UbD DI chapter 4

Teachers have to be good at juggling, not in the typical sense, but they have to juggle all the responsibilities they have thrown at them. Teachers have to manage curriculum, student progress, planning to help students succeed, maintaining a safe learning environment, and all the while they have to stay calm and collected while trying to give every student what they need. Most of the time teachers can not manage all of that and they drop one or more responsibilities. It is not that the teacher is bad at teaching or does not want to see students succeed; they just were not given the proper tools to help them succeed. They might not be up to date on modern teaching practiced or with the MI theory. I think this chapter does well in giving brief descriptions about little things a teacher can do in order to help them balance all the responsibilities. It is important for teachers to have a plan that is open to change. The plan needs to be a balancing act between curriculum and student involvement and achievement. I think that having students work in small groups would allow for more one-on-one interactions with students and for students to really hear what they are struggling with and understanding. This gives the teacher a good way or reflecting on and understanding where the students stand in terms of what is being taught in the lesson. If the lessons are not working the teacher needs to re-evaluate and figure out what will work. Lessons need to be fluid in order to reach all students.

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