Not only with the benefits that it brings to the students, it helps the teacher to be prepared. When you have put as much thought behind the lesson as it takes for backward design demands, there is nothing to worry about. You don't have to worry about fears of not being familiar enough with the material because you had to get familiar with it to plan out the unit successfully. You also have all the activities planned out for the unit and the materials have been gathered for your lessons. When you teach in a way that makes the lessons personal and intentional, a lot of the stress can be eliminated because of how much thought has been put into what is being taught. Therefore, this style of teaching is a win for both the teacher and the students.
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Hi there Alix!
ReplyDeleteI could always tell when teachers were letting the textbook guide the class for them, and honestly it felt so lazy to me! What's the point of being a teacher if you're not willing to take risks and challenge students to think? Where's the fun in it? Once I understood UbD a bit better from the modules, I got really excited about what possibilities it holds, and I can't wait to see what it looks like in action!
p.s. I love that idea of "intentionality". Such a good word.
Hi Alix,
ReplyDeleteI also liked your teaching from the textbook observation. I could always tell when that was occurring and thought it was lame. I just thought of one potential problem with UbD, though it's a problem with every lesson. The UbD style of "doing" could flop with students. If you were to plan your unit around using geometry to solve some real-world problems but students are not at all interested then it's no better than regular boring geometry problems. The "doing" portion of UbD also seems time consuming and if there is a lot of material to get through, it could be difficult do many of these activities.
Hey Alix,
ReplyDeleteI like how you touched upon the idea of, “a teacher who takes their own path.” I think this is important to think about because when a teacher shows individuality, the students can learn more about them, and it may help a community form in the classroom. I remember that some teachers wouldn’t use the book, but they would still follow the book’s order and do essentially the same topics in the same way, just never reference it. This was common in math and science for me. Other teachers that didn’t use the book would give us writing assignments that discusses moral issues in society. These assignments were much more enjoyable because it allowed me to share a bit of my personality. I think that UbD will allow students to explore issues more while also building on and investigating their own thoughts and beliefs.