Title: The
1The What and Why of Understanding By Design
- Merle C. Tan, PhD
- National Institute for Science and Mathematics
Education Development - University of the Philippines, Diliman
2UP NISMED was established in 1964 as a Science
Teaching Center became a national institute in
1997 named the National Center for Research
Innovations in SME 2005 recipient of 1st Gawad
Leader in SME 2008.
Major functions research, curriculum
development, and professional development of
teachers and school administrators
3This session will hopefully .
- broaden and deepen your concept of UbD, and
- help you understand why UbD is a powerful tool
for (chemistry) teachers and educators.
4UbD What is it?
- A conceptual framework, a design process, and a
set of design standards used in the development
of units - Offers a template used as an aid in the design of
curriculum, instruction, and assessment - Relies on backward design process for
educational planning - Focused on "teaching for understanding
- Designed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (1999),
and published by the Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development.
5UbD A Conceptual framework
- A way of thinking ...pulling together many ideas
and processes that have been tested both through
research and classroom use - These ideas and process give rise to powerful
learning experiences that can result to deeper
understanding of facts, concepts, generalizations
, principles, and other ideas. - The learning experiences engage and result in
learners gaining sophisticated insights and
abilities that will be reflected in a variety of
performance both in school and in the real world.
6UbD A Conceptual Framework
- UbD is different from conventional thinking about
teaching and learning - Emphasizes the use of backward design process
- Prioritizes what students are to know,
understand, and be able to do -
- Gives serious consideration to the meaning of
understanding
7- Focuses thinking on the desired results of
instruction, rather than beginning their planning
process with activities, materials, or textbook
content. - The focal point for the planning of curriculum,
instruction , and assessment is what the learner
should know, understand, and be able to do as a
result of instruction - The results of instruction, are determined with
reference to national standards
8- The results of instruction, are determined with
reference to national standards - After the desired results of instruction have
been specified , the backward design process
turns the attention of the teachers or curriculum
design team toward identifying the evidence that
will be accepted to determining whether the
learner has achieved the desired results. - Finally, the attention is turned to planning
learning experiences and activities. - If design begins with the end in mind, the result
is likely to be instruction that will focus more
clearly and effectively on desired results.
9Stage 3 Planning learning experiences
instruction
Stage 2 Determining acceptable evidence
Stage 1 Identifying desired results (learning
outcomes)
10To begin with the end in mind means
- to start with a clear understanding of your
destination. - to know where youre going so that you better
understand where you are now - so that the steps you take are always in the
right direction. -
- Stephen R. Covey (n.d. ) The 7 Habits of Highly
Effective People
11- Need to priorities what students are to know ,
understand, and be able to do
- Rather than viewing knowledge as equal, this way
of thinking suggests that some knowledge are
essential and enduring, some knowledge are
important to know, and some knowledge are worth
being familiar with. - A review of curriculum standards reveals that
there is more content deemed important than can
reasonably be covered in the classroom. - Superficial coverage of all content is not the
answer if the desire is to help learners
understand important ideas.
12Worth being familiar with
Worth being familiar with
Important to know and do
Enduring understanding
13- Four criteria or filters to assist designers in
determining which knowledge is essential and
enduring, which is important, and which is worth
being familiar with - To what extent are the content standards and
topics enduring and transferable big ideas having
value beyond the classroom? - To what extent are the content standards and
topics big ideas and core processes at the heart
of the discipline? - To what extent are the content standards and
topics abstract, counterintuitive, often
misunderstood, or easily misunderstood ideas
requiring uncoverage? - To what extent are the content standards or
topics big ideas embedded in facts, skills, and
activities?
14- Gives serious consideration to the meaning of
understanding-
- To some, understanding might mean simply
answering the question correctly, or defining a
term in your own words, or carrying out a simple
skill, or explaining why something occurred. - Understanding is more than just knowing or doing.
- Wiggins and McTighe describe understanding as the
ability to use knowledge and skill in
sophisticated, flexible ways. - K S are necessary elements of understanding,
but they are not synonymous with understanding.
Matters of understanding require more. - Students need to make conscious sense and apt use
of the knowledge they are learning and the
principles underlying it.
15- Wiggins and McTighe, suggest that when we truly
understand an idea we - Can explain provide thorough, supported, and
justifiable accounts of phenomena, facts, and
data. - Can interpret tell meaningful stories offer
apt translations provide a revealing historical
or personal dimension to ideas and events make
it personal or accessible through images,
anecdotes, analogies, and models. - Can apply effectively use and adapt what we
know in diverse contexts. - Have perspective see and hear points of view
through critical eyes and ears see the big
picture. - Can empathize find value in what others might
find odd, alien, or implausible perceive
sensitively on the basis of prior direct
experience. - Have self knowledge perceive the personal
style, prejudices, and habits of mind that both
shape and impede our own understanding we are
aware of what we do not understand and why
understanding is so hard..
16- Six facets of understanding
Interpret
Explain
Apply
Understanding means being able to..
Have perspective
Have self- Knowledge
Empathize
17Understanding by Design A Design
Process Understanding by Design is both a road
map and a checklist. As a road map it guides us
to our destination of well designed curriculum,
instruction, and assessment, avoiding wrong turns
and delays. As a checklist it reminds us of what
we need to do during the beginning, middle, and
end of our journey. .
18Understanding by Design A Design Process The
Understanding by Design process includes three
stages. These stages are as follows Stage 1
identify desired results of instruction, Stage 2
determine acceptable evidence to judge whether
the results were achieved and how well they
were achieved, and Stage 3 plan learning
experiences and instruction.
19- Stage 1 Tasks
- Identifying most essential and enduring
understanding - Identifying essential questions
- Identifying important knowledge and skills that
will result for the unit - i
20- Essential and enduring ideas - those big ideas
that are as useful and valid in the real world
outside of the school as they are in the
classroom. - (refer to filters)
- Essential questions (EQs) are the basis for
framing the unit. Engaging questions - can serve as doorways to understanding. set
directions for inquiry providing students with a
purpose - provide learners with a focus on enduring
understandings - invite the learners to think about interesting
problems that they might not perceived as a
question before - as they engage in learning activities.
21- Curriculum developers will be guided by the EQs
in developing learning experiences - that are focused on important understanding
- rather than coming up with a set of disconnected
activities that are simply designed to be hands
on.
22- EQs share common characteristics
- Are framed to provide and sustain student
interest - Recur naturally throughout ones learning and in
the history of the field - Address the philosophical or conceptual
foundations of the discipline - Raise other important questions, often across
subject area disciplines, and - Have no obvious right answer but serves as
doorways into focused yet lively discussion ,
inquiry, and research
23- Identifying important knowledge and skills
- As essential understandings are identified, the
design team will discover that there are pieces
of important or worth being familiar with . - K/S of this nature are included because they are
related to or give rise to the essential
understanding that is the focus of the unit.
24Stage 2 Tasks Choosing appropriate assessments
methods (there are multiple methods of
assessments- performance tasks and projects as
well as traditional assessments such as quizzes
and tests. Designing authentic performance
assessments Using GRASPS Using the facets of
understanding in designing authentic performance
assessments Designing scoring rubrics
25GRASPS Goal the goal of the performance
task Role the role of the students as they carry
out the performance task Audience the target
audience to which the finished product/performance
will be presented Situation the context Product
or performance the result of the activity or
task Standards success the criteria by which
the product/performance will be judged
26Stage 3 Tasks Where is the unit headed and what
is the purpose of day to day work? Hook the
students through engaging work that makes them
more eager to explore key ideas. Explore the
subject in depth, equip students with required
K/S to perform successfully on final tasks and
help students experience key ideas Rethink with
students the big ideas . They rehearse and revise
their work Evaluate results and develop action
plans through self assessment of resulst.
27Indicators for Teaching with Understanding
- The Unit of Course Design
- The big ideas and essential questions clearly
guide the design of, and are aligned with
assessments and T/L activities - Makes clear distinctions between big ideas and
essential questions and the knowledge and skills
necessary for learning big ideas and answering
the questions
28Indicators for Teaching with Understanding
- The Unit of Course Design
- Uses multiple forms of assessment that let
students demonstrate their understanding in
various ways. - Incorporates instruction and assessment that
reflects the six facets of understanding - Anchors assessment of understanding with
authentic performance tasks
29Indicators for Teaching with Understanding
- The Unit of Course Design
- Uses clear criteria and performance standards for
teacher, peer, and self evaluation of students
products and performances - Enables students to revisit and rethink important
ideas to deepen their understanding - Incorporates a variety of resources (the
textbook serving as one resource rather than as
the syllabus)
30Indicators for Teaching with Understanding
- The Teacher
- Informs students of the big ideas and essential
questions, performance requirements, and
evaluative criteria at the beginning of the unit
or course - Hooks and holds students interest while they
examine and explore big ideas and essential
questions - Uses a variety of strategies to promote better
understanding of subject matter
31Indicators for Teaching with Understanding
- The Teacher
- Facilitates students active construction of
meaning (rather than simply telling. - Promotes opportunities to students to unpack
their thinking to explain, interpret, shift
perspectives, empathize, or self assess - Uses questioning, probing, and feedback to
stimulate student reflection and rethinking
32Indicators for Teaching with Understanding
- The Teacher
- Teaches basic knowledge and skills in the
context of big ideas and explore essential
questions - Uses information from ongoing assessments as
feedback to adjust instruction - Uses information from ongoing assessments to
check for student understanding and
misconception along the way - Uses a variety of resources to promote
understanding
33Indicators for Teaching with Understanding
- The Learners
- Can describe the goals and performance
requirements of the unit or course - Can explain what they are doing and why.
- Are hooked at the beginning and remain engaged
throughout the unit or course. - Can describe the criteria by which will be
evaluated - Are engaged in activities that help them to learn
the big ideas and essential questions
34Indicators for Teaching with Understanding
- The Learners
- Are engaged in activities that promote the six
facets of understanding. - Demonstrate that they are learning the background
knowledge and skills that support the big ideas
and EQs. - Have opportunities to generate relevant
questions. - Are able to explain and justify their work and
answers
35Indicators for Teaching with Understanding
- The Learners
- Are involved in self or peer performance
assessment based on established performance
standards. - Use criteria or rubrics to guide and revise their
work. - Set relevant goals based on feedback.
36Indicators for Teaching with Understanding
- In the Classroom Environment
- The big ideas and the EQs are central to the work
of students, the classroom activity, and the
norms and culture of the classroom. - There are high expectations and incentives for
all students to come to understand the big ideas
and EQs. - Big ideas, EQs, and rubrics are posted.
- Sample models of student work are made visible.
- Exploration of big ideas and EQs is
differentiated.
37UbD.. in brief
- UbD is a way of thinking more carefully about
design it is NOT a program. - Helps us design instruction that promotes
students understanding and engagement - Looks at instructional design from a results
orientation
38- UbD contd
- Targets achievement through a backward planning
process that focuses on assessment first and
relevant instructional activities later - Expects us to establish spirals of learning where
students use and reconsider ideas and skills vs
linear scope and sequence
39UbDcontd
- Provides a lens for prioritizing
- Serves as an organizer for facts, skills and
actions focusing on big ideas, helps students
see purpose and relevance of pieces - Creates coherence
- Manifests itself in many ways and in many content
areas - Requires uncovering - its meaning is abstract,
so it must be discovered, constructed or inferred
by learners.
40 Backward design takes time. Grant Wiggins
suggests to plan on one well-designed gourmet
unit per year when you start and seek the
support of colleagues.
41UbD (contd)
- Puts together many ideas and processes that have
been tested both through research and classroom
use UbD represents a way of thinking about the
design of curriculum, instruction, and assessment
- While it takes some time and effort to learn this
way of thinking, the investment is worthwhile as
it will result in learning experiences - It will engage learners and result in learners
gaining more sophisticated insights and abilities
that will be reflected in a variety of
performances both in school and in the real
world.
42The Understanding by Design process may seem
cumbersome upon first reading and even more
difficult upon the first attempt to use it.
Everything that is worthwhile in life requires
work.
43The UbD process begins with the end in mind,
identify evidence of quality products/
performances, and focus engaging learning
experiences on the desired results. In reality,
the work that is required in developing units of
instruction using the UbD process is no more
difficult or time consuming than conventional
ways of developing units. The end result is
considerably different, however In UBD-
instructional units that are efficient and
effective in producing deep understanding In
conventional teaching ,units are fun but result
in little learning. .
44References Petner C. et al. (2009) UbD as a tool
for effective unit design. Slideshare. Retrieved
12.07.09 McTighe,J. Seif, E. Indicators of
Teaching for Understanding. TLL Academics.
Retrieved 12.07.09 Wiggins ,G. McTighe, J
(nd) Understanding by Design A brief
instroduction . Center for technology and school
change at teachers college.Retrieved12.07.09.
Understanding by design httpen.
Wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding_ by_ Design,
Retrieved 10.21.09