. Instead of creating an individualized lesson plan for each student that is in the classroom the teacher can instead cluster students’ needs together in order to make things more manageable. Responsive teachers become great at recognizing student patterns that require adjustment in instruction to meet specific goals. It is also important to try and relate the understandings in a way that will keep the students interested and wanting to learn more. This will also help with the students being able to bring their knowledge into the real world. In this chapter we also go over the RAFT model which will help touch upon different categories for a learner. Management routines are also very important in the classroom. As a teacher you are usually the sole supervisor against overwhelming odds. As long as the teacher asks themselves questions about how they are effectively managing the classroom then the teacher will always be prepared and in control of the classroom. Developing instructional plans using these techniques supports maximum growth for all learners. We also learn of the substitution method that can be applied in times where one has the time to implement it. Instead of adding to an already poor lesson plan, one should instead substitute the poor lesson plan with a much better one. The rest of the chapter is devoted almost entirely to table and figures that help address the bullet points of the chapter, from selecting supporting strategies to asking important management questions to yourself.

Summary
To most of the class this chapter really helped them quiet some of the doubts that they may have had at this point in their careers. Be it for helping them plan a curriculum or lesson plan, or to kelp keep things in order with the students and themselves. While not much was mentioned from the four pages of graphs and charts in the abstract section, nearly everyone in the summary made a reference to them and their impact. Some students felt a certain statement hit them stronger than most from the chapter. “differentiated classrooms are developed to ensure all students have access to high-quality and meaning-focused curriculum”. Many of us thought that it was weird that many of the question that we have been asking ourselves were sitting there waiting for us in the text. Even though the text stated that their were no right answers to these questions in was calming to know that we were not the only ones who had ever felt this way or wanted to ask these questions. Many of the questions listed were helpful for us because we never would have been able to think of them ourselves. Three of us found the analogy of learning being like sports where you learn/drill something even though you cannot see why or how it will be used later on. Yet, once the time comes and you are fully prepared for the challenge you immediately understand why the teacher/coach made you do them in the first place.