FIAE Chapter 4: Analysis and Synthesis

Chapter 4 went into a basic description of three forms to assess students rubrics, self-assessment, and portfolios. Rubrics are lengthy processes that are created and should be examined by teachers for content, clarity, practicality, and technical quality. These are used as powerful assessment tools. Self-assessments are important in the class to help students better understand as well as give them feedback they may need. The book described many different ways to do self-assessments such as self-checking lists and rubrics, videotaping performances, fill in the blank responses, interactive notebooks, etc. Wormeli discussed portfolios and how they could be as simple as a folder of collected work to as complex as multi-year selected and analyzed work pieced together to represent a student’s life. Portfolios often act as showcases for ones information. This chapter was a good way to determine the best tools to use for assessing students that you felt would fit best in your classroom.

            All of us are going to have different classrooms and have different ideas about how to run our classrooms; however, we also shared many similar views to what we thought about these methods for assessing students. Many of us were fond of rubrics, stating that they were a good simple way to make objectives clear for our students. Clarity is an important aspect when teaching and these rubrics do a good job of incorporating important information in a clear and precise way. Many of us had a tendency to list off the many steps in a rubric and this made some nervous, but like many things we will get better at it with time. Many agreed that portfolios were a good method to assess students’ mastery of a topic or subject. They show students growth while also keeping every aspect of it organized and orderly. Portfolios seemed to be thought as very flexible being either simplistic or complex at any given time depending on what the teacher wants. Portfolios are a good way to have students and teachers both set goals. It was an anonymous decision that self-assessment is a good way to keep students on task because they use goals and the idea of setting goals. Many self-assessments have the ability of getting students to work harder to reach the goals they set out for themselves. Student self-assessments are a great and simple way to see how much your students have learned as well as get feedback on assignments. Overall all three systems seemed beneficial to us and are certainly forms of assessing students we can see ourselves using in our classrooms. 

 

Links for rubrics:

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

How to Self-Assessment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XJ8f9yLteQ

Example of self-assessment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxhRNtJkROA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIflgA-ngVk&feature=related (like this one better)

Page on interactive notebook:

http://www.squidoo.com/interactive-notebook

http://www.slideshare.net/danahuff/interactive-notebooks (Cool incorporates technology.)

Portfolio:

http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/portfolios.htm

Chapter 9: Abstract and Synthesis

In Chapter 9 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal, Wormelli describes ten mistakes that we should avoid making when applying differentiated instruction. The ten tips are avoid incorporating non-academic factors, avoid penalizing students’ attempts at mastery, avoid grading practice, avoid withholding assistance, avoid assessing students with invalid assessments, avoid allowing extra credit and bonus points, avoid group grades, avoid grading on a curve, avoid recording zeroes for missed work, avoid being norm-referenced. These are important pointers to help teachers with figuring out the best grading system for their class. The chapter says that we do not know the perfect day for every student to assess them on. So through our grading system and by using the ideas brought forward in this chapter we can help assess our students on both bad and good days. This will help in giving us the best understanding of student mastery.

Throughout the reading of this chapter many of us seemed to find the same things interesting. Certain aspects brought forward seemed to catch the attention of many such as the idea of homework being practice, so it should only be graded on completion and the effort put into it. As teachers, we should also make sure to give each student feedback on the homework to help them see the areas they did not quite understand and to better remember it for later. However, some seemed to think when dealing with homework it could be tricky to not grade it. This could either go very poorly or be very beneficial to the students, which is why it would be better to grade it in some way like by effort. Some of us seemed to agree that it is important to have students re-do work to get a better mastery of the subject. Yet this should only be partial credit when being re-done instead of full credit. Some believed that both effort and participation were important to helping lead students to mastery and should be added in the grading system. Though they believed they should be added to grading they thought that this grade should be a small percentage of the whole final grade. Many of us agreed that extra credit could be very beneficial to the mastery of a subject. However, it can only be beneficial if it fully relates to the subject matter we are trying to have them master. Many also seemed to think students should be helped when they don’t understand and do something wrong; rather than be penalized for doing it wrong. We as teachers should help our students better understand what they are doing wrong by giving them other tools to help them understand and master the subject such as, graphic organizers, questionnaires, etc. Another issue that seemed kind of controversial was the issue of grading students in groups. Some seemed to think it would be a good method sharing stories of past teachers who did this and it was a success for them. However, others seemed to think it is hard to tell one student’s mastery based on group grading; therefore, they seemed to think it was better to grade an individual on the work they brought to the group. Either way seemed to have evidence to back up the point and both would probably work. Overall this chapter had many issues addressed that we seemed to find important to discuss when thinking about grading students on mastery of the subject area.

http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/cii/resources/teaching_tips/assessment_grading.asp

http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/grading-and-communicating-about-grades

http://www.graphic.org/goindex.html

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 11: Six Burning Grading Issues

In Chapter 11, Wormeli discusses the idea of grading and the issues that grading brings forward. The idea of getting a zero on an assignment is something many students fear. I believe that instead of just failing a student for a missing assignment; it would behoove me to give them an incomplete and talk to them about finishing it. If they refuse to do the work then possibly a zero is in order; however, zeros tend to distort the grading system’s accuracy. This is why I believe I will use the method of incomplete rather than the idea of plugging in zeros. The idea of an addendum is a good method to use when dealing with gifted students because it allows the teacher, the student, and the student’s parents to see where the student is for grade level as well as seeing what they achieved beyond that point. The idea of adding and addendum to their report cards would be a great way to show progress through out the student’s school year. I did not agree with the idea of getting rid of rank and valedictorian. I believe that yes this could have negative effects on students. However, I believe a little competition is beneficial to students because it makes them strive to do their best. In the real world they will have to strive to be the best at work and will be facing the idea of going against others to reach the top. This concept is a part of life, so why should we get rid of it? One of our jobs as teachers is to prepare our students for outside of school and the idea of rank helps do this. I believe if we are trying hard to keep our students from getting their feelings hurt we are not preparing them. In life their will be negative aspects that will bring you down, but it is how you overcome that and rise to the challenge that proves your success, and this is the same for the school atmosphere.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 12: Grading Scales

             In chapter 12, Wormeli discusses a few constructive grading scales. He discusses that the use of rubrics helps a teacher get a general sense of students’ mastery. Rubrics are difficult and I am not sure if I am comfortable with them; however, I believe by practicing them I will become more comfortable and confident in them. They are good tools to use and I plan to bring them into my classroom. I was not familiar with the 4.0 grading scale, so it being addressed in this chapter was very helpful to me. It was good to familiarize myself with it because I am sure I will probably encounter it in the classroom sometime. The 4.0 grading scale helps students know exactly where they went wrong on an assignment. It allows them the opportunity to see what they are doing wrong and fix their problems. With any grading scale it is important to remember that if we want a differentiated class than we need to pay attention to performance over time and the trend it creates.  This chapter addresses the many grading scales and how they will be a positive addition to every classroom. I found this very helpful since most it was unknown to me before. When in school I normally saw teachers using the 100-point scale so this was already somewhat familiar to me. This scale is very useful for ranking and such because it is more precise. I believe many teachers use this method because it is so precise and works very well. I believe this as well as the other methods brought forward in this chapter all have beneficial aspects that should be taken into consideration.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 14: Responsive Report Card Formats

             In this chapter, Wormeli mentions report cards and methods used with these. It is important to keep in mind that when dealing with report cards parents are involved and need to be considered. When coming up with methods that work on report cards it is important to consider ways that parents will best understand why the student got the grade they did. They should include feedback, document progress, and inform instructional decisions. I never really thought of the idea of placing an asterisk next to a grade to indicate that a narrative should be reviewed concerning that specific grade. I really liked this idea and found that it would be a great idea to use. I believe a set of marks to help one remember certain aspects is interesting thought. It is like the key to the report card and this thought seems very intriguing to me. I believe this is something I could possibly use for myself. I feel like in the younger grades we were assessed in many different ways. We were given grades as well as being assessed; however, as we all grew older this came to end. I am not sure how I feel about this I believe it would be nice to see some of this continue into high school as well as the younger grades because I find it advantageous to have and utilize. This would not only help teachers see students progress but also help students and their parents see it as well. This idea of dual grading or the thought of giving grades and assessing students is good to have in the school system in my opinion. Another topic I remember seeing in the younger years but not in high school would be multiple categories. I believe this could be another positive tool to use and should be used in the older grades as well as the younger ones. I believe all the methods brought forward in this chapter would be beneficial to report cards and they should not be overlooked because only the younger grades use them.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 13: Gradebook and Formats for the Differentiated Classroom

          Wormeli discusses setting up a grade book based off different formats and how a teacher should find a grade book format that works for them. As a teacher it will be important for me to decide on a grade book format to use. I believe the questions this chapter presents will help me when I need to decide a grading system that deals with differentiation in the classroom. The idea of grouping assignments based on standard is a great way to grade. This is because it takes the guesswork out of deciding weather or not a student has met the standard. It gives the teacher feedback that is helpful in deciding where the student is in the idea of mastery. Grouping assignments by weight or category helps one be organized and see what area students struggle in the most whether that is at home with work, or on tests, or during class. It helps give you a better understanding of what aspects the student struggles in based off the categories the grades are separated into. The only problem with this method to me is the fact that it would hard to keep all the grades accurate when there are so many exceptions. I really enjoyed the idea of classifying assignments by date because it not only keeps all of it neat and organized, but it also helps the teacher know when assignments are due so when students hand them in late it won’t make this process confusing. When doing this it is important to put them in by the right date and look at the trends you observe. This will help teachers see that maybe one week a student wasn’t doing well and did not hand in work. This will be an alert and the teacher will be given the opportunity to check in with their students and see if maybe there is a simple explanation. It keeps the teachers in touch better with the students as well gives them a chance to see how well a student is mastering something based off what they struggled with during the week. This chapter brings forward some very great grade book ideas. It is important for me as a teacher to try more than one and see which one I like best, as well as switch it all up every now and then.

Fair Isn’t Always Equal Chapter 10: Conditions for Redoing Work for Full Credit

In chapter 10 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal, Wormeli discusses redoing assignments and the secrets behind making this strategy work for you. When having students redo work it is good to be careful not to let them take advantage of the opportunity to redo work. If the teacher always allows the students to redo work then the students will purposely not do well so they can redo it. As a teacher, I must randomly allow my students the opportunity to make up work so that way my students do not learn to rely on it. It is a great idea to make your students redo assignments because many of the students have days that just don’t go right and it is good for them to have a second chance if they have given a legitimate excuse that can be confirmed as true. When redoing something it doesn’t always mean that the student must redo an assignment and pass it back in. When students redo something they can do it orally, just fix the mistakes, just do the page that is wrong, etc. Many students have trouble with time management I know I did in high school. I always caught myself procrastinating or failing at being organized because I lacked time management skills. Wormeli’s calendar of completion idea is perfect for keeping students on task. When the teacher works with the student to plan out what their schedule will look like for the course they are more apt to stay organized and in turn learn more. It is always important for the student to hand in not only their final piece but also hand in a copy of what they re did so a teacher can see the old and see how the student has changed and improved on their work. It is important to at least sometimes give kids chances to redo assignments so they can be encouraged to improve and master the subject.

FIAE Chapter 9: Ten Approaches to Avoid When Differentiating Assessment and Grading

Throughout this chapter, Wormeli discusses the aspects of differentiated instruction and grading as a reminder that kids learn at different paces, so as teachers this would be good to keep in mind. During school, I remember teachers did not seem to think about the fact that students are individuals that all learn information at different paces. As a teacher, I need to remember to keep this in mind, so I can accurately grade my students on what they comprehend in the time it takes each one of them to learn the information. I believe a student is truly understanding and getting the most out of the class when I see improvement in them over the time. This is a long process and it should not be determined by one time period for everyone when they are all individual learners. This is why I believe that it would be more beneficial to not grade basic assignments and instead use them as practice; however, it would be best not to tell students this because they will be less apt to get their homework done if it is not being graded. I believe that students shouldn’t be penalized for not understanding, but if we do not grade something it punishes those students who work very hard at finishing homework for class. As a teacher, I need to keep both thoughts in mind and try to think of the best way to address this topic. Since all students are different, teachers need to be careful when assessing their students. When giving students a chance to raise their grade by giving them extra credit or bonus assignments it is important to give every student this option as well as make sure it relates to helping them with their mastery in the subject. Teachers should instead give students a chance to fix already corrected work to help bring it to the next grade level instead of offering questionable extra credit. This is challenging and will help them look further into the mastery of the class. In this chapter he talks about not giving grades based on groups this is important because though the students are in cooperative learning groups they are individuals and should be graded as such. The cooperative learning aspect is good to help them get feedback and a better understanding, yet it is good to grade them on their individual work brought forward to the group and end result. Overall, this chapter brings forward great ideas about grading also what to do and not to do when grading students.

FIAE Chapter 8: Why Do We Grade and What About Effort Attendance, and Behavior?

In Chapter 8 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal, Wormeli goes into a discussion about grading and the other aspects teachers need to consider when figuring out grades such as effort, attendance, and behavior. When grading students it is important to grade students based on mastery as well as academics; however, it is also important to incorporate grading on effort, attendance, and behavior. Most classrooms today look towards these aspects when grading, which can be motivating to students but then it takes away from the understanding of the basics and total mastery. As teachers, it would behoove us to give feedback to our students when it comes to participation, effort, and behavior. Yet it is important to have your students participating in class to help ensure their mastery. Therefore, it would be beneficial to make participation graded to encourage students to participate; however, it would be best if participation were only about 10% of grades because this way will not take away from academics. It is hard to do this for effort and behavior but if needed this could be added into the participation grade for students to encourage students to also do both of these as well. As a teacher, I have found that it is important to make sure that when grading my students I should keep work and academic grading on a different level and scale in comparison to behavior and participation. It would be beneficial to me to find a way to make sure it is added into the grading system because it is important to students as well as make sure it does not override actual academic grading.

FIAE Chapter 7: The Relative Nature of Grades and Their Definitions

In this chapter, Wormeli discusses grading and the basics of grading. He talks about how students can thrive when teachers bend a little here and there to teach their students in ways in which they can best learn. We as teachers need to figure out the best way for our students to learn and then provide it in our lessons. I personally want to make it easier for my students to master learning.  Wormeli discusses how when incorporating differentiation teachers are increasing the chances of students learning what needs to be understood. Our society prides themselves on good grades; however, it is not the grades that are making students gain mastery it is what they are being taught. Teachers need to make sure they are teaching their students what they need to help them master a subject. Teachers need to remember not to be biased when grading students. We, as teachers, should not grade students different because of socioeconomic status, abilities, and whom we like and dislike. We need to have a reason behind the grade we give students and need to explain this grade to fellow colleagues, so others know that we are not being biased. We need to explain our grading system to students when they start in our class by explaining our expectations of what counts as what type of a grade. We want to encourage our students not discourage them and by grading them fairly we will be encouraging them. Your grades should not discourage students from growing because that will keep them from mastering the subject so it is best to know that grades are important but don’t make it so that the students feel horrible about the grades they receive. Grading can be tricky this chapter helps one know the basics so they can make it through the difficult parts.

MI chapter 12: MI Theory and Cognitive Skills

            In this chapter, Armstrong suggests that educators want to help their students develop thinking strategies. He then goes on to describe how MI theory can help in this area because it provides the students with the ability to make sense of their cognitive skills. The problem of memory comes up because many educators struggle with the problem of having their students not remembering information. MI theory can help these discouraged teachers because it allows students to relate things learned to a specific area of each of the intelligences, which makes it easy for the students to relate to and remember. As an educator in order to make this work in my class, I must help my students associate the material to the eight intelligences. Armstrong argues that students’ problem solving levels are less than exceptional and could use work. As an educator I need to use strategies like the ones listed in this chapter to help my students. One way of doing so is by having imagery to help the students picture the problems and the solutions. Once students can see these strategies they are more apt to pick which ones fit them best and then apply it to their life to help them improve their problem solving skills. Armstrong challenges teachers to enhance our students’ “multiple intelligences into higher levels of competence and understanding” (Pg. 167). Educators can do so by challenging the students’ beliefs and forcing them to take each of these over the edge to where they have to confront the contradictions to their own thinking. Through challenges brought forward in this chapter we educators are more apt to enhance our students’ cognitive thinking with MI theory.

MI Chapter 11: MI Theory and Special Education

        Armstrong discusses the many possibilities of using MI theory not only to help your students in the classroom but also to help those students struggling with deficiencies in different areas. He talks about how MI theory can help special education children also. He states that, “MI theory provides a growth paradigm for assisting special needs students in school” (Pg. 150), which means these students have the ability to grow as learners similar to other students. They are able to learn the areas they struggle in by first finding their strength areas. Just like any other students they struggle in some intelligences but excel in others. As an educator our goal is to help them understand through the intelligences they have strengths in and then use this to help them work in the intelligences they are weak in. I need to be a teacher that encourages my students that are facing these struggles and help them excel by teaching them using the intelligences they know to help them grasp the understanding they need. When thinking about special education students and the MI theory all we need to do is to know that the activities that help them succeed are the same that help every other student succeed as well. Armstrong informs the readers that in school we must develop good IEP’s or individualized educational programs. He notifies us that in schools today these programs do not help the special education students instead being a hindrance by teaching them more in the intelligence they struggle with and do not understand. These programs should be helping students by using the intelligences the students know and understand to help them comprehend and succeed in the areas they struggle in. As a teacher, I need to make sure I incorporate MI theory into my lesson for all my students because it has a great impact on all of them.

MI Chapter 8: MI Theory and Classroom Management

            In this chapter, Armstrong talks about how educators can incorporate MI theory into their classroom management aspects. For instance, in order to get the students attention to let them know that class is starting when they are all talking do something besides talking to get their attention. Play noises or raise your hand to see if something will catch their eye and make them pay attention. MI theory offers many strategies for classroom management that can keep class in order and ensure class will run smoothly. I found it interesting to use MI theory to help get their attentions. MI theory is a trouble-free way to get students to pay attention as well as teach them class rules in a way they will remember. As a future educator, I think it is vital to get student input on issues such as rules and how to include the intelligences to go along with the rules. MI theory could be a great tool in choosing groups because it will help pair students with people of diverse or similar intelligences, as well as provide the students with opportunities “for internalizing classroom routines” (Pg. 117). Another thing MI theory is effective in helping with would be giving background for looking at a range of disciplines. Armstrong tells of a good punishment form when students break the rules and that is by enhancing there weak intelligences by making them do work in those areas.  I see myself using these methods brought forward to help my students in addition to using it to get their attention in many ways. The MI theory can be something I can use in my classroom, such as classroom management, getting my students to master concepts, getting my students involved in lessons, etc.

UbD and DI Chapter 8: Grading and Reporting Achievement

In chapter 8 of UbD and DI, Tomlinson and McTighe discuss about inaccurate and proper grading. They believe that grading by a single number based off calculations is not an accurate way to grade students. They also believe that it is hard to base grades off what students haven’t fully grasped an understanding for. They believe that grading someone before they start to show progress is incorrect. Their ideas seemed like modifications to help better show students’ progress and act as an encouragement for students. They described an idea where there were two steps, grading and reporting. In this section they discussed the crucial points to show effective grading and reporting. One aspect of this was that grading and reporting should be based on clear and precise learning goals and performance standards. I believe this is important to me as a future educator because I should always give grades that have real meaning. Students’ grades should be based off of the students’ performances, work qualities, successes, etc. It discussed more methods for grading, but soon went into the idea of reporting grades. When reporting grades it is important to give positive and encouraging reports to students and parents. I do not want to discourage my students, so discussing the students’ achievement and progress to the parents is an excellent way to tell them about their student. If a student is progressing, their grades should be motivating and exciting. Students who don’t make an effort to learn deserve the grade they get that shows they have no effort, but for those students that make an effort and it just takes them longer, they should not be penalized for it.

MI Chapter 14: MI Theory and Existential Intelligence

           In chapter 14 of MI, Armstrong reveals how Howard Gardner always thought there was a ninth intelligence known as existentialism. This idea is that existentialism is “a concern with ultimate life issues” (Pg. 182). It is not really a perfect fit into the other eight intelligences which is why is hasn’t been incorporated with the others. However, you can see how it does seem to fit in some aspects of the content areas of a school classroom. Armstrong believes the best way to integrate existential intelligence into the curriculum is by “integrating content into the curriculum that helps students think about existential dimensions of whatever they are studying” (Pg. 185). For instance, in science there is plenty of room for existential intelligences to be incorporated in the curriculum because science is full of unanswered questions. Existential themes can be brought into math when discussing concepts like zero, infinity, etc. in history existentialism fits well because there were many wars fought over religious views. Geographic landmarks were also changed due to religious views thus bringing existential intelligence into geography classes. Many artists used existential view to make their artwork and many students can do the same in their artwork as well. Armstrong reflects on how many great works of literature must deal with existential views. This caught my eye since I plan on being a teacher of literature. This part informed me of the need to include some form of existential intelligence in my classroom. One way Armstrong gave me to do so is by addressing what pieces used existential themes and then have my students talk about these ideas in relation to other course objectives.

MI Chapter 13: Other Applications of MI Theory

            Armstrong suggests in this chapter that MI theory can provide understanding and resources that can go to a broader perspective. This in turn allows educators to develop educational strategies and materials to meet each student’s diverse needs. For instance, they can have their students use computer technology because the programs and software can be associated with all of the eight intelligences.  The best computer technology to use with students would be multimedia learning because it is a great way to use all of the intelligences to help teach students. Armstrong goes on to discuss how we are living in a country that is very diverse and because of this we need to be careful of what is said in the classroom. As educators we must be careful and make our lessons content sensitive and process sensitive. Armstrong tells us that one way of doing this is by using MI theory because it provides educators with a valuable tool to connect to each of these diverse cultures in a way that does not offend anyone. As an educator, I can use this to show how MI theory is incorporated into many different cultures. Another great tool for showing students how MI theory is incorporated into the world is by having career counseling. With this idea my students will see how MI theory can act as a vehicle to help students develop a basic idea of what vocational jobs might be right for them based off their strengths in the intelligences. If we as educators expose them to this and careers when our students reach high school they are more apt to have an idea of the field they want to go into and work toward. By showing students that MI is in the world around them through these techniques we may be able to get them to use their intelligences more.

MI Chapter 7: MI Theory and the Classroom Environment

This chapter discusses making the classroom environment a place for all eight intelligences. Armstrong first has the reader evaluate the basic questions to help them understand how to incorporate the intelligences into classroom environments. He then goes on to describe a system that could work at including the intelligences. This idea would be the idea of the MI activity centers. This thought deals with organizing the class into separated areas designed specifically for each of the eight intelligences. Armstrong then gives the reader many possibilities to choose from. There were quadrants 1,2,3, and 4. Quadrant 1 was called permanent open-ended activity center while quadrant 2 was called temporary open-ended activity center. These two were easily modified with no prearranged end. The other quadrants were quadrant 3, which was named temporary topic-specific activity centers while quadrant 4 was permanent topic-specific activity center. These are where they rotate but the topic of each table is different. When given this choice of which station to pick students would naturally move to the table that represented their strongest intelligence. As they are at groups I found the idea of rotating from time to time to be very useful for students to learn all the intelligences and ways in which to participate in them. I believe it would also be advantageous to have tables that incorporated a few of the multiple intelligences in them at any given time. I believe this would be exciting and a good learning experience for my students. This exercise of intelligence activity tables would be a good first week activity to help you understand their intelligences.

UbD and DI Chapter 9: Bringing It All Together: Curriculum and Instruction Through The Lens of UbD and DI

              This chapter basically was a summary of the many ideas brought forward about UbD and DI throughout the book. It went into elaborate details of how a teacher should deal with certain scenarios. It was a very valuable chapter for a future educator. Tomlinson and McTighe first discuss how both UbD and DI are complex and need to be used by teachers to address a wide variety of factors for “designing and implementing a valued curriculum and instruction”(Pg. 141). As educators it is important to focus on clarity of curriculum as well as be flexible to different aspects of learning challenges that happen. When an educator uses backward design it is best for them to determine what is important for the students to know and be able to do by the end as well as having evidence that students comprehend and can use information because they have mastered it. It also involves a teacher being clear so a student can focus, achieve, and be guided to their desired outcomes.  As an educator a good method I could use to begin my unit would be have a pre-assessment that tests what my students know so I can form desired learning goals for each of them. I found the many examples of differentiated and backward design unit in action to be very effective. It was great to see how this educator had plans to adapt her lessons to meet specific students’ needs while also allowing all students a chance to succeed. This chapter was very helpful in giving real examples of ways to help students in many different areas they struggle in.

UbD Chapter 7: Teaching for Understanding in Academically Diverse Classrooms

             In this chapter, Tomlinson and McTighe show you many techniques for teaching and understanding in a diverse classroom. One of the methods they describe is the thought of understanding the big idea and how this involves students constructing meaning for themselves. They discuss how students must think, question, apply, rethink, and reflect on these big ideas to come up with a comprehension of information brought forward in the class. However, students can only do so when they have teachers pushing them and stimulating the students to discuss and look deeper into basic thoughts. The chapter then goes on to discuss the idea of uncovering which kind of goes with the thoughts before. This challenged me to think that as a teacher I must help students uncover content that can be found below the surface of basic understandings, questions, and skills. This means that I must use teaching methods I learn that go in depth and encourage students to want to study the context. The text then discusses essential questions and how they are good to get one’s students to think and respond. As teachers we can use essential questions to acquire a better grasp on what our students know. It can also be revisited later to see the information students obtained through the lesson. The questions can easily relate to students’ lives and can be very helpful; therefore, essential questions are proficient for the classroom. Tomlinson and McTighe spent the rest of the chapter discussing the WHERETO framework and how it works. This is a beneficial system to use to help guide a series of lessons in the classroom.  It gives you an idea of questions to ask and answer while working with students. These techniques in turn will help better the class as a whole.

UbD and DI Chapter 6: Responsive Teaching With UbD in Academically Diverse Classrooms.

               This chapter discusses receptive ways of teaching UbD so that students receive the knowledge they need.  Tomlinson and McTighe discuss how, “quality curriculum is rooted in the important ideas of a discipline is core to UbD.” This means that if students are able to experience teaching aimed at meaning and understanding their performance levels will increase. Essentially, when teachers use many instructional strategies in a varied way effectively their students will transform. As a future educator I should strive to do this that way all my students will be able to learn and improve.  Tomlinson and McTighe inform the reader that in order to plan instruction for understanding one must not only master planned instruction, but also be able to improvise instruction when needed.  Educators must be aware of curriculum goals while finding many different ways of making these goals work at informing their students. One aspect of this chapter I found to be significant was the idea that teachers need to be flexible while also using classroom elements to address their students needs in varied ways. These ways could be adjusting time, space or resources to give students the chance to better understand. I thought about how as a teacher I could give my students more time or place them in groups of students at different levels of understanding to help them be familiar with the lesson. I could also put them in groups with students who are on the same level of understanding, so they could discuss and come to a better comprehension of the knowledge together. Through this reading I realized that every student we teach is very unique. I found that the line about using students’ strengths as springboards for success was a wonderful idea to benefit the students learning if I were to incorporate the idea into my classroom. Before I establish the old teaching habits that Tomlinson and McTighe say are hard to break, I should think of positive methods for teaching that are flexible and beneficial to the well being of my students.

MI Chapter 6: MI Theory and Teaching Strategies

                      In Chapter 6 of MI, Armstrong went into intricate details of incorporating all the eight intelligences into the school. He believes that as long as the educator is able to shift intelligence emphasis from one exercise to the next each student will have their own time in the day where their strongest intelligence shows up. Thinking as a future teacher, I thought of ways I could use each strategy but then thought more elaborately about those that stood out to me. I found the storytelling method in linguistic to very intriguing. It is always fun to listen to a story, as an educator I could incorporate storytelling into my lessons to help students develop a better understanding for the topic being discussed. I also found the Publishing idea quite interesting. Students sometimes do not take writing assignments seriously because they think nothing will come of it. As a teacher I could surprise my students by telling them their work could be published and put in a classroom book for future examples to make each of my students more enthusiastic about writing. As I looked at the logical/mathematical I found the section on calculations and quantifications to be eye-catching because it could relate to English by reading a short story or poem that has mathematical numbers and such incorporated. I could see how many students pick up on the numbers and then have a discussion about how numbers appear in everything. For those spatial learners I could certainly incorporate colors and drawings into my discussion on the board to keep their attention. As for bodily-kinesthetic I really enjoyed the idea of having my students put up a finger of the how much they comprehend 1 being nothing to 5 being all of it. I did this for each of the eight because it was interesting to see how I could incorporate every idea into my classroom.

MI Chapter 5: MI Theory and Curriculum Development

              In this chapter of MI theory, Armstrong confers about how easy it is to incorporate MI theory into your curriculum. He tells us that MI theory provides a way to keep your students engaged through a variety of curricula. In order to be an efficient MI teacher one must be willing to think of all the intelligences as well as incorporate them into the unit at least once. In this chapter, it lists a wide variety of ways to do this as well as gives educators a basic diagram to help gather their thoughts and incorporate ideas for each. The trick to this diagram is just to write everything down that applies to the idea. MI has the ability to be found in any skill, content area, or a theme a teacher wants to address as well as be used in any of the eight intelligences the educator wants to use. Armstrong describes MI and thematic instruction as a way in which “themes cut through traditional curricular boundaries, weave together subjects and skills that are found naturally in life, and provide students with opportunities to use their multiple intelligences” (Pg. 67). Here he is saying that when using MI theory with theme it is able to explore many different areas and allows a student a new way to look at the theme with the multiple intelligences being used. When he talks about how certain learning styles such as language don’t have to be just specifically linguistic learning but can actually use the multiple intelligences; I was challenged to think about ways I could possibly incorporate the intelligences into my class. I can find myself using some of his method brought forward in this chapter as ways to make sure I am incorporating all the intelligences into my lessons.

Fair Isn’t Always Equal Chapter 6: Creating Good Test Questions

Through Chapter 6, Wormeli discusses test questions. It is important to have both traditional and non-traditional questions in your tests and prompts. This is a good idea for educators to do because it adds variety and allows students areas they struggle in but also areas they excel in. Using many questions also allows the teacher to see how well the student is mastering the subject. Wormeli discusses efficient test questions next. As a student, it is better when my professors have efficient questions because they are straightforward and not as commonly misunderstood by me or another students in the class. As a future educator I see this and think it will probably be the same for my students so it would be better for them if I mastered the efficient question sections. Wormeli then discusses the idea of making clear prompts. As a student studying to be an English teacher, it is crucial for me to learn the proper way to word prompts. It is good to have clear precise prompts that don’t sound too opinionated. I want my students to have a clear understanding of what to do on the prompts and to be able to pick a topic on their own so they can discover their own thoughts. Wormeli was right when he said add some fun into test questions. This could be as easy as taking things that students are interested and incorporating it into the questions. This area would be a good spot to use examples that cover the intelligences, for instance relating the size of two trees, which would be for the naturalists in the class. Having a fun variety makes the test less tense for the students and the teacher. It is also good to have your questions assess what you want to assess. All these as well as the other aspects of testing Wromeli bring forward could be very helpful in the classroom.

Fair Isn’t Always Equal Chapter 5: Tiering Assessments

Before reading this chapter I no idea what tiering was. However, after reading the chapter I find it to be a good tool. As a teacher, it could be beneficial to my teaching because I am able to adjust assignments and assessments based on where my students are and how ready they are. Another part of the chapter I found to be good for future teaching would be Tomlinson’s idea of an equalizer because it is a great way for teachers to organize by considering which areas an assignment fits such as in the English class having my students participate in a group discussion where it is mostly independent but I am giving them talking points to make it a little bit less independent. The idea Wormeli describes, as cubing is a great tool that would work well with the six facets of understanding. It is a good way to have students working to answer essential questions. While reading when I came across the summarization pyramid I thought this could be a good resource for the unit I am planning to do and one of the activities within it. I want to teach students good ways of writing and this would be a helpful tool in showing them how structure is important to the writing process. It is a great starter idea for a prompt in the classroom as well because it is a way to organize thoughts while also helping the students brainstorm good ideas. Another great tiering technique that I found helpful was the changing of verbs; as an English teacher I can see this as a successful way t start prompts and other writing pieces by giving my students verbs they can use and go off of. The ideas brought forward on this chapter of tiering seemed especially beneficial for education and my concentration.  

Fair Isn’t Always Equal Chapter 4: Three Important Types of Assessment

This chapter introduced three types of assessment that can be used in the classroom rubrics, self-assessment, and portfolios. It also went into a discussion about interactive notebooks, which was interesting. I really enjoyed the interactive notebooks because it is a resource students have to information they learned for when the teacher isn’t there to help them with a question. It also can be used to help me as the educator know what my students have learned. Portfolios can also be helpful to students and get them involved in the learning process. When they have the opportunity to present their work in a portfolio they become in charge of their learning and are in charge of organizing and collecting their work. Rubrics seem demanding, which surprised me. In my past classes I never would have thought teachers would put so much work in their rubrics; however, as I look from the other perspective, I see how much work goes into it, as well as the steps that need to be done in order to have a finished product. When making rubrics it is better for me as the educator to involve my students in the process because it keeps them engaged, they will understand the rubrics, and it is a more powerful experience. The student self-assessment part seemed to be important and stood out to me personally. In high school I had many teachers who did this and I loved the feedback that was given, and seeing me as well as my fellow classmates set goals for ourselves we all strived to accomplish them. I want to incorporate this in my class because it had a positive outcome for me. I believe all these tools are great for the classroom and very beneficial to students.

MI Chapter 10: MI Theory and Assessment

In chapter 10 of MI, Armstrong discusses assessment and incorporating the multiple intelligences in your assessment plans. He tries to persuade the reader to step away from standardized tests and instead try new methods that help the students succeed better when being assessed. He entices the reader into using the MI theory to help come up with assessments by saying it is more successful and will help your students excel. As a future educator his persuasion helps make this idea catch my eye, and I really enjoyed reading about using the intelligences to help make assessments for my students that will accurately assess each one. His discussion about authentic assessment was intriguing, informing teachers that it probes their students’ understanding. It was especially interesting to read about ipsative or comparing students work now to their past work to help assess them. MI theory helps support students by allowing them a chance to show their understanding in a specific skill, subject, content area, or domain in a variety of ways. As a future teacher this seems beneficial and a crucial way to see where my students are in my class. It is always good to have a variety of methods to help fully understand where your students are and this method does so. It might seem a bit stressful for a teacher to try and grade many different project types. However, Armstrong gives a good example of making a movie that helps show what the students have learned and in this video they can include the intelligences that seem to be better for them.

Fair Isn’t Always Equal Chapter 3: Principles of Successful Assessment in the Differentiated Classroom.

In Chapter 3 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal, Wormeli discusses assessment saying that it guides practice and that instructional decision is based on what we know about curriculums and our specific students. He then goes on to discuss how students are able to learn more when they have a clear understanding of the expectations of a class. Educators should prioritize by putting information into two sections essential which are items that are vital to understand for ones future, and desirable which are great to know but not as important. He then goes into a discussion about the three types of assessments and the order they go in summative, pre-assessment, and formative. Wormeli tells the reader of how authenticity is important to assessments by making sure it is close to how students will apply this information later on in life. He ends the chapter discussing how educators should avoid fluff and instead challenge students in other ways if they don’t understand.

Through this chapter, I found many parts I could apply to my teaching. Such as making sure my students get a clear understanding of the expectations of each lesson by me outlining and teaching them to my students. Using the methods of having summative, pre-, and formative assessment will help me understand were each student is before and after the lesson. I should test an assessment first for myself to make sure it fits the essential knowledge and helps read all my students skill levels. I should automatically act on the results of assessments by adjusting my instruction to fit the needs of my students. I need to make sure I am teaching my students things they can use in the real world; rather than, sticking to something that will not be used again such as the five-paragraph essay. By me doing all this my students will get all they can out of my lessons.

Fair Isn’t Always Equal Chapter 2: Mastery

         This chapter discusses mastery, which is when the students understand a concept to the point where they can explain it and apply it to other situations in the class. In order for a student to master a concept they must have repeated accounts of success in that area such as good grades on tests, being able to describe it to fellow students, and apply it to more complex concepts to better understand them. When a student is demonstrating mastery the student can make conclusions and build on how they reach a thought about that concept. In this chapter the part about fully seeing levels of mastery in writing more easily caught my eye. It is interesting to know that through writing you can read your students much better than you would think. We can’t just assume our students our understanding what we are teaching them we need to find ways to see if they are mastering the skills and concepts we are teaching them. We as teachers can’t always be clear of mastery but we can make assumptions based off of how well our students are performing on that concept. If we work with our colleagues we can use their wisdom and experience to help shape our teaching ability and they can influence us. We need to make time to meet and discuss ideas with our colleagues because their advice helps us plan ideas and they can be very helpful.

            As a teacher I can’t just list the facts to my students or make them just repeat basic concepts because that doesn’t always mean they understand. When I teach I shouldn’t just assume that my students have mastered a concept because they are able to do well on a few tests and recite some information to me verbatim. I need to observe and assess my students to see how well they are mastering a certain concept.

Fair Isn’t Always Equal Chapter 1: The Differentiated Instruction Mind-set: Rationale and Definition

                In chapter one of Fair Isn’t Always Equal, Wormeli goes into an in depth discussion about differentiated instruction and how it is important in the classroom. I found this chapter to be quite intriguing. I did not realize how much differentiated learning really entailed. I would have never imagined that the way desks are set up, the rephrasing of ideas, the giving you more time or choice on an assignment, and a teacher being physically closer to a student to keep their attention were all forms of differentiated instruction. This shows me that differentiated learning is everywhere in the classroom. Wormeli then went on to discuss how differentiation is not a crutch but more of a help to prepare students for all that comes their way. He reassures educators that it is good to use differentiated instruction through out a student’s time at school because it benefits them. He tells the readers about how a “lack of differentiated instruction puts competence in jeopardy and passing graduation assessments in question” (7).  Students with a lack of differentiated instruction are most likely the students who are more apt to not graduate from school. This shows how positive of an influence differentiated learning has on a student.

            This chapter had many great ideas I could see myself using in my classroom. For instance having my students who understand the information is available to help those who do not. Also giving my students the handout of what to do when the teacher is unavailable to help. Knowing that differentiated learning is not individualized instruction makes me feel better since I know that it means I don’t have to cater to each student’s independent needs. This will all help make my classroom more differentiated for my students, which is very beneficial to students.