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Unit 7 Blog Assignment # 4: Stage 3 and Creating a Rubric to Self-Assess

Part 1: WHERETO Tool

The primary objective of Unit 1 was to assist kindergarten students in gaining a deeper

understanding of their identities. Students engaged in various activities to foster self-awareness,

self-expression, and self-esteem. They were instructed on their physical characteristics,

emotions, preferences, and families. Students were involved in an outdoor activity to learn about

plant growth in Unit 2. To construct a learning plan, I used the following WHERETO tool as

follows:

W (Where the unit is headed and what is anticipated of students): In this learning plan,

students will acquire a deeper understanding of plants and themselves and their bodies. By

investigating their identities while discovering information about the natural world around them,

they will develop a connection to their physical bodies and an understanding of their place in the

world. Students will begin to recognize the similarities and differences between their bodies and

the natural world as they learn about various types of plants, their growth phases, and the

significance of plants in our lives. Through this investigation, they will better understand their

body parts and functions. By the end of the course, students will be able to identify the parts of a

plant, explain the stages of plant development, and demonstrate their knowledge through a

creative project, reinforcing their understanding of their body parts and how they relate to the

natural world.

H (How to hook and hold students' interest): To build on the student's exploration of their

identities and comprehension of the natural world around them, I will introduce the subject by

showing them a brief video about the various types of plants and their significance in our lives.

This will help capture and maintain their interest while introducing them to the subject. To
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further pique their interest and curiosity, I will bring a few plant specimens and have students

examine their various components. In addition, I will create hands-on activities, such as planting

seeds and watering plants. The exercise will engage the students in the learning process and help

them better understand their bodies and their relationship to the natural world, such as the soil

and plant nutrients.

E (Equipping students to experience and explore the ideas being studied): I will use various

methods, including visual aids, hands-on activities, and interactive discussions, to equip students

with the knowledge to experience and investigate the studied concepts. In addition, I will provide

books and online videos to assist students in gaining a deeper understanding of the concepts.

R (Opportunities for formative assessment): To provide students with opportunities for

formative assessment, I will give frequent feedback and encourage students to self-reflect on

their work. In addition, I will incorporate self-assessment tools such as questionnaires and

rubrics to assist students in tracking their progress and identifying areas for improvement.

E (Ways for students to evaluate or self-assess their work): To provide students with the

means to assess or self-evaluate their work, I will develop rubrics and checklists that define the

learning objectives and success criteria in detail. I will encourage students to evaluate their

progress and offer opportunities for peer evaluation.

T (How to tailor the learning plan to meet the variability of learners): I will integrate

multiple modalities, such as visual aids, hands-on activities, and technology. This strategy is

essential to tailor the learning plan to the diversity of learners (Alnahdi, 2014). I will also offer

differentiation opportunities, such as flexible clustering and personalized learning experiences.

O (Tools to help students stay organized): I will provide graphic organizers, checklists, and

other resources to help students keep track of their learning and progress to help them remain

organized.

Part 2: Self-Assessment Rubric

Criteria Excellent Good Fair Poor

Stage 1: My My understanding My understanding My

Identifying understandings broadly aligns is somewhat understandings

Desired are essential, with fundamental aligned with are not aligned

Results comprehensive, concerns and essential with fundamental

and aligned with standards. They questions and questions and

fundamental guide my standards. They standards and

concerns and teaching and might not guide might not guide

standards. They facilitate some my instruction as my instruction as

help influence my knowledge effectively or effectively or

teaching and transfer. facilitate facilitate

facilitate knowledge knowledge

knowledge transfer. transfer.

transfer.

Stage 2: I have provided I have provided a I have provided I have not

Determining students with variety of few opportunities provided multiple

Acceptable multiple methods methods for for students to methods for

Evidence to demonstrate students to demonstrate their students to

their demonstrate their comprehension, demonstrate their

comprehension, comprehension, accounted for comprehension,

considered accounted for limited learner accounted for

learner learner variation, variation, and learner

variability, and and designed an designed an variability, or

designed an authentic authentic designed an

authentic performance task performance task authentic

performance task that relates to the that only partially performance task

using GRASPS significant relates to the big related to the

that ensures a concepts. concepts. significant

high level of concepts.

understanding of

the significant

concepts.

Stage 3: My students are My students are My students are My learners are

Planning aware of the generally aware aware of the unit's unaware of the

Learning objective and of the objective objective and unit's goal or

Experiences requirements for and requirements requirements. what is required.

and the unit. They of the unit. They They may lack They lack

Instruction engage in engage in enthusiasm for enthusiasm for

authentic authentic the presented big the presented big

performance performance concepts and concepts and

duties that offer duties that engage in few engage in few or

real-world provide real- authentic no authentic

experiences and world experiences performance tasks performance tasks

are enthusiastic and are somewhat that provide that offer no real-

about the big enthused by the limited real-world world

ideas presented. big ideas experiences. They experiences. They

They can revise presented. They have limited have no

their work based can revise their opportunities to opportunity to

on feedback and work in response revise their work revise their work

are equipped with to feedback and in response to in response to

self-evaluation have access to feedback and few feedback and no

and reflection self-evaluation resources for self- means of self-

tools. My and reflection evaluation and evaluation or

learning plan is tools. My reflection. My reflection. My

logical and learning plan is learning plan is learning plan

straightforward coherent mainly, somewhat lacks coherence

for students to and students coherent, and and is not

comprehend. understand it. students can comprehended by

comprehend it. students.

Reflection

In Unit 1, we explored the unit's primary objective: to assist kindergarten students in exploring

their identities and obtaining a deeper understanding of themselves. In Unit 2, students engaged

in an outdoor activity to teach young children about plant development. Both of these units

adhere to the principles of UbD and UDL, and the assessment rubric I've developed will enable

me to evaluate the effectiveness of my instructional design.

The task I have designed, which entails creating an "All About Me" poster, will be meaningful

for my learners in my context because it will allow them to express themselves and obtain a

deeper understanding of themselves creatively. The assignment is designed to accommodate the

diverse requirements of my students, and they will have the freedom to choose the medium they

wish to use to create their posters per UDL principles.

In Unit 2, students engaged in an outdoor activity to learn about plant growth according to the

principle of offering multiple modes of representation. Similarly, the assignment I've created will

permit my students to demonstrate their comprehension in various methods per the principle of

providing multiple means of expression.

In conclusion, the learning plan I've designed aligns with the UbD and UDL principles and

builds on the work I've completed in Units 1 and 2. It will enable me to evaluate the

effectiveness of my instructional design and provide my students with meaningful learning

opportunities.

Engaging question: How can the principles of UDL and UbD be applied to designing effective

learning environments for students with varying needs?

References

Alnahdi, G. (2014). Assistive technology in special education and the universal learning design.

Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology-TOJET, 13(2), 18-23.

National Center on Universal Design for Learning. (2012). UDL and Technology. 

Wilson, S. (2009). Differentiated instruction: How are design essential questions in learning,

assessment, and instruction part of it. New England Reading Association Journal, 44(2),

68-75.