Chapters 3-5

It is important for a teacher to plan her lessons effectively and look at a multitude of things so that her students get the most out of the lesson and learn what they need to know. However, it all boils down to three things: what does the teacher want the students to know, what does the teacher want the students to do and what does the teacher want the student to be. I never realized how important it was to look at the last question a teacher must ask herself/himself. What do we want our students to be? As teacher's we all hope that our students become good productive members of society doing whatever makes them happy and that fits with their talents. However, I do not think that many people actually give thought as how to do this in their own classrooms and schools. How to we make a students "be" who we want them to be and is it really us that need to decide who that student should be?

I never really gave it any thought to plan my assessments first but after reading and giving it more thought I realized that if you know where you are headed and know what the final goal is then you, as a teacher, can better plan an effective unit. Backwards design might feel really odd to me at first but I think that it will be best for my students to help them get what the need. I also like the varied list of different ways to assess the learner on page 78. It has many good ideas that allow for teachers to vary their assessments. I do think that teachers are sometimes stuck in the here are the test questions and now give me the answers kind of assessment; however, that is not necessarily the best way to handle this type of integrated unit. Using projects, performances, reports among other ways are also effective means of the students displaying the information that he or she learned. I think that it is important for the students to have some choice in the assessment as well. This will help reach all different learning styles but in a way where the teacher can still get the information and knowledge that the student understands and comprehends the material that was covered.