Designing Instruction to Improve Teaching and Learning (Ch.4)

Abstract
This chapter focuses on the importance of building a successful curriculum to ensure the learning of all students. The idea of "all students" furthering development, understanding, and really learning the content in a way that can be used in the future is stressed throughout the chapter. It encourages the setting of high expectations to assist in the encouragement of students. The focus on instruction throughout the chapter showed three main types of instruction: Authentic Instruction (construct & produce knowledge, deep thinking/questions, more than grades); WHERE (Where are we headed, Hook the students, Explore the subject and equip the students, rethink our work and ideas, evaluate results; and Differentiated (changing product, process or content based on students needs/abilities). These three forms of instruction are meant to further understanding and support all learning styles and abilities of students. The chapter also incorporates the importance of using technology in the classroom as a tool for learning among a few other specific teaching ideas and strategies.

Reflection
The majority of this chapter felt like review. It was really interesting to see these three particular methods of instruction sort of measured up to each other in a lot of ways. I am not sure which teaching method I feel is most effective for the results being discussed in the chapter, but I feel as though it must change according to each class. In a lot of ways I feel like I will base my methods of instruction off my students and the ways they learn best and respond best to the new information. If something works for one class or one topic or lesson, it may not work the same way for the others. The incorporation of all three of these methods, among others, seems important to me. A variety is always good when in doubt and this chapter reminded me of that with it's many ideas and philosophies.