Understanding by Design

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Understanding by Design

• Using the method in a curriculum framework
• by Bobby Baker

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UbD in the curriculum

• Can school districts use the UbD and how would
  they use it?
• Course syllabus and program framework can be
  conceived of
• -- essential questions
• -- enduring understandings
• -- key performance tasks
• -- rubrics

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Essential questions

• Examples of a macro curriculum program breaking
  down the Bigger Ideas in the k-12 classroom.
• What is Jurisprudence?
• How does the U.S. Supreme Court effectively use
  it?
• Does the U.S. Supreme Court make law using
  precedent?

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Framing curriculum by performance tasks and
questions

• What are cross-disciplinary questions?
• Framing curriculum by performance tasks what the
  benefits?
• Dont frame curriculum around standardized
  testing.
• Instead, frame it around district assessment
  plans. (see notes)

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Content versus Content

• Teachers have to communicate content
  understandings through information delivery.
• Teachers must focus on transferability.
• Students achieve understanding better by viewing
  the Big Ideas first.

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The New Sequence of Learning

• Lets look at scope and sequence in a
• different light. (see notes)
• The spiral curriculum. (see notes)
• Towards a better syllabus.

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From tasks to rubrics

• District wide performance rubrics based on the
  UbD design. (see notes)
• Consistency over time can chart a students
  progress.
• Target tasking goals that keep students focused
  on the W.H.E.R.E.T.O. (see notes)

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Applying scope and sequence

• Learning should always be goal oriented.
• Personalized approach with more than one way to
  design major tasks.
• Powerful feedback system for teachers.
• Get curriculum to focus teachers on real-world
• applications.
• Big picture provided for teachers with clear
  goals, back
• and forth flow between curriculum.

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Thank you for your time