UbD Chapter 5

This chapter had a lot of important points in it. I really appreciated the part about the timely feedback on assignments. One of the best teachers I have ever had was so organized that she had our tests graded and back to us by the end of the class period in which we took it. She was incredible with feedback. I know that it is not always practical or reasonable to get them back so quick, but I really admired her for that.

In the chapter I also liked that it explained the difference between knowledge and understanding. I believe the explanation that knowledge is binary and that understanding is a greyscale is very valid. I believe that the challenge for the instructor is to traverse from the no knowledge on the subject and go from non-understanding to sort of understanding to much understanding to lots of knowledge and confidence on the subject. I personally also believe that students should be assessed on that greyscale, about how much they understand, and not if the know it or not.

Figure 5.3 was very useful to me to look at the difference between inauthentic work and authentic work. It feel it is about taking learning to the next level, from dull, lifeless, and not engaging to work that fosters creativity, relates to the real world, and discussion with peers. I liked the example of instead of answering recall questions from the end of a textbook chapter, choosing to instead conduct a scientific investigation on the subject. I think that is a great idea for me to add into my curriculum.