UbD and DI: What Really Matters in Teaching? (Chapter 2)

     The second chapter of Integrating Differentiated Instruction + Understanding by Design, by Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe, focused on the importance of developing an awareness for the learning styles of every students as a basis for teaching responsibly. Teaching responsibly means having an acute awareness of the learning needs of the students and incorporating it into your curriculum. If the teacher successfully applies this knowledge, the students will benefit in several ways: Attending to the teacher-student relationship will contribute to the students enthusiasm for learning, attending to the environment will build a context for learning, attending to a students’ backgrounds and needs creates bonds between the learner and the content, attending to the readiness of the students permits academic growth, attending to interests enlists student motivation, and attending to the learning profiles of the students enables efficiency of learning. 

     Getting to know your students can be helpful in several ways. Creating a comfortable classroom, that is open to self expression, is essential. Doing so also also gives the teacher a feel for the student; knowing someone’s background, such as where they live, the types of schools they have attended, and their interests, can help a teacher create differentiated lessons for that student. Knowing your student’s, and them knowing you in turn, gives them more reasons to show you respect and trust you and what you are teaching them. Basically, differentiated instruction is impossible without getting to know your students.