Essential question: How
does my UbD unit reflect my understanding of differentiated instruction?
1.
Student/ teacher background knowledge
Starting in stage 1, I have made sure that students are
using background knowledge by using grade appropriate standards. I am also
starting the lesson with a pre-assessment to see where students understanding
is at. For teachers “the more you know about the subject you are teaching, the
more you will know how to differentiate instruction for that subject” (Hurst 2013). So,
for this lesson I did research on anything that I did not understand fully.
2.
Flexibility
“Flexibility in many areas could possibly be the key component
in reaching each student” (Hurst 2013). If students are struggling with a written self-evaluation,
they can do it verbally with me. During book research if students need guidance
with websites to go to, I will have them posted in the room and on pieces of
paper. There will also be books about climate and weather available if students
are struggling with online research or if the internet is not working. The
timing for the lesson will also have to be flexible because it is challenging to
predict timing with something that is mostly project based.
3.
Process
Process and flexibility seem to go together when talking
about student work. Students process information and actives differently and
will usually need more than one path to learning. Therefore, during the
assessments students will be able to do them verbally and during the research
time there will be multiple ways students can compete their research. I decided
to type up different trouble shooting scenarios that I predict might be a
problem. Hopefully this will help students solve technology issues faster and
with less frustration.
4.
Content
Making sure that the content of the lesson is differentiated
is something to always be thinking bout. In this unit I was able to do so by
having the book be more self-directed. Some students who have a stronger
understanding of the subject can add more pages and information. On the other
hand, students who need more support will be learning from their group members
and will be able to have access to one on one time with me.
5.
Product
The product of this unit is a book about a specific climate.
The differentiation with the book is letting students have a lot of control
over how it looks, reads, and is presented in the end. For the final product students,
can read their page/s in front of the class, make a recording that does along
with it, or make a video of them reading the book.
When trying to decide on five different
aspects of differentiation I did some research and then choose what I felt was
most important. When trying to talk about how they related to the unit I
created, I realized how much they flow into each other. Differentiation has a
lot of different aspects, but it all works together and plays off each other to
create a way of teaching.
References
Hurst , S. (2013, August 8). Six
Necessary Components of Effective Differentiated Instruction. Retrieved March
29, 2017, from http://www.readinghorizons.com/blog/six-necessary-components-of-effective-differentiated-instruction
