Understanding by Design
- Stage 1 Identify Desired Results
Stage 1
Key Design Elements
• “BIG IDEAS”
• Learning Targets
• Understandings (Key, enduring, essential,
overarching, topical)
• Essential Questions
• Knowledge
• Skills
What are the “Big Ideas” of UbD?
What are “Big Ideas”?
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Broad and abstract
Represented by few words
Universal in application
Timeless
Transferable
Concept / Theme / Theory / Principle
What are the “Big Ideas” in PE?
What could Big Ideas be for Movement?
• Distribute Summary Chart
• In pairs determine what
might constitute the “Big
Ideas” in Physical Education
What are the
Understandings?
Characteristics of Understandings:
1. They are framed as complete sentences
and specify something to be understood.
2. They focus on “Big Ideas”.
3. They need to be uncovered.
There are two kinds!
Overarching Understandings:
• They are general and point to big ideas.
• They are recurring ideas that frame
coursework.
• They answer the “So What” question that
students sometimes have.
Topical Understandings:
• They are topic specific insights
Students should understand that…
Create an Overarching Understanding
What could an Overarching Understanding be
based on the “Big Ideas” that you will be created?
Essential Questions from our
Big Ideas
• Essential Questions are generated from
Big Ideas and form the basis for our
lessons and student learning by linking
knowledge and skills to a greater purpose
and creating deeper understanding.
What are Essential Questions?
• Questions based on Big Ideas that frame learning goals
of a course. (May have several for a Big Idea).
• They are not answerable with finality in a brief
sentence
• They stimulate on-going thought and debate as new
experiences help clarify them for learners.
• They provide focus for the Big Ideas throughout a
course using language that is understandable by
students
Essentials of essential questions
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Answers cannot be found, they must be constructed
They cast old knowledge, ideas, texts, in a new light
They generate multiple answers and perspectives
They generate more questions
They lead to discovery and uncovering, rather than
simply covering, a topic
• They are engagingly framed
• They are higher-order; they always take us to
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation
• Students must go beyond the information given to
develop their answers
Examples of overarching essential questions
 What kind of practice “makes perfect”?
 What feedback will enhance or improve
performance most?
 What makes a movement “basic”?
 What motivates people to be active?
 How do rules affect sports?
 What makes play “fair”?
 What makes an athlete a “superstar”?
 How might sports look without officials?
 How can a person best show their skill?
 How can I gain the confidence to perform?
 How good is good enough?
Create Essential Questions
Based on the “Big Ideas” and “Overarching
Understandings” what might be some
essential questions?
Learning Targets
• Divide into three groups:
– Grade 3
– Grade 6
– Grade 9
• Identify targets for a unit
using a territory/ invasion game.
– At least 5 learning outcomes
Unpacking the Curriculum
• Select an outcome to unpack
• Identify the verbs
• Identify the nouns
What then will the students know and be able
to do
Unpacking the Curriculum
Student Learning Outcome:
Select and refine balance abilities (i.e., static, dynamic),
applying biomechanical principles (i.e., force, motion, balance),
using a variety of equipment (e.g., skates, skis, boards, stilts,
pogo sticks...) related to activity-specific physical activity skills
Verbs (How students will show what is required)
Select
Refine
Apply
Use
Nouns (What students are required to know)
Balance Abilities
Biomechanical Principles
Equipment
Activity-specific Physical Activity Skills
Create a Topical Understanding
What could some Topical Understandings be based on
the unit that you created? Keep the overarching
understandings and SLO’s in mind.
Create a Topical Essential Question
What could some Topical Essential Questions be based
on the unit that you created? Keep the overarching
essential questions understandings and SLO’s in mind.
Clarifying Content Priorities
Worth being familiar with
Trivial Knowledge or Skills:
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(Necessary for the Unit/Lesson)
Facts
Non-essential Terminology
Definitions, Dates, People,
Dimensions
Clarifying Content Priorities
Guided by Curricular Outcomes:
Important to
know and do
Foundational Knowledge / Skills:
• Basic Movement Skills
• FITT Principle
• Fair Play
• Important knowledge/skills/concepts
• Significant connections and transfer
power
• Prerequisites needed to
successfully accomplish complex
performances of understanding
Clarifying Content Priorities
Non-negotiables
The Discipline does not exist without it!
Big Ideas
& Core Tasks
How does your plan fit with the priorities?
Worth being familiar with
Important to know and do
Big Ideas
& Core Tasks
So…
Instead of thinking of content as “stuff” to be
covered or “things to do”, consider knowledge
and skill as the means of addressing questions
central to understanding the key issues in our
discipline.
Thank you for continuing our journey!