Beginning with the
End in Mind
Overview of “Backwards Design”
Jim Wright
Kennesaw State University
Caveat: We only have 30 min
Information taken from the:
McTighe, J., & Wiggins, G. (2005).
Understanding by Design (2nd Edition)
(ASCD). Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall.
Why?
• Do we often plan by activity?
• Because it is the right thing to do
• and . . .
Your Performance Evaluation
A. Curriculum and Planning – The teacher
makes decisions about planning that
demonstrate a deep understanding of grade
level content knowledge, pedagogy, and GPS
or State-approved curriculum implementation
by appropriately planning for what students
are expected to know, understand, and be
able to do
Stages of Backwards Design
1. Identify desired results
2. Determine acceptable evidence
3. Plan learning experiences
& instruction
Establishing Priorities
Knowledge that is worth
being familiar with
Worth being
familiar with
Important to
know and do
Knowledge and skills that are
important to know and do
“Enduring”
understanding
Understandings that are
enduring – What do you want
you students to remember in
10 years?
Six Facets of
Understanding
•Explain - provide thorough,
•Perspective - can see and
supported, and justifiable accounts of
phenomena, facts and data
hear points of view through critical eyes and
ears; see the big picture.
•Interpret - tell meaningful stories;
•Empathize - find value in what
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.
others might find odd, alien, or implausible;
perceive sensitively on the basis of prior direct
experience.
•Apply - effectively use and adapt
the personal style, prejudices, projections,
and habits of mind that both shape and
impede our own understanding; having an
awareness of what one does not understand
and why understanding is so hard
what is known in diverse contexts.
•Self-Knowledge - perceive
Curricular Priorities and
Assessment Methods
Assessment Types
Traditional quizzes and tests
Paper-pencil
Selected-response
Constructed-response
Performance tasks and projects
Open-ended
Complex
Authentic
Worth being
familiar with
Important to
know and do
“Enduring”
understanding
Stage 3 big idea:
E
F
F
E
C
T
I
V
E
and
E
N
G
A
G
I
N
G
Let’s See It In Action
• Chemistry Class
SCSh6. Students will communicate
scientific investigations and information
clearly.
a. Write clear, coherent laboratory reports related to
scientific investigations.
b. Write clear, coherent accounts of current
scientific issues, including possible alternative
interpretations of the data.
c. Use data as evidence to support scientific
arguments and claims in written or oral
presentations.
d. Participate in group discussions of scientific
investigation and current scientific issues.
Brainstorm with the Three
Stages
1. Identify desired results
2. Determine acceptable evidence
3. Plan learning experiences
& instruction
Instructional Strategies
• Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., &
Pollock, J. E. (2004). Classroom
Instruction that Works: Research-Based
Strategies for Increasing Student
Achievement (ASCD). Alexandria, VA:
Prentice Hall.
Strategies
1. Identifying similarities and differences
2. Summarizing and note taking
3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
4. Homework and practice
5. Nonlinguistic representations
6. Cooperative learning
7. Setting objectives and providing feedback
8. Generating and testing hypotheses
9. Cues, questions, and advance organizers
Similarities & Differences
COMPARING: Identifying similarities & differences
between or among things or ideas.
CLASSIFYING: Grouping things that are alike into
categories based on their characteristics.
CREATING ANALOGIES: Identifying relationships
between pairs of concepts
(Relationships between relationships)
CREATING METAPHORS: Identifying a general pattern
in a specific topic then finding another topic that is
different, but has the same general pattern.
Summarizing
• To effectively summarize, students must
delete some information, substitute some
information and keep some information.
• To effectively delete, substitute, and keep
information, students must analyze the
information at a fairly deep level.
• Being aware of the explicit structure of
information is an aid to summarizing
information.
Providing Recognition
• Rewards do not necessarily have a
negative effect on intrinsic motivation.
• Reward is most effective when it is
contingent on the attainment of some
standard of performance.
• Abstract symbolic recognition is more
effective than tangible rewards.