UbD: Chapter 1 Analysis and Synthesis

Chapter one in UbD and DI provided information on exactly what Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction is and gave examples of them being used in a classroom. Every student in a classroom is going to be different, whether it is their learning style or culture. Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design can be applied to all students based on their learning styles and how much they know on a certain subject or content area. As the chapter states, “quality classrooms evolve around powerful knowledge that works for each student” (3). The knowledge being presented in a classroom not only has to be explained in a way so that every student can understand it but they also have to be given different routes of expressing this knowledge that they are learning.

Every teacher is different so therefore they are going to incorporate UbD and DI in different ways and focus on certain methods more than others. UbD and DI can be applied in a classroom many different ways. One way is to assess the students before a unit begins to see how much they do or do not know about the unit and go from there. Another is to provide choices on how to present knowledge on a certain project or assignment, children can choose to act something out or create a poster depending on what best suits them. The children in a classroom are going to be diverse so everything in the class has to offer options. As a teacher one has to use different methods of teaching to reach out to all students and the students need to have choices in the classroom. A teacher needs to recognize all the students differences and structure the class around these differences. Teachers have to teach in different ways and students have to learn in different ways.

Here are some links to media relating to UbD and DI:
This is a great website that offers podcasts and movies on DI
Here is a movie from YouTube on UbD and DI