Chapter Seven: Teaching for Understanding in Academically Diverse Classrooms

Chapter seven of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design described the problem of teachers spending too much time teaching the students to understand the basics. Once the students understand the basics, the teachers move onto the next subject, instead of engrossing the students in the information. The chapter also explained the importance of having the students "uncover" the knowledge, instead of covering it. Teachers should not just focus on the little things. In the famous words of Dr. Theresa, "It is better to cover information an inch-wide, mile-deep formula than an mile-wide, inch-deep philosophy!" Too many teachers have their students memorize facts, definitions, and vocabulary. Students are made to repetitiously write it over and over again on tests and notes. The problem with this method is that later on, the students forget the material they had previously learned! Time limits were also a problem within this chapter. When time constraints a subject, it is unfair. The WHERETO model is a perfect guide to help me avoid having these problems in my classroom. My students will not only be remembering the information in class, but they will also be diving deeper into the knowledge to uncover it. I will do my best to not conform my lessons and units into a time frame. Because when students have more time, the deeper the knowledge is uncovered. Because I am teaching history, I am not going to be like my previous history teachers. I would rather have students who know what happened instead of when. Uncovering the bigger picture of history is more important than filling my students' heads with useless and repetitious facts.