Understanding by Design
(UbD)
August 29, 2012
Mr. Steve Guarnieri
Mr. Keith Houghteling
Agenda
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Why Understanding by Design (UbD)?
the Eight Tenets of Understanding by Design
The Six Facets of Understanding
Enduring Understandings and Essential
Questions
The Three Stages of Backwards Design
Performance Tasks and the GRASPS model
WHERETO Lesson Planning
“What I Learned from Quentin Tarantino”
Quotations
“Only in education, never in the life
of farmer, sailor, merchant,
physician or scientist does
knowledge mean primarily a store
of information.”
–John Dewey, Democracy and
Education
Assessments
Assessment
EPAS / Interim
Assessments
Performance
Tasks
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
EXPLORE—
October, May (2)
/
Interim
Assessments (2)
4 total
PLAN—October,
May (2) /
Interim
Assessments (2)
4 total
ACT – October,
March, APRIL (3)
/
2 Interim
Assessments
5 total
Beginning of Year
BOY
EOY
BOY
EOY
BOY
EOY
2 total
2 total
2 total
NOCTI
Certification
Tests
The Constitution
Test
NOCTI
Certification
Tests
Consumer Ed.
NOCTI
Certification
Tests
Consumer Ed.
7
8
5
(BOY) /
End of Year (EOY)
2 total
CTE / Content
Area
TOTAL
minimum
6
Senior
The Twin Sins of Curriculum Planning
Activity-Oriented Teaching
• Teachers plan and conduct
various activities worrying
only about whether they are
engaging and studentfriendly.
• These activities do not add up
to coherent, focused, and
generative learning.
Cotton Candy—pleasant enough
in the moment but lacking
long-term substance.
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Content Coverage
Marching through a resource (a
textbook or literature)
A teacher’s job is not to simply
mention everything in a book
or on a topic.
Our job is to prioritize, make
interesting and useful and
“uncover” the content, not
merely “cover” it.
The textbook should serve as a
resource, not a syllabus, in an
effective and focused learning
plan.
the Eight Tenets of Understanding by Design (UbD)
1. UbD is a way of thinking purposefully about curricular planning
and school reform. It offers a three-stage design process, a set of
helpful design tools, and design standards—not a rigid program
or prescriptive recipe.
2. The primary goal of UbD is student understanding—the ability to
make meaning of “big ideas” and to transfer learning.
3. UbD unpacks and transforms content standards into the relevant
Stage 1 elements and appropriate assessments in Stage 2.
4. Understanding is revealed when students autonomously transfer
their learning through authentic performance. Six facets of
understanding— the capacities to explain, interpret, apply, shift
perspective, empathize, and self-assess — serve as indicators of
understanding.
the Eight Tenets of Understanding by Design (UbD)
5. Teachers are coaches of understanding, not mere
purveyors of content or activity. They design for and
support meaning-making and transfer by the learner
and they adjust to achieve intended results based on
constant monitoring.
6. Planning is best done backward from the desired
results and the transfer tasks that embody the goals.
The three stages (Desired Results, Evidence, Learning
Plan) must align for the unit to be most effective.
7. Regular reviews of curriculum against design standards
enhance curricular quality and effectiveness.
8. UbD reflects a continuous-improvement approach. The
result of curriculum designs —student performance!—
informs needed adjustments.
Six Facets of Understanding
Noun Forms
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Explanation
Interpretation
Application
Perspective
Empathy
Self-Knowledge
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Verb Forms
Explain
Interpret
Apply
Shift Perspective
Empathize
Self-Assess / SelfKnowledge
“Education: ‘That which discloses to the wise and disguises
from the foolish their lack of understanding.’”
–Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914), The Devil’s Dictionary
Six Facets of Understanding
Explanation
Interpretation
Application Perspective
Empathy
Selfknowledge
demonstrate
derive
describe
create analogies
critique
document
adapt
build
create
debug
analyze
argue
compare
contrast
be like
be open to
believe
be aware of
realize
recognize
design
exhibit
express
evaluate
illustrate
judge
decide
design
exhibit
criticize
infer
consider
imagine
relate
reflect
self-assess
induce
instruct
justify
make sense of
make meaning of
invent
perform
produce
model
predict
prove
show
synthesize
teach
provide metaphors
read between the
lines
represent
tell a story of
translate
propose
solve
test
use
role play
Enduring Understandings
• An understanding is an inference, not a fact.
• It is a helpful insight derived from inquiry. Key
understandings in intellectual fields (e.g., in
physics: Objects remain in motion at a constant
velocity if no force acts on them) often violate
common sense and conventional wisdom.
• They are thus often prone to misunderstanding by
students. Therefore, they cannot simply be
“covered”; they must be “uncovered” (e.g., by
exploring essential questions, wrestling with
challenging problems, debating a complex issue).
Enduring Understandings
• Such understandings endure in that they enable us
to make vital and informative connections in our
learning—as students and as adults. For example,
the idea that “might does not make right” applies
to both playground disputes and international
diplomacy.
• Although facts and basic concepts can be learned in
rote fashion, research shows that an understandingbased approach can yield more substantive, longterm, and flexible learning of the basics.
Understandings function by helping to link and
connect otherwise discrete facts and skills.
Distinguishing Understandings from Factual Knowledge (76)
•Consists of facts (e.g., 4 x 4 =
16) and basic concepts (e.g.,
sky).
• Facts do not transfer. Basic
concepts have limited transfer
capacity (e.g., the concept of
dog applies to different breeds).
• Can be learned in a rote
fashion (i.e., without
understanding).
• Can be assessed using
objective test/quiz items having
a “right” or “wrong” answer.
• Reflect “big ideas” in the form of
powerful generalizations.
• Are transferrable across situations,
places, and times.
• Must be “earned” (i.e., constructed
in the mind of the learner) through
processes of inquiry, making
inferences, and rethinking.
• Are most appropriately assessed
through performance tasks requiring
one or more facets of understanding
(e.g., application and explanation).
Distinguishing Understandings from Factual Knowledge (76)
Factual Knowledge 
Understandings 
•Consists of facts (e.g., 4 x 4 =
16) and basic concepts (e.g.,
sky).
• Facts do not transfer. Basic
concepts have limited transfer
capacity (e.g., the concept of
dog applies to different breeds).
• Can be learned in a rote
fashion (i.e., without
understanding).
• Can be assessed using
objective test/quiz items having
a “right” or “wrong” answer.
• Reflect “big ideas” in the form of
powerful generalizations.
• Are transferrable across situations,
places, and times.
• Must be “earned” (i.e., constructed
in the mind of the learner) through
processes of inquiry, making
inferences, and rethinking.
• Are most appropriately assessed
through performance tasks requiring
one or more facets of understanding
(e.g., application and explanation).
Framing Understandings:
Let’s Go to Work
1. In your table groups, list the common
characteristics of Enduring
Understandings.
2. Then, using your list, complete and
compare responses to the Part 2
exercise: determining which of the six
examples (11-16) are actually Enduring
Understandings.
The Three Stages of Backwards Design
• Stage 1—Identify Desired Results
• Stage 2—Determine the Assessment
Evidence
• Stage 3—Plan Learning Experiences
and Instruction
Stage 1—Identify Desired Results
Established Goals
Understandings:
(U) Essential Questions:
Students will understand
that…
Knowledge students
acquire:
Students will know…
(Q)
Skills students acquire: (S)
(K) Students will be able to…
What is the point of my unit?
Essential Questions
• What are the common
characteristics of Essential
Questions?
• Discuss at your table (3-5 minutes).
• After the discussion, we will share
out.
What are the characteristics of an essential question?
Essential Questions
Knowledge Questions
1. Are meant to be explored, argued,
and continually revisited (and
reflected upon).
2. Have various plausible answers.
Often the answers to these questions
raise new questions.
3. Should spark or provoke thought
and stimulate students to engage in
sustained inquiry and extended
thinking.
4. Reflect genuine questions that real
people seriously ask, either in their
work or in their lives—not a
“teacherly” question asked only in
schools.
1. Have a specific,
straightforward,
unproblematic answer.
2. Are asked to prompt
factual recall rather than to
generate a sustained
inquiry.
3. Are more likely to be
asked by a teacher or a
textbook than by a curious
student or person out in
the world.
4. Are more rhetorical than
genuine.
Essential Questions:
Let’s Go to Work
1. In your table groups, list the common
characteristics of Essential Questions.
2. Then, using your list, complete and
compare responses to the Part 2
exercise: determining which of the six
examples (13-18) are actually
Essential Questions.
Essential Questions
7. How many legs does a spider have?
1. How are “form” and
“function” related in biology?
2. How do effective writers
hook and hold their readers?
3. Who “wins” and who
“loses” when technologies
change?
4. Should it be an axiom if it is
not obvious?
5. What distinguishes fluent
foreigners from native
speakers?
6. How would life be different
if we couldn’t measure time?
How does an elephant use its trunk?
8. What is “foreshadowing”? Can you
find an example of foreshadowing in
the story?
9. What is the original meaning of the
term technology (from its Greek root,
techne)?
10. By what axioms are we able to
prove the Pythagorean theorem?
11. What are some French
colloquialisms?
12. How many minutes are in an
hour? How many hours are in a day?
Essential Questions 
Not Essential Questions 
“function” related in biology?
2. How do effective writers
hook and hold their readers?
3. Who “wins” and who
“loses” when technologies
change?
4. Should it be an axiom if it is
not obvious?
5. What distinguishes fluent
foreigners from native
speakers?
6. How would life be different
if we couldn’t measure time?
How does an elephant use its trunk?
8. What is “foreshadowing”? Can you
find an example of foreshadowing in
the story?
9. What is the original meaning of the
term technology (from its Greek root,
techne)?
10. By what axioms are we able to
prove the Pythagorean theorem?
11. What are some French
colloquialisms?
12. How many minutes are in an
hour? How many hours are in a day?
Essential
Questions
1. How are “form” and
7. How many legs does a spider have?
The Three Stages of Backwards Design
• Stage 1—Identify Desired Results
• Stage 2—Determine the Assessment
Evidence
• Stage 3—Plan Learning Experiences
and Instruction
Stage 2—Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:
(Summary in GRASPS form)
Key Criteria:
(PT)
Other Evidence:
Performance Tasks
• Remember this quote?
“Enduring understandings
…are most appropriately
assessed through
performance tasks
requiring one or more
facets of understanding
(e.g., application and
explanation).”
Performance Tasks
Or have you heard this one?
“I hear, I forget.
I see, I remember.
I do , I understand.”
–Chinese proverb
CPS District Performance Tasks—Type III
• Will be given at the beginning of the year
(BOY) and the end of the year (EOY) in
specific courses.
• Are highly focused on specific Common Core
State Standards.
• Include rubrics, graphic organizers, and
other tools.
• Will count for 10% of core teachers’
evaluation.
Six Facets of Understanding
Explanation
Interpretation
Application Perspective
Empathy
Selfknowledge
demonstrate
derive
describe
create analogies
critique
document
adapt
build
create
debug
analyze
argue
compare
contrast
be like
be open to
believe
be aware of
realize
recognize
design
exhibit
express
evaluate
illustrate
judge
decide
design
exhibit
criticize
infer
consider
imagine
relate
reflect
self-assess
induce
instruct
justify
make sense of
make meaning of
invent
perform
produce
model
predict
prove
show
synthesize
teach
provide metaphors
read between the
lines
represent
tell a story of
translate
propose
solve
test
use
role play
Performance Tasks and the GRASPS Model
Goal
Role
Audience
Situation
Product/Performance and
Purpose
Standards and Criteria
for Success
GRASPS PT Scenario for Social Studies (75)
Goal: The goal (within the scenario) is to help
a group of foreign visitors understand the
key historic, geographic, and economic
features of our region.
Role: You are an intern at the Regional Office
of Tourism.
Audience: The target audience is a group of
nine foreign visitors (who speak English).
GRASPS PT Scenario for Social Studies
Situation: You have been asked to develop a plan,
including a budget, for a four-day tour of the region.
Plan your tour so that the visitors are shown sites
that best illustrate the key historical, geographic,
and economic features of our region.
Product or Performance and Purpose: You need to
prepare a written tour itinerary and a budget for
the trip. You should include an explanation of why
each site was selected and how it will help the
visitors understand the key historic, geographic, and
economic features of our region. Include a map
tracing the route for the tour.
GRASPS PT Scenario for Social Studies
Standards and Criteria for Success: Your
proposed tour plan needs to include
• An itinerary and route map.
• Key historical, geographic, and economic
features of the region.
• A clear rationale for the selected sites.
• Accurate and complete budget figures.
The Three Stages of Backwards Design
• Stage 1—Identify Desired Results
• Stage 2—Determine the Assessment
Evidence
• Stage 3—Plan Learning Experiences
and Instruction
Stage 3—Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
• While Unit Plans (Stage 1 and
2) will be created in course
teams, Stage 3 of UbD is the
responsibility of the
individual teacher.
• It is at this stage in which
teachers plan and express
their daily lesson plans for
their particular courses and
students.
Stage 3—Learning Plan
Title:
Course/Grade:
Time Frame:
Teacher:
Learning Activities Consider the WHERETO elements.
(L)
Students will…
(W) =
help the students know Where the unit is going and What is expected.
help the teachers know Where the students are coming from in terms of prior
knowledge or interest level.
Why is this worth learning?
(H) =
Hook all students and Hold their interest.
(E) =
Equip students, help them Experience the key ideas and Explore the issues.
(R) =
Provide opportunities to Rethink and Revise their understandings and work.
(E) =
allow students to Evaluate their work and its implications.
(T) =
be Tailored and personalized to the different needs, interests, and abilities of
learners.
(O) =
be Organized to maximize initial and sustained engagement as well as effective
learning.
“I hear, I forget.
I see, I remember.
I do , I understand.”
–Chinese proverb
“What I Learned from Quentin Tarantino”