Understanding by Design
Day 2
Roosevelt Complex
Secondary Science Training
Ground Rules
Desired Outcomes
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Awareness of the UbD philosophy on
assessment.
Awareness of the inquiry process.
Awareness of the taxonomic levels and
alignment.
Peer Consultation
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In small groups.
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Presenters share his/her Stage 1
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Consultants share their questions and ideas
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At this time, the Consultants listen and jot down
questions or ideas
Presenters listen and jot down ideas
Presenters share their final thoughts
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Share his/her commitment to improve their unit
Stage 2
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Think like an assessor, not an activity
designer.
Goal of Stage 2 is to obtain valid, reliable,
credible, and useful evidence.
Given the desired understanding, what
evidence would show that they “got it”.
Focus on transferability not only on
accuracy of knowledge and skills.
Two Approaches to Assessment
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Thinking like an assessor
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What would be sufficient and
revealing evidence of
understanding?
Given the goals, what
performance tasks must
anchor the unit and focus the
work?
What are the different types
of evidence required by Stage
1 desired results?
Will the assessment reveal
who real understood and who
only seemed to?
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Thinking like an activity designer
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What would be fun and interesting
activities on this topic?
What projects might students do on
this topic?
What tests/questions should I give,
based on the content I taught?
How will I give the students a
grade?
Authentic Assessment:
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Is set in a scenario that replicates or
stimulates the ways in which a person’s
knowledge and abilities are tested in realworld situations?
Requires judgment and innovation. Will the
students use their understanding and skills
to solve a problem?
Allows appropriate opportunities to
rehearse, practice, consult resources, and
get feedback.
Continue
Authentic Assessment:
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Asks students to “do” the subject instead of
reciting, restating, or replicating through
demonstration what he/she was taught or
already knows.
Allows students to pull together all of their
understandings and skills to solve the
problem rather then focus on discrete facts
and drills.
It’s the game – not the drill.
Evidence of understanding
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Effective assessment is like a scrapbook not a
single snapshot.
Understanding is revealed as transferability of
core ideas, knowledge, and skills during a
challenging task in a variety of context.
Bloom: Assessment should include divergent
thinking in which it is unlikely that the right
solution to a problem can be set in advance.
Kernel of Understanding
Traditional tests and
quizzes
•Short answer
•Selected-response
•Constructed response
Worth being
familiar with
Important to
Performance tasks and
projects.
know and do
•Complex
•Open-ended
•Authentic
Big Ideas and
Enduring
Understandings
Observations and dialogues
Tests and quizzes
Academic prompts
Performance Tasks
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Informal checks for
understanding
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Continuum of Assessment
Other Criteria
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One assessment may not be enough to
fully assess all of the big ideas and
benchmarks.
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Performance assessment can be
supplemented with:
Tests
 Quizzes
 Other lab reports
 Activities
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Observation
of Process
Conferencing with
teacher/peer
Oral questioning
Retelling in own
words
Journals
Reflections
Conversations
Listening to
Learners
Clear
Target
Dialogue with
peers
Presentations
Observation log of
group dialogue
•Observations of a
performance
 Constructed Response
 Visual
organizer/outline
Story illustration
Dialectical Journal
Diagram
Poster/letter to..
Collection of
Products
Tying Stage 1 and 2
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Big Ideas and Essential Questions should be
evident in the assessment.
Ensure that the big ideas and essential questions
are prevalent in the performance assessment.
Essential Questions can be directly or indirectly
addressed in the assessment.
Ensure that the identified skills and knowledge
from stage 1 are prevalent in the performance
assessment.
Stage 2 Example:
Chemical Equilibrium:
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You are a researcher hired by a group of expert mountain climbers.
Hypoxia is a set of symptoms that comes from lack of oxygen in
body tissues. It is often felt by mountain climbers as they ascend.
Sherpa seem to feel no hypoxic discomfort. Why might that be? You
have been hired to find out…
Design a series of experiments that would test the difference
between Sherpa and mountain climbers.
Criteria for submission:
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Use chemical equilibrium in your explanation
An explanation of what causes hypoxia.
A hypothesis on why Sherpa are not affected.
Details for experiments to test the hypothesis.
An explanation of any potential errors, concerns, or problems with the
experiment.
Taxonomic Levels
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Performance Assessment should be at a
higher level of thinking.
Assessments should allow students to:
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Analyze
Synthesize
Apply
Rubrics
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Must be used with UbD assessment since
there is no one right answer.
Should measure the quality of the student
understanding, application, or analysis.
Criteria is not always the easiest to see
(for example, number of pages, spelling,
neat, etc.)
Rubrics
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Types
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Holistic
Analytic
Traits
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Frequency
Understanding
Accuracy
Effectiveness
Independence
Clarity
Holistic vs. Analytic
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Holistic
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Focuses on the overall performance.
Analytic
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Focuses on parts of the performance.
Reliability and Validity
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Performance assessment and rubrics must
be reviewed periodically.
Student work should be used to assess the
quality of the UbD unit. Sharing with
others is recommended.
Valid
Conferencing with
teacher/peer
Oral questioning
Retelling in own
words
Journals
Reflections
Conversations
Listening to
Learners
Observation
of Process
Clear
Target
Dialogue with
peers
Presentations
Observation log of
group dialogue
•Observations of a
performance
 Constructed Response
 Visual
organizer/outline
Story illustration
Dialectical Journal
Diagram
Poster/letter to..
Collection of
Products
Questions?
Peer Consultation
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Gallery Walk
Complete your UbD unit up to Stage 2
Present your units by subject area
Take a look at other units
Use the post it notes to leave
1.
2.
3.
1 Positive comment about the unit
1 Question about the unit
1 Suggestion for improvement about the unit