In
Education 250, we have focused on the North Carolina Standard Course of Study
and how to “unpack” those standards. We have learned to delve deeper into the
meaning and understanding of the standards that we are given to teach students
by using an acronym called KUD. This stands for Know, Understand, and Do.
By
using the KUD, teachers are able to gain a better understanding of the
information that they are expecting their students to learn. The North Carolina
Department of Public Instruction states that the purpose of this program is “to
increase student achievement” by making sure that teachers are equipped with
the tools and information needed to help their students (link at bottom). Without
looking deeper into these concepts, teachers will not gain full knowledge of
what they are teaching their students. Without a full grasp of the teaching
standard that one is attempting to convey, very little understanding will occur
within the class. This causes students to ultimately waste their time in the
classroom, and also causes testing and any other assessments to be meaningless.
Using
the KUD acronym to unpack and fully understand the standards of the NCSCOS is a
very important tool that I plan to use in my future classroom in order to
provide the best teaching strategies for full student understanding. The North
Carolina Teaching Curriculum Standards (NCTCS) even state in standard three
that teachers should “know the content they teach.” Under this standard come
the smaller more focused applications such as teachers should “make instruction
relevant to students,” “recognize the interconnectedness of content areas,” and
“know the content appropriate to their teaching specialty.” I believe that
without using the KUD and unpacking each of my standards that are being taught,
I will not be able to accurately fulfill this teaching standard.
Link: http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/curriculum/science/scos/support-tools/unpacking/science/physical.pdf
