Backwards Design Pedagogy
for
Standards-Based Education (SBE)
Carmen Riedlinger,
Our Lady of Holy Cross College
criedlinger@olhcc.edu
BEGIN WITH THE END
IN MIND.
WHY??
Honor the old;
bring in the new.
Content standards
are of little value as
a guide for teaching
and best practice
unless our assessments
are closely aligned
with the standards.
It’s about CHANGE.
Traditional
Table of contents
Instruction
Assessment
Backwards Design
Standards
Assessments
Instruction
What are the Backwards Design steps?
1. Analysis of standard/benchmarks (or use state grade-level
expectations).
2. Develop the assessment task.
3. Development of a scoring guide.
4. Design of curriculum.
5. Planning of instructional strategies.
6. Delivery of instruction.
7. Administering assessment.
8. Evaluate/refine your 8-step process.
Have your teachers had trouble
determining exactly what a
standard or a benchmark is saying?
Then they are not alone.
Louisiana Resources

Past…very good
documents to help
teachers begin the
deciphering…SAGE
Deep in Math,
LINCS Science
Performance
Expectations.
Future…In light of
NCLB…La. needed
K-12 Grade Level
Expectations.
 Hired EDC; brought
together teachers,
wrote,
recommended a
draft, need approval,
etc.

We can hope that this fall, or soon
thereafter, all LA. schools will have
K-12 grade level expectations for
their teachers to specifically pinpoint
what students should know and be
able to do according to NCLB
standards.
#1. Analysis of
Standard/Benchmark
 Purpose:
to promote the collegial
conversation about the meaning of
standards and benchmarks that result in
consensus on the knowledge,
skills, relevance of standards and
benchmarks.
In the event that we don’t…
…the practice of analysis of
standards and benchmarks is an
excellent one promoting collegiality
and deep understanding .
Analysis (cont’d.)
 Have
teachers partner with a colleague
who teaches the same subject or grade
level.
 Go to the math (or ELA or Science)
content standards. www.doe.state.la.us
 Select a strand and then a
standard/benchmark.
Analysis (cont’d.)
 Focus
on the benchmark.
 Silently, have them read it slowly.
 Now, look at/read the P1 form ( or their
own form) components.
 Fill in the benchmark you have chosen.
 Now begin the analysis by…
Analysis (cont’d.)
…asking themselves, “What am I asking my
students to KNOW and to BE ABLE TO DO in
this benchmark?
 KNOW: nouns
 BE ABLE TO DO: verbs…notice the verbs
you are coming up with…where do they fall
within Bloom’s Taxonomy?? Basic? Higher
order?
 Relevance…….important!

#2 Select Assessment Type
…and actually create the test before
they begin Day One of instruction…they
will clearly be more focused on what
must be taught…
Option Two…Question(s) -A-Day
test creation method
No more
night-before
test creation
crisis.
#2 Select Assessment Type
 Ask
themselves, “What is the best way
for students to demonstrate what they
know and can do?
 Paper and pencil test?
 Graph? Portfolio work?
Song?
 Chart?
Multiple choice questions?
 Oral explanation?
Drawing?
A few types of assessments
 Multiple
Choice
 Enhanced Multiple Choice
 Justified Multiple Choice
 Constructed Response
 Open-ended
 Performance Assessments
#3 Develop Scoring Guide
Purpose?
To provide clear
descriptors about how
performance will be judged.
Their
grading will be more
reliable.
#3 Develop Scoring Guide
…the chart type which includes ranges such
as Advanced Proficient, Proficient, Partially
Proficient or Basic.
 …or…because TIME is eternally a
problem,,, BORROW, BORROW,
 BORROW, BORROW!
 http://www.teach-nology.com/
 Then Teacher Tools, go to Rubric Generators,
scroll to Math Rubric Generator.

#3 Develop Scoring Guide
 Spend
time with teachers exploring the
teAch-nology
site for ideas for their classroom.
 Rubric sites to explore…
 rubistar.4teachers.org
 www.rubric.com
 www.
TeAch-nology.com
#4 Design of Curriculum
Purpose: To align
curriculum with
each of the
standards/benchmarks
which they are using.
MAKING CONNECTIONS
 VERY
HIGH QUALITY PLANNING
 WELL-DESIGNED
(except that the
placement of the assessment writing
should be up front as per Backwards
Design)
#5 Planning of Instruction
How will they teach this standard?
STRATEGIES…
e.g., cooperative learning?
Think-pair-share?
mind mapping? manipulatives?
jigsaw? lecture?
#5 PLANNING NSTRUCTION
TACTICS…
Four Corners?
Fish Bone Diagram?
Inside/Outside Circles?
Venn Diagram?
Numbered Heads?
Beyond Monet
By ……Carol
Rolheiser &
Barry Bennet
OISE, University
of Toronto with
Michael Fullan
#6 Delivery of Instruction
TEACH!
#7 Delivery of Assessment
TEST!
(don’t forget to vary
the type!)
#8 Refine your 8-step Process
Encourage teachers to be reflective
practitioners. Step back and look at
how they planned.
Did it work well? Did the students
learn? How did they score? What could
you have done better or in a different
manner? Add a pre-test next time?
Bottom line….
Backwards Design Pedagogy is a method of
approaching standards-based education (SBE)
which forces us as teachers to focus on our
standards so much so that we complete our
assessments before we begin instruction, thereby
keeping the assessment foremost in our minds as
we teach our students what they should know and
be able to do to become productive citizens in
society.
In the literature…
G. Wiggins
J. McTighe
R.Stiggins
www.mcrel.org
Backwards Design
Begin with the
end in mind
It’s about CHANGE.
Traditional
Table of contents
Instruction
Assessment
Backwards Design
Standards
Assessments
Instruction
Backwards Design
I’d be happy to be of help if you’d like…
Carmen Schexnaildre Riedlinger
Education Department
Our Lady of Holy Cross College
New Orleans
(504) 398-2122