In the second chapter of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design, I feel like I’ve learned how this relates to the most important point of teaching; the students.
Although I feel like most of the things in this chapter are just reiterating things I’ve learned simply from being a student, I feel like it goes beyond those basic understandings to explain how to apply these ideas as a teacher. For example, to me, it is obvious that any teacher who is obviously working to create a connection with their students is likely to have more enthusiasm from the students toward their subject. I even feel like I know some ways on how to incorporate that with my teaching methods. This chapter, however, focuses on explaining some of the more beneficial ways of doing that while tying it into the curriculum. This chapter also realistically points out that outside factors are huge disruptors in many students’ education. The examples of students in various situations are all too likely to occur, and in half of them remained mostly unresolved. This is critical in understanding the models because it is important to understand that even following all the model offers won’t prevent barriers from appearing.
The fact that barriers are unpreventable, and in some cases unmanageable is a frustrating concept to grasp, but the chapter does well at explaining various techniques that can help diminish these appearing in, at least, the classroom. One of the most commonly mentioned techniques is simply finding things that interest the majority of the students, because interest in the subject is key to getting students to learn. In short, this chapter explains that, as teachers, it is our job to help the students reach their own understanding of themselves and their world through the knowledge we give them, not our understanding of the content through a variety of techniques.
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