EDUC350

Sydney Sachro
Reflection
I have learned a vast amount over this past semester. I believe this class to be the most
content I have absorbed, and have been so inspired by. Understanding by Design has completely
elevated the way that I look at the classroom. I come from an educational past focused on writing
notes on the board, copying the notes down, and then answering the corresponding worksheets.
This format was followed my entire elementary and high school experience. It wasnt until I
reached college that I became familiar with other ways of teaching. Of course, I knew other
strategies existed, but I did not have knowledge about what could be done to make these
strategies possible. For me, Understanding by Design has strongly emphasized exactly how to
make meaningful learning take place in the classroom. I came from knowing about other
educational philosophies to a place where I feel as though I am able to construct learning through
my own beliefs.
In this, I knew about lesson plans, but had little idea of how to create one. In my past
there very rarely was a change in the systematic lesson plan. I now feel as though I am able to
effectively create lesson plans geared towards student learning and transferability. I am able to
relate to the frustrations of students when the teacher does not leave a clear path for the students
to follow, and I believe this makes it easier for me to identify and avoid these situations. I have
also changed as an educator in how I look at understanding. I have learned that understanding is
hardly a single meaning word. Students need to display not only that they understand, but that
they explain, interpret, apply, perceive, empathize, and hold self-knowledge.
Something I think is very important to reflect on this semester is simply the phrase "If
you don't know where you are going, then any path can get you there." This quote was an aspect

of the entire semester that has resonated with me the most. This quote brought me back to the
educational past I spoke of earlier, and all of the times I sat confused after the hands-on activity,
struggling over what exactly I was supposed to achieve from it academically. This quote also
made me reflect on an emotional level as well. It reminded me of the times I have felt frustrated
or even blamed myself for not being able to determine the purpose of the lesson. But what this
quote states, even though so simple, is that it is striving towards a new educational future where
teachers will need to be clear and directive in their designs to guide students toward
understanding. I believe this entire course can fall into this statement as well. It could have been
that students were to complete assignments that provided little guidance of what students were
supposed to know, be aware of, and be able to do-however, this course demonstrates an effective
use of backwards design because I have learned a lot, and have always been familiar of the path
that I am on.
Furthermore, in this lies transferability. This is a concept I have learned about that I also
find important to reflect on. In a previous paper I have spoken about a communications class I
had last spring. In this class, the teacher would teach theories by analogies and storytelling. By
using this instructional method I was able to understand and spot these theories in public places,
in TV shows, and several other situations. I can recall the instance that I was able to apply
transferability as the "a-ha!" moment as I was activating my schema and making connections.
In addition, I find myself using transferability nearly every day with the information I
have learned in my educational classes. I find that several aspects of other courses can relate. I
think this is important to reflect on because the information and resources that I have gathered
are long-term-and cross curricular. Also, in relation to transferability, with the class, I was able to
take the knowledge I had acquired from Understanding by Design and transfer it to a new
medium-technology. This course has evolved and altered my view of technology in the

classroom. I think that I often do not view technology as a creative tool, however, I have learned
that technology can be used as a strong creative outlet in the future.
Also, before this class had begun I considered myself to be skeptical about technology
use in the classroom. My views towards technology were slightly negative due to the fact that I
had observed classrooms where technology was used and little social interaction was happening.
However, this course has changed the way that I view education in the classroom. In fact, it only
makes sense to make use out of a plethora of technology tools because understanding and
utilizing technology is crucial for the future workforce.
I have learned many ways to use technology in a classroom and even how to incorporate
creativity into technology as well. Before this course I was unaware of the large variety of apps
that are made specifically to influence classroom learning. I have found that technology can be a
very important tool for students in terms of their learning, but also for educators. I was unaware
of the range of applications that are available to assess students, and how quickly the assessment
can be achieved.
I am grateful that I took this course on with an open mind because I feel as though I
completed this course with a new toolbox filled with technological mediums. In this, I enjoyed
the "Cool Tools" assignment as I was able to share some of the technology tools I have
discovered in my educational journey, and I was also able to learn a variety of new tools from
other students as well. I have created a list in my computer where I am able to access these "Cool
Tools" because I can see myself using a variety of them within lesson plans. Finally, I think that
the final webpage assignment was very beneficial to me. I created this assignment as if I were a
teacher who wanted to set up a page for their students to access, as well as their parents. This
assignment put me into the shoes of an actual educator, and helped me to think about what I
would enclose in the webpage if I had my own class. I believe this assignment was beneficial in

helping me to see things in a new perspective, and use as a resource that I am able to refer back
to in the future.
In reflection of this past semester, I have learned a lot. I consider myself to be in a new
place as an educator and this is due to the design of the class. I believe that I have solidified
backwards design and transferability in my mind and I will continue to use this in my own
classroom. I have formed a new educational philosophy involving technology, as well as the way
that I view the classroom. In conclusion, I am excited about all of the information that I have
learned, and I cannot wait to utilize it in the future in my own classroom.