Understanding By Design
To Increase Rigor
Adapted from the work of J. McTighe and G. Wiggins
Introduction
.
Dr. Theresa Melenas
-Instructional Coach/ Asst. Principal
Mrs. Amanda Horne
- Instructional Coach
SESSION “I CAN” STATEMENTS
I can articulate to others the rationale
behind UbD
I can explain the three stages of UbD
I can write an outline of UbD using all
three stages
Why UbD?
• To overcome the
prevalence of
“Aimless Activity”
and “Superficial
Coverage”
• To increase rigor
• To support deeper
understanding of the
standards (K,U,D)
• To ensure alignment
between objectives,
assessment and
instruction
What UbD is
1.Starting with the end in mind
2.Reaching a higher level of understanding with students
3.Planning units more deliberately
4.Assessing true understandings and not just lower levels of
learning
What UbD is NOT
• A step by step program, it only
provides a framework
• Meant to compete with SIOP,
Differentiated Instruction, 21st
century skills, but work in
conjunction
• A daily lesson plan
Three stages of backward design
1. Identify desired results
2. Determine acceptable evidence
3. Plan learning experiences &
instruction
7
STAGE 1
Identify desired results
8
Stage 1 – Desired results
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Content Standard (s):
G
Provide a framework for curriculum design; generalizations that define parameters about what students are
expected to know and be able to do
Understanding (s):
Essential Question (s):
EU
Students will understand that…
Insight into the generalization; what students will
walk away with
Knowledge:
Student will know …
K
Inquiry used to explore the generalization to enable
students to earn the understanding
EQ
Skills:
Students will be able to …
Specific priorities about what students are expected to know and be able to do
S
Stage 1- Identify Desired
Results
Key Questions
• What should students know, understand, and
be able to do?
• What is the ultimate transfer we seek as a
result of this unit?
• What enduring understandings are desired?
• What essential questions will be explored indepth and provide focus to all learning?
Design Standard for
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
Enduring, based on
transferable, big ideas at the
heart of the discipline
Need to be “uncovered”, not
merely stated
Transcends individual
lessons
Starts with the stem: “The
student will understand that….
What we want students to Know (Facts)

Vocabulary

Terminology

Definitions

Key factual information

Formulas

Critical details

Important events and people

Sequence and timelines
What we want students to be able to DO: (Skills)

Basic skills – decoding, computation

Communication skills – listening, speaking, writing

Thinking skills – compare, infer, analyze, interpret

Research, inquiry, investigation skills

Study skills – notetaking, fill out charts

Interpersonal, group skills
Essential Questions should be…

Arguable - and
important to argue
about

At the heart of the
subject

Recurring - in
professional work,
adult life, as well as
in classroom
inquiry

Raising more questions for
learners – provoking and
sustaining engaged inquiry

Centered around
important conceptual or
philosophical issues

A tool for organizing
purpose; for making
student learning
meaningful and connected
Essential Question or not?
• Essential Question:
• What causes a species to become extinct?
• Topical Essential Question:
• What caused dinosaurs to become extinct?
• Guiding Question:
• What is an omnivore?
• What was the largest species of dinosaur?
Four Corners
Corner 1- Essential Question
Corner 2- Topic Essential Question
Corner 3- Guiding Question
Corner 4- Unsure
Science
What are the parts of a cell?
Guiding question
How does an organism’s structure enable
it to survive?
Essential question
Social Studies
What factors cause today’s global
migrations?
Topical Question
Why do people move?
Essential Question
Math
In what situations should I use meters,
kilometers or centimeters?
Topical Question
When and why should we estimate?
Essential Question
Which is more 10 kilometers or 10 meters?
Explain.
Guiding question
Design Standards for
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
• Includes Knowledge & Skills (inquiry,
literacy and/or numeracy)
• Start with the stem: “To understand,
students will need to……” or “Students
will be able to…”
• Verbs reflect higher order thinking
(Blooms taxonomy)
• Typically only one verb per objective
STAGE 2
Determine Acceptable Evidence
Stage 2—Determine Assessment
Evidence
Key Questions:
• How will we know if students have achieved
the desired results?
• What will we accept as evidence of student
understanding and their ability to use (transfer)
their learning in new situations?
• How will we evaluate student performance in
fair and consistent ways?
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Performance Task (s)
T
Other Evidence
OE
Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence
a.
Through what performance tasks(s) will students
demonstrate understanding, knowledge, and skill?
b. Through what prompts/academic problems or test/quiz
items will students demonstrate understanding, as well as
more discrete knowledge, and skill?
c
Through what unprompted evidence (e.g., observations,
work samples, etc.) will students demonstrate
understanding, knowledge, and skill?
d. How will students reflect upon, and self-assess their
learning?
Three-ring Audit Process Assessments
Traditional quizzes or
tests
Worth Being Familiar
With
Important to Know and
Do
Authentic
performance tasks
and projects
Constructed or selected
responses
Enduring
Understanding
Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
STAGE 3
Plan Learning Experiences and
Instruction
Stage 3—Plan Learning
Experiences and Instruction
Key Questions:
• How will we support learners as they come to
understand important ideas and processes?
• How will we prepare them to autonomously
transfer their learning?
• What enabling knowledge and skills will students
need to perform effectively and achieve desired
results?
• What activities, sequence, and resources are
best suited to accomplish our goals?
W.H.E.R.E.T.O.
W
Where are we going? What is expected?
H
How will we hook the students?
E
How will we equip students for expected performances?
R
How will we rethink or revise?
E
How will students self-evaluate and reflect their learning?
T
How will we tailor learning to varied needs, interests, and
learning styles
O
How will we organize the sequence of learning?
Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Applying Differentiation
McTighe and Tomlinson
• Stage 1 – Desired Results
Established Goals, Understandings and
Essential Questions – Should not be
differentiated
Knowledge and Skill – May be differentiated
• Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
May be differentiated
• Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Should be differentiated
Tying it all together
• Deeper understanding of standards
• Ability to determine Understandings and
what is expectable evidence of
understanding
• Increased rigor based on more than just
knowledge and skills
• More time devoted to planning- not an
expectation to plan in isolation
QUESTIONS?