Student Sample

Chapter 14: Responsive Report Card Formats

This chapter addresses the poor format of the report card. After trying so hard to differentiate instruction for the students it seems inadequate to then simply send a report card home with a number or a letter grade. The best idea in this chapter is to write a note to the parents explaining how the child is doing. Even if there is not a section on the report card format, I think it would be very powerful to attach a note to every parent letting them know with some details how their child is doing. People are very protective of their children, instead of them simply seeing a number or a letter, they would have a written explanation about the grade. It seems like a lot of work for a teacher but really that is part of being a good teacher, dealing with parents, and it seems that dealing with them would be easier when they are kept in the loop about their child.

Chapter 13: Grade Book Formats for the Differentiated Classroom

This chapter talks about the importance of having an organized grade book in order to grade for mastery. While there were some different styles introduced, some more complex than necessary, I feel that the best way to organize the grade book is by date. Doing it any other way forces you to space out the grade book in such a way that there is room to add assignments that may get added later. Another important thing to remember is that a lot of schools have adopted the Power School program or some variation of it so the grades are all computerized. This is even more of a reason to keep the grade book in order by date, the computer can sort it the other ways if someone wants to see it set up differently.

Chapter 12: Grading Scales

This chapter argues that grades should be done on more specific terms than just a number between 1 and 100. This book prefers rubrics with clear expectations and smaller numbers. The issue I have with this in a math class is that it does not allow for partial credit. I have also seen a rubric system that has been used to the point where it is no longer effective. In the Air Force performance reports are based on a 1 through 5 rubric. The issue that comes from using rubrics to grade is that once you set the precedence of what student work is a 5, then you start flooding the system with equal work that is a 5. Eventually getting better work is overshadowed by the sheer numbers of people receiving 5’s. I know grading for learning has nothing to do with what other students did or did not do. However to keep a balanced approach in math, I believe that the grade needs to be a number based on procedure steps, and correct answers.

Chapter 11: Six Burning Grading Issues

The eleventh chapter of Fair Isn’t Always Equal discusses major problems in classrooms when it comes time to grade for mastery. While I agree that grades should be determined based on learning, I feel strongly on one of the major issues in the chapter. The debate is over what to do when a child does not perform the work at all, should they get a 0 or a 60? The student should without a doubt receive a 0. There are not going to be assignments given that are busy work. If it is important enough to be an assignment then it is important enough to do. While a zero may not be the most accurate grade overall of the student’s understanding, it is important to also teach students that they are responsible for their actions. If you choose not to do the work you must face the consequences.

Chapter 10: Conditions for Redoing Work for Full Credit

Chapter 10 talks about key points to keep in mind when allowing students to redo an assignment. The worry is that students will begin to take advantage of the system and hand in partial work knowing that they will be given a chance to redo it later. That is why I will be implementing Dr. Grace’s system where the student can redo an assignment but they must first receive a tutoring session about the material and fix the questions they got wrong. After that they can redo an assignment. Students will not take advantage of a system like this because they will be required to put in effort. It doesn’t matter to me how many time a student completes an assignment, it will only help them understand the material and create a work ethic that will carry them a long way in the real world.

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

Chapter 9 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal lists ten things that should not be graded when assessing a student. A couple of the ideas that struck me as interesting are not to grade practice work or homework, do not allow extra credit, and redoing assignments or tests. In my classroom there will always be chances to redo their work. I will steal Dr. Grace’s idea that the student has to receive a tutoring session about the subject while fixing the questions they got wrong, and after that they can redo the assignment. On a point based system there won’t be a need for extra credit, it will simply be just handing in an assignment. You can get points for doing the work. That is not extra credit. That is the learning we are looking for from the student. The homework issue is a sensitive one; I am currently on the side of the argument that homework is not a necessary tool to teach students. I think that there are too many outside influences at home that it is unrealistic to expect all students to do the homework. Then the kids who cannot get work done at home are behind the reset of the class, not because they are not as smart, simply because they do not have the ability to do their homework. My thoughts might change when I actually teach and see how homework affects the ability to learn math, but for now I agree it should not be graded, and only assigned as optional practice.

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

This chapter looks into other areas that could impact a student’s grade. The idea behind the grading system is to rate the mastery of the material, not to include things like participation, attendance or behavior. That is where I think the school system is starting to fail society. Students are becoming less and less responsible for their actions. No one is holding the children to any standards, other than those on a standardized test or a letter grade in class. In my class there will be an “Act like an Adult” grade. I think coming to class prepared, not disrupting your classmates, and being willing to try are small things to ask of students that should contribute to an overall grade. With so many students not finishing high school and of the ones that do finish few are continuing on to college, it is important to expect the students to act like adults in high school. I do not believe you have to go to college to be successful in life, but I feel strongly that you must be able to act like a functioning member of society. Teachers can be key players in shaping the students into adults.

Chapter 7: The Relative Nature of Grades and Their Definitions

Chapter 7 discusses grades and the importance of laying out expectations clearly to the students. After the expectations have been clearly identified a teacher must fairly administer the grades to all students the same way. While there are different levels of learning it does not do the students any good to accept low quality work and give a good grade. This will only show the student that you don’t expect anything from them and they will not strive to grow. This is important in a math class because students need to try in math. It is not a subject that you can fake your way through, either you know the steps or you don’t. It will be my challenge to find a system that allows all levels of students to succeed at their own rate. That is why I like the point system. A student that is a “good” math student can get 50 points on one assignment while a “low” math student might do an assignment and a redo, or two assignments that combine for 50 points. They are not competing against each other; they are both simply trying to learn the material. It is such an absurd concept to me that some teachers will let socioeconomic status influence the grades they give. It will not matter in my classroom how much money your family has or doesn’t have, what color of skin you have, or what religion you are, the only things that will play into grades are effort and math.

Chapter 12: MI Theory and Cognitive Skills

This chapter addresses how the MI theory should be used to memorize material. The concept of a bad memory is too broad. A student can have a poor memory in one intelligence area and a good memory when it comes to material learned in a manner consistent with their strongest intelligence. The part of this chapter that makes me worried about the future of America is that our problem solving skills are below that of other developed nations. To me that is a much more important test than math skills, or reading abilities. Being able to problem solve is essentially being able to think. It doesn’t matter what intelligence you want to use to be able to think through problems, but you have to be able to think through a problem. As a teacher this will be my greatest goal and challenge. I want to teach students to use their heads, I do not care what type of learner they are they need to be able to think and articulate those thoughts in some manner.

Chapter 11: MI Theory and Special Education

This chapter discussed how the multiple intelligence theory applies to special education. Essentially special education has been working on the multiple intelligence theory for years. The idea is that if a child has a learning disability in one area, they might be able to overcome what they are lacking by learning in a different manner. Differentiated instruction has been going on in special education for a much longer period than in the normal classroom. The problem was that people were always focused on what the students can’t do instead of using the MI Theory about what the students can do. In my future classroom if I was truly to buy into the differentiated instruction and learning by design there might not be a need for special education teachers. It seems that all students are now given their own unofficial IEP and that should provide them with the best education our schools can provide.

Chapter 8: MI Theory and Classroom Management

This chapter addresses how the multiple intelligences should be considered during classroom management. It describes how some students might not respond to a certain type of discipline because they are tuned into a different type of intelligence. The chapter does a good job giving ideas for transitions and steps to get the students attention but I question whether or not the methods would work with modern day high school students. The idea of it is valid though and it is up to me to fine tune the methods to cater to the students I will have in my class. Using current music or some more advanced adaptation to the telephone game, like a text message or instant message. I think having strategies to get the students back on track is important but there are probably many new technologies out there that can help me do this.

Chapter 8: Grading and Reporting Achievement

The eighth chapter of UbD discusses grading in a differentiated classroom. The book argues that students should not be graded in such a manner that one child is competing against another. Instead in order to make sure the student is getting accurately graded; they should be evaluated on progress towards their goals. Using an average grade seems to be the standard process in classrooms but this book recommends not doing that. In my future class I will have a point system for grading in that each student is only aware of their own points. Assignments will be worth a certain number of points and students will have options as to which assignments they will do. I agree that an average grade is not a great way to give grades. It leaves out the human aspect of bad days. If a student has a bad day on the day of the biggest test in a semester they may perform poorly. That is not necessarily a reflection of their learning, more so it is an effect of having a bad day on test day.

Chapter 14: MI Theory and Existential Intelligence

This chapter introduces a potential ninth intelligence, existential intelligence. This is basically the deep questions about the meaning of life and why are we here. This is a highly spiritual concept and I will struggle with it in the classroom. The class is supposed to be a safe area for all students, when you start adding spirituality and religious thoughts there are going to be people that are uncomfortable. While the bigger questions in life can probably be tied into all subject areas, I think they are extremely personal thoughts and have no place in a public classroom.

Chapter 13: MI Theory in Other Applications

This chapter explains that multiple intelligences are not a classroom only concept; instead there are areas in the real world that the different intelligences apply. The example that stuck out to me the most is the cultural influences of multiple intelligences. I think the reason that this struck me as important is that I know students will move into my classroom that are not from small town Maine and I will need to be able to accurately assess who the student is and how they learn. Their culture will play a huge part of that. Another area the intelligences are prevalent is computer technology. With the technology advancing as quickly as it is, there is not going to be any excuse for not knowing how technology can help all of my students, no matter what type of learner they are.

Chapter 7: MI Theory and the Classroom Environment

This chapter addresses how important it is to have your room set up to be warm to all the types of intelligences. Just as a poor setting can hurt the learning process a good setting can enhance the learning experience. I like the idea of having areas set up for certain types of learners. There would probably be a way to rotate the types of stations also since a lot of kids will fall into many types of intelligence categories. In my class the only thing I know for sure is that I want tables instead of desks. I think the open space of the table lends itself nicely to a math class so you have room for your calculator, notebook, book, ruler, or anything else that is being used in that days lesson. Other than that I will try to make my room inviting to all students and try to change it up depending on the material we are covering.

Chapter 9: Bringing It All Together: Curriculum and Instruction through the Lens of UbD and DI

This chapter gave an overall description of what the backward design is all about. It showed the steps and reinforced the importance of all the steps. The chapter also talked about remaining flexible. This is important to my future class because I never want to be that teacher that is stuck in the past. When we forget that we are there for the kids we will be terrible teachers. That is why you need to remain flexible and change your lessons to fit the students that are in your class, not try to fit your students into the lesson you made last year.

Chapter 10 Synthesis

Abstract: The theory of multiple intelligences does not apply simply to learning.
It also makes sense to use many different
ways to assess a students learning. It would not be an accurate assessment of their knowledge if you know you have all types of learners in a class but only gave one type of test. This chapter introduces many different types of assessment tools that are available to accurately gauge your students learning.



Synthesis: The greatest common factor in everyone’s response to this chapter is that teachers need to use different methods to evaluate their students learning other than tests. If a teacher presents material in a certain way they should take that into consideration when they are assessing the same material. Allowing students to demonstrate that they are learning instead of simply seeing if they can answer questions about the material they learned is a powerful way to assess how the student is progressing. Teachers also need to be good at observing their students. Whether this means creating journals that are kept throughout the course or a portfolio of work, the teacher needs to make sure that when they are assessing the students they are taking into consideration all aspects of the class, not just one test.

Chapter 3: Principles of Successful Assessment in the Differentiated Classroom

This chapter is all about assessment. It introduces the idea that assessing at the end of a unit is not the best way to measure if students are learning the material because it is too late to help them. A lot of focus should be on formative assessment that will measure and help shape the learning as it is happening. This is important to my future math class because I do not want a bunch of tests on my desk with incorrect answers. If there are a lot of wrong answers on the end of unit test, then I have not done my job as the teacher assessing the class through the lesson. There is no reason to give a test if you know the students do not know the information.

Chapter 6: MI Theory and Teaching Strategies

This chapter was basically a list of example strategies that a teacher could use for each type of intelligence. Chapters like this are the reason that future teachers should keep their books. When the time comes in a classroom that you are thinking of ways to incorporate a type of intelligence into the lesson, having a book with examples that are supported by evidence of why it is effective, is invaluable. The interesting thing about the example strategies is that a lot of them actually overlap each other so students of different intelligences could be interested using the same activity. One of the strategies that I think is powerful is the discographies; students are usually into some type of music, so if a teacher does this correctly the students would be grabbed by the use of music.

Chapter 7: Teaching for Understanding

This chapter is by far my favorite of the book yet. Simply because it is calling out the education system of how and what they are teaching. It argues that covering material is a terrible way to look at a school day and we should be teaching students so they understand what is supposed to be learned. The book also states that understanding and higher level thinking is not reserved for those students that have mastered the basic skills. This is the theory and model I want to build my classroom around. I want students to think, and know how to think. They may need a calculator to figure out 10 times 5 but if they are aware of what they need to tell the calculator to do and why I think they are far better off in terms of math and life. Understanding the material is far more important than being able to spout random facts.

Chapter 6: Responsive Teaching with UbD

Chapter 6 was comprised of ways that teachers can be better teachers. It even addressed the common gripe teachers make when they are told to try something new of, “I don’t have time for that”, and made the argument that if they created lessons with differentiation in mind there would not be a time crunch in the classroom. The part I will take away from this chapter into my classroom has to be the idea of making sure students know what is being done and what is expected from them. I know that students in classes I have been in will ask after the assignment is given out, what they are supposed to do, it is important for the teacher to clearly define what is expected of the students.

Chapter 5: MI Theory and Teaching Strategies

The fifth chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom is focused on how a teacher can design his/her lesson plans to include all types of learners. One of the important points this chapter makes is that a teacher should use a theme over the course of the year to show how the material they are covering relates to the real world. This will be especially important to a math class. One of the favorite questions of students who do not like math is, “when are we going to use this”. By designing the answer to that question into the lessons, students will begin to understand that math is all around them. Another interesting point in this chapter is the breakdown of a lesson plan. They are showing eight different days spent on one idea, having an activity for each of the intelligences on different days. This seems great in theory but I question how realistic it is to think you are going to cover the same materiel eight different days.

Chapter 3: Principles of Successful Assessment in the Differentiated Classroom

This chapter is all about assessment. It introduces the idea that assessing at the end of a unit is not the best way to measure if students are learning the material because it is too late to help them. A lot of focus should be on formative assessment that will measure and help shape the learning as it is happening. This is important to my future math class because I do not want a bunch of tests on my desk with incorrect answers. If there are a lot of wrong answers on the end of unit test, then I have not done my job as the teacher assessing the class through the lesson. There is no reason to give a test if you know the students do not know the information.

Chapter 6: Creating Good Test Questions

This chapter of Fair Isn’t Always Equal addresses different types of test questions and offers advice of what formats work the best. It offers ideas like creating a question that is impossible to answer or not asking questions that are worded in a manner that makes it easy to misinterpret. There are many little tips that will be helpful in my class when I am creating a math test. I am against true and false questions because they can usually fall into the category of confusing wording. If a student only reads the end of the question and misses the “not” wording they have just missed a question that they probably knew. The overall message from this chapter is an important one; do not make confusing, unnecessary tests. I could not agree more.

Chapter 5: Tiering Assessments

This chapter shows us many ways that teachers can adjust their assignments so all students can complete the task. The term tiering is used to describe the adjustments that need to be made for some students. A couple important things to remember is that not all tasks will need to be tiered and teachers should not pre-tier their students because there are not permanently defined groups. The area of this chapter that I will use in my class will be the learning menu. I think giving students the choice from assignments will give them a sense of ownership to what they are doing. Instead of forcing everyone to complete the same math problems, there is nothing wrong with having some students working from the book, some doing a worksheet, and some creating their own math problems. I will be using learning menus in my class.

Chapter 4: Three Important Types of Assessment

Chapter four details three types of assessment that can be used instead of standardized tests. The three types of alternate assessments are student portfolios, rubrics, and self assessments. In math class I think a student portfolio would work great. You could see the change in the students work through the units and over the course of a year. You could really track the difference in understanding by assessing their entire body of work. Rubrics and self assessment would also be good tools but I think the motivation to self assess would be low with some math students and a rubric will not always be practical with math work.

Chapter 10: MI Theory and Assessment

This chapter shows us how the use of different types of assessments fits better to a student’s actual learning than a standardized test does. It argues that if we agree that students all have different types of intelligences then a standardized test would naturally put anyone that is not a written learner at a disadvantage. This is very important in my classroom because the students deserve the chance to showcase what they have learned. It will be difficult to find ways to assess kids in math class that allow them to demonstrate the skills they are learning, but that is a challenge for me. It seems that politically the schools are stuck with standardized tests, but I can still find ways to let my students feel good about what they are learning.

Chapter 3: Principles of Successful Assessment in the Differentiated Classroom

This chapter is all about assessment. It introduces the idea that assessing at the end of a unit is not the best way to measure if students are learning the material because it is too late to help them. A lot of focus should be on formative assessment that will measure and help shape the learning as it is happening. This is important to my future math class because I do not want a bunch of tests on my desk with incorrect answers. If there are a lot of wrong answers on the end of unit test, then I have not done my job as the teacher assessing the class through the lesson. There is no reason to give a test if you know the students do not know the information.

Chapter 2: Mastery

This chapter debates what it means for a student to master subject matter. It is not enough for a student just to answer some questions or do well on a standardized test. In order to master a subject a student should be able to demonstrate the six facets of understanding. It is not limited to the students either; teachers need to continue to ask themselves what it means to have mastered their subject. This is important to me as a future teacher so I do not accept a correct math answer as an indicator that the student fully understands the concepts. I want to develop different types of assignments that allow students multiple ways to show me that they understand what they are doing in class.

Chapter 1: The Differentiated Instruction Mind Set

This chapter is an overview of what differentiated instruction means in a classroom. To summarize, it means providing the necessary accommodations to every student so they can learn. This chapter actually reminds the reader that by a classroom being a differentiated environment it is preparing a student better for the real world. In fact when the child moves on to his/her job they will be working in a differentiated manner. This is important to remember when I am teaching because it is not second nature for me yet. I find myself wondering if it is fair to do something for one student but not others. When I think about it I know that a teacher only provides what each student needs, they are not providing a cheat sheet to the information. It turns out that differentiating is not cheating for a student; in fact it is cheating a student out of an education if they do not receive differentiated instruction when needed.

Chapter 5: Considering Evidence of Learning in Diverse Classrooms

The fifth chapter of Understanding by Design focuses on assessing students for understanding. Knowing the three types of assessment will help me design lessons for the students and also allow me to fairly check their learning. While the summative and diagnostic assessments are powerful measuring tools, I think that formative assessment in a math class is by far the most accurate way to tell how the students are progressing. I will need to be able to assess on the fly where my students are so I do not introduce other concepts before they are clear on the previous building block ideas. Another concept I learned that will be useful in my class is the four requirements of feedback. It will be important that the students are aware of exactly what they can improve and what they are doing correctly. Being aware of exactly where they are will allow the students to own their learning and progress further at their pace.

Chapter 4: Teaching Students about MI Theory

The fourth chapter in this book deals with ways to introduce the Multiple Intelligence theory to students. I learned a valuable trick when asking the class questions about what types of intelligences they have. It was suggested to ask questions that are designed to include people. Questions that are only answered by a few students, while the child may have a higher intelligence in that area, can give the other students a built in excuse for not doing work. There were some example activities to introduce the multiple intelligences to the students that would work nicely such as the intelligence treasure hunt.

Chapter 3: Describing Intelligences in Students

The fourth chapter in Armstrong’s Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom described possible ways to determine what kind of intelligences students might have. The area that will stick with me is the idea the other uses almost out of jest. Observing the students when they are misbehaving in class to see what they are doing will give the best assessment of what kind of intelligence they are. There will be students in my class that will be doodling or fidgeting and it is nice to see how I can use this to learn about the student, and revamp my approach to keep them interested. There were a lot of other ideas such as, asking another teacher about the student, asking their parents, and asking the student. The best assessment will be observing the student when they are not aware they are being assessed to see what their natural tendencies are.

Chapter 4: What Really Matters in Planning for Student Success

The focus of this chapter was the skills needed by a teacher in order to maximize the student’s success as a learner. There were two lines that rang true to my heart when it comes to thoughts about school and learning. The first is, “We are also teachers of human beings” (pg 39). The other is, “There is a kindergarten version and a PhD version of the big ideas of a discipline” (pg 42). The rest of the chapter was spent explaining the nine abilities a teacher should have to create a classroom that successfully differentiates instruction. But those two ideas are by far the most important to me, the students in a class are learning the beginning parts of their persona, who they will become is starting to form in our lessons. It does not matter what skill level the students are at with the content, it is up to the teacher to make sure the students are forced to think and become better learners.

Chapter 3: What Really Matters in Learning (Content)

Chapter three of Tomlinson and McTighe’s Understanding by Design discussed the struggle of teachers to know what content to cover when they are flooded with expectations. The major part that shocked me was the study done showing students would need nine more years of school to cover all the standards of an average state curriculum. It seems that administrators and politicians do not understand that they need to remove some requirements if they are going to add more. Another major part of this chapter that will be helpful was the discussion of planning for assessment. This will be important for me and my students so we are not stuck covering the same materials if the class already understands the material. Assessment is one of my major concerns; in math it is important to make sure you are in tune with the progress and speed of the class.

Chapter 2: MI Theory and Personal Development

The main point I am taking away from chapter 2 is that I need to assess my intelligences and know where I am strong or lacking. In areas that I might not be strong in I should ask other teachers or even the students for ideas on ways to appeal to the students that are strong in that intelligence area. I tried to come up with a turning point of why I am a physical intelligence but I think if they exist they are not always something you would remember. As a teacher I think the important part to remember from this chapter is that I could be a student’s paralyzing factor. It is my goal to never to anything bad to a kid that would make them forever scared of math, and maybe if I am engaging enough I can be a positive turning point for some students.

Chapter 1: The Foundations of MI Theory

This chapter was good to read because it provided me with the background of the Multiple Intelligences according to Gardner. One of the main points I will take to the class from this chapter is that all intelligences are in everybody. Also the fact that doing a task that is specific for one type of intelligence will most often use other intelligences as well is good to remember. Those ideas mean that lessons can be designed with many types of options that will allow all individuals a way to relate to the information and help them understand. I found it interesting that Gardner did not want the intelligences to be confused as learning styles. It is a very easy assumption to make that they will go hand in hand but maybe there are times when the two parts of a person will not work together.

Chapter 2: What Really Matters In Teaching (The Students)

This chapter addresses the idea that while it is easy to teach by idea, when you actually have students involved it becomes more difficult. The example of the students with internal struggles going on in their lives is important for me to remember as I teach in Maine. There is a very high rural poverty population in our area and with that comes students that have big internal battles. I would like to think I could create a learning environment that allows students to feel safe and work without worry, but just like the girl who was sabotaging her grades so her parents would get back together, some students will have other ideas in mind. This chapter was good to read because it is the first time that I have read what I assumed but was unclear of. As a teacher you do not need to have differentiated instruction for all students all the time, but rather need to use methods that will cross many different types of learners to get your curriculum covered.

Chapter 1: An Essential Partnership

The first chapter talks about the relationship between differentiated instruction and understanding by design being a partnership. It explains that only performing one of these techniques is not enough to make you an effective teacher. You need to be able to accurately assess who is in your class and how they learn and then continue to monitor them to make sure your lessons are staying relevant to their skills. I completely agree with the idea presented in the chapter that students do not need to be a master of the basics to be able to think. That is an important part for me to remember as I become a teacher. Getting a student to think is a major part to getting them to learn.