Understanding By Design
Grant Wiggins and Jay McTigue
Interpreted by Dr. Rich Hawkins and Dr. Deb
DeLuca
Presented By:Laura Mastrogiovanni
Backward Design
Chapter One
Teachers are designers…or are
they?
Compare and contrast the MM’s of
teachers as designers vs. other design
professions (architecture, engineering,
graphic artists)?
 The effectiveness of an architects design
is client-centered. Effectiveness of a
design corresponds to whether they
have accomplished the explicit goals of
their clients

Teachers are designers…or are
they?

The effectiveness of a teacher’s design is too
often teacher-centered. Effectiveness of a
design (curriculum, assessment, learning
structures) often corresponds to whether they
have:





Covered the required content
Accomplished their goals
Kept pace with their colleagues
Scored a normal distribution on summative
assessments
If we were to accept the aforementioned
statement as current reality, how might the
aforementioned statement be modified?
Teachers are designers…or are
they?
Compare and contrast the MM’s of
teachers as designers vs. other design
professions (architecture, engineering,
graphic artists)?
 The effectiveness of an architects design
is client-centered. Effectiveness of a
design corresponds to whether they
have accomplished the explicit goals of
their clients.

Standards Shape an Architect’s
Work

What standards inform an architects
work?
Building Codes
 Zoning Codes
 Customer Budget
 Neighborhood Aesthetics
 Specific Use

Standards Shape a Teacher’s Work

What standards inform a teacher’s work?
Building Culture and Norms
 Tenured v. Non-tenured
 Personal Autonomy
 Collective Bargaining Agreement
 Personal ABBA’s
 Degree of Supervision
 Pre-post service Education

Standards Shape a Teacher’s Work

What standards inform a teacher’s work?
NCLB
 IDEA
 State Standards
 District Standards
 Department Standards
 Content Standards (NCTM, MENC, etc.)

Factors That Influence Design
Facilities
 Resources
 Diverse Student Interests
 Social/Emotional Capacity
 Class Size
 Demographics

NOTE: These are influences, NOT EXCUSES!!!!!!!
NOOOOO EXCUSES!
“ …all the methods and materials we use
are shaped by a clear conception of the
vision of desired results (p.14)”.
 “we must state with clarity what the
student should understand and be able
to do as a result of any plan and
irrespective of any constraints we face
(p.14)”.
 “Find a way or make a way” - RJH

“If you don’t know exactly where you are
going, then any road will get you there.”
If we continually focus on what we like to
teach and the activities and resources
we’ll use, without clarifying the desired
results of our teaching, then how will we
know whether our designs are arbitrary
or appropriate?
 Can you cite a time when you or your
colleagues fell into this trap?

How do we…









Know our designs are arbitrary or appropriate?
Separate interesting from essential learning’s?
Know if it is just cute or does it count?
Balance good instruction with the need to pass
“the test.”
Balance Inputs and Outputs?
Balance formative and Summative assessments?
Inform instruction?
Shift from content-driven or activities design to
results-driven design? (e.g. see p. 15)
Shift from fact-based knowledge to
metacognition?
Crykees, we’ve got some work to do!
How do we eliminate hope as our
primary strategy?

Design with the “end-in-mind.”



Remember Vision, Mission, Guiding Ideas?
Answer the “why” and “so what” questions students
want answered.
Focused curriculum planning


Be explicit
Transparent Priorities (no secrets!)


Remember Madelyn Hunter’s Anticipatory Sets?
Prepare Curriculum like Floyd Football prepares for
every game

Everyone has a SV, an innovative, customized game plan and
the TMT’s to make it happen!)
Let’s Review…
Reactivate your episodic memory
Framework for Strategic Leadership
Skills and
Capabilities (ppk
Relationships
Deep Learning
Cycle
Guiding Ideas
Evidence
PDSA
Domain of
Strategic
Architecture
Innovations in
Infrastructures
T, M, & Tools
Practices
ABBA’s
Awareness
and
Sensitivities
U.B.D. - Look Familiar?
Skills and
Capabilities (ppk)
Relationships
Culture (internal)
Practices
End in Mind
Societal Forces
ABBA’s
Assessment
(External)
Awareness
and
Sensitivities
PDSA
Curriculum
Design
Innovations in
Infrastructures
T, M, & Tools
Three Stages of Backward Design
Stage 1: Identify desired results
 Stage 2: Determine Acceptable
Evidence
 Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and
Instruction

1.
2.
3
Is the Velcro working yet?
3
Stage 1: Identify desired results
Consider our vision and goals
 Examine established content standards
(national, state, district)
 Performance Expectations

Curriculum
 Teaching
 Assessments


Clarify content priorities
p.18
Stage 2: Determine Acceptable
Evidence
How will we know if students have
achieved the desired results?
 What will we accept as evidence of
student understanding and mastery?
 Evidence influences content and
activities, not the inverse
 Think like an assessor (archeologist)

Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences
and Instruction

Several key questions:




What enabling knowledge (facts, concepts,
principles) and skills( processes, procedures,
strategies) will students need in order to perform
effectively and achieve the desired results?
What activities will equip students with the needed
knowledge and skills?
What will need to be taught and coached, and how
should it be best taught, in light of performance
goals?
What materials and resources are best suited to
accomplish these goals?
Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences
and Instruction
Specifics of instructional planning can only
be accomplished after we identify the
desired results and the assessments!
 Why do we call this backwards?

Because you are not free thinkers, probably
wimps, who are like lambs led to slaughter
and will do things that the culture rewards
rather, thus feathering your own bed, rather
than use your common sense to benefit your
students!
 BTW, I say this without malice or blame.

The Logic of Backward Design
Applies regardless of learning goals
 E.g.:


Starting from state content standards,
curriculum planners need to determine the
appropriate assessment evidence stated or
implied in the standard. Likewise, a staff
developer should determine what evidence
will indicate that adults have learned the
intended knowledge or skill before planning
the various workshop activities.
The Rubber Meets the Road with
ASSESSMENT
Three different teachers may all be
working toward the same content
standards, but if the assessments vary
considerably, how are we to know which
students have achieved what?
 How common is this scenario in your
school?
 What are the unintended consequences
of this phenomena?

p.19
Learning w/o UBD
Shared Vision?
Desired Goals?
Is this your department or grade level?
Learning w/o UBD
Shared Vision?
Desired Goals?
This is the result of “coverage” and “activitybased” learning.
“hands on” without “minds on”
Oh Sh*&)(^&%$#@&)!
Coverage teaching is “Teaching by
Mentioning It”
Coverage teaching typically
relies on a test or textbook
Coverage Assessment is waiting until
June and then hoping, praying and
saying multiple novenas
Learning With Vision (U.B.D.)
Shared Vision
Desired Goals
The Ideal. Remember Ch. 9 in PLC?
Results-based learning with an engaged mind
Backwards Design Templates
(software)
Reinforces the habits of mind necessary to
minimize or avoid committing the “twin
sins.”
Starts with the “Big Picture” and drills down
to greater and greater
Big Picture
Multiple Templates
One Page
Two Pages
Six Pages
Details
UBD 1 pg.Template “Gestalt”
Provides an overview of UBD
 Enables a quick alignment check

Assessments (Stage 2)
 Learning Activities (Stage 3)

Can be used as a review for existing
lessons
 Provides and initial design framework

One page Template –Stage One
Asks designers what they want their
students to understand and to frame
these understandings as questions
 Identify Understandings and Essential
Questions to establish a greater context
into which a unit is nested

One page Template –Stage Two
Asks designers to consider a variety of
assessment methods for gathering
evidence of the desired learnings
 Designers need to think in terms of
collective evidence, not a single a
performance task

One page Template –Stage Three

Asks designers to list major learning activities and
performance tasks
 When filled in, “WHERETO” should be evident to all







What, Who, Where, When
Hook and Hold
Equip, Experience, and Explore
Rethink and Revise
Evaluate
Tailored to learners abilities, needs, and interests
(differentiate)
Organized
UBD Design Standards (p. 28)

Design templates are to curriculum designers as
are scoring rubrics to students
 Specify the qualities of effective units (see Figure
1.4) according to UBD
 Standards contribute to design in three ways



Reference Point
Self-Assessment and peer reviews of draft
designs
Quality control of completed designs
UBD Scope of Intelligent Tools
Templates (graphic organizers)
 Design Standards
 Design Tools

Innovations in Infrastructure
UBD Tools (TMT’s)

Designed around an array of scaffolds –
Prompts
 Organizers
 Idea Sheets
 Examples



See the Workbook
These tools help create “alignment,”
consistency and promote common
understanding
Theories,
Methods and
Tools
Read UBD in Action with Bob James

How might this differ from the planning
process you use for instruction?


What are your significant learning's, aha’s, or
wonderings?
What are the implications for using UBD for:





You, as a teacher
You, as a leader
Your school
Your district
Based on your current reality, in what area or
discipline would UBD yield the highest
leverage? Why?
p.29
The UBD Design Matrix (Figure 1.5)
Read left to right, one row at a time, to
see how the three stages of design might
look in practice
 What does this yield?


Greater coherence (alignment) among
desired results, key performances
(assessments), and teaching and learning
experiences, resulting in better student
performance – the purpose of design!