Chapter 3 What Really Matters In Learning? (Content)

This chapter touches on many things that we have been doing in Dr. Grace's class. It starts with the difference between standards that are too specific, standards that are too vague and the effect both of them have on student learning. Textbooks are one of the causes of information overload. Some teachers forget that they are in business for students to master concepts, not to just cover material. In order to be a responsive teacher, we must not use the textbook as a road map for our content. Backwards design is what we have been working on exclusively in class. It consists of three stages. They are: identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence and plan learning experiences and instruction. Backwards design starts with the standards, how they are going to meet those standards, and what they are going to do to prove it. Backwards design focuses on big ideas, essential questions and meeting standards. This is the opposite of activity-based learning, which starts out with an activity, or the assessment, then ends with achieving and discovering goals that fit.

Overwhelmingly, everyone found this chapter pretty helpful because it related directly to what we were doing in class. You liked to see the importance and the clarification of the template that we have been using (what it actually means to use backwards design). Everyone was supportive of backwards design. Many of you shared experiences of having teachers that did or did not use backwards design. People who had teachers that used backwards design, noticed that they were very effective teachers. People who had teachers that did not use backwards design, noticed that they were using the text book very inefficiently. It is not a road map but a source for supplemental information, especially with today’s technology. Teachers that did fun but pointless activities were frustrating because there was no purpose.