Sutherland Secondary School Professional Development Day

April 23, 2010

Understanding by Design (UbD)

“To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear

understanding of your destination.”

Covey, S. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, p.98.

1. Please read your fortune candy quote silently to yourself.

2. Take a few moments to reflect on the statement.

3. Round Robin: share your personal response to the statement with your table group.

Welcome Activity

“Teachers are designers. An essential act of our profession is the crafting of curriculum and learning experiences to meet specified purposes.”

Jay McTighe

Co-author of Understanding by Design

Understanding by Design

Barrie Bennett

“…researching and valuing instruction is one thing; implementing andcollectively sustaining itsystemically over time isanother.”

Human beingsdiffer with their

gifts andtalents;

To teach themyou have tostart where

they are.

Yuezheng in 4th century B.C.Chinese Treatise, Xue

Curriculum Implementation DayMay 10, 2010

Success for Every Student: Transforming Curriculum Design

“Backward Design”

“Deliberate and focused instructional design requires us to make an important shift… The shift involves thinking a great deal, first, about the specific learnings sought, and the evidence of such learnings, before thinking about what we, as the teacher, will do or provide in teaching and learning activities.”

1. Identify desired results

2. Determine acceptable evidence

3. Plan learning experiences and instruction

UbD: Stages of Backward Design

“Twin Sins” of Curriculum Design

1. Activity-Oriented Design“Hands-on” without “Minds On”

2. Curriculum Coverage“Marching through the

textbook”

Geometry: “Lesson Make-over”

BEFORE UbD• Look at the

middle school Geometry lesson.

• Which of the “twin sins” are represented in this lesson?

AFTER UbD• Discuss the

changes evident in the lesson after “Backward Design” has been applied.

1. Identify desired results.

2. Determine acceptable evidence.

3. Plan learning experiences and instruction.

Stage 1

Establishing Curricular Priorities

Establishing Curricular PrioritiesBig Idea: Balanced Diet

Your diet affects your health, appearance, and performance

Establishing Curricular PrioritiesBig Idea: Balanced Diet

Canada Food Guidelines, Nutritional information on food labels

Establishing Curricular PrioritiesBig Idea: Balanced Diet

Different conditions requiring dietary restrictions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.

Backward Design – Stage 1 Identify the Desired Results

1. Unpack the PLOs – Establish GOALS

2. Identify Enduring Understandings3. Develop Essential Questions

Unpacking the Learning Goals (PLOs)

• PLOs imply BIG IDEAS• Look carefully at the nouns,

adjectives and verbs in the PLO• The nouns and adjectives indicate

the implied BIG IDEAS that will be used to create an Enduring Understanding

BIG IDEAS

• An abstract and transferable concept, theme, theory or process

• At the heart of the subject or topic• Building material for Enduring

Understandings• Examples: equity, good triumphs

over evil, molecular theory, problem solving

Example: Earth Science 11

Prescribed Learning Outcome: • Demonstrate knowledge about the

origins of the universe and about astronomical entities

BIG IDEAS:• Big Bang Theory• Scientific investigation• Creation vs. Evolution

The Big IdeasWhat will

the students remember for:

40 seconds?40 minutes?

40 years? The 40 years are the BIG IDEAS!

Enduring Understandings

• Based on the big ideas • Full sentence statements • What we want the students to

understand 40 years from now

Enduring Understandings - Examples

• Science– Scientific theories are used to explain

the origin of the universe.• English

– Writers use a variety of stylistic techniques to engage and persuade their readers

• Music– Music is a universal language to be

read and understood.

Essential Questions

• Highlight the Big Ideas and Enduring Understandings

• Have no “right” answer; arguable and important to argue about

• Provoke and sustain student inquiry• Address conceptual or philosophical

foundations of the discipline• Raise other questions

Essential Questions - Examples

• How do we decide which scientific claims to believe?

• Are mathematical ideas inventions or discoveries?

• Does art reflect culture or shape it?• Who owns what and why?• How do the structures and functions

of government interrelate?

Activity: Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions

• Review the PLOs provided for the different subject areas

• Brainstorm Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions

• Record ideas on the graphic organizer provided

1. Identify desired results.

2. Determine acceptable evidence.

3. Plan learning experiences and instruction.

Stage 2

BIG IDEA:

Valid Evidence

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS:

What we assess and how we assess must align with the learning goals

UbD: Stage 2

1. What is “valid” evidence of student

learning?

2. How can we assess ‘deep understanding’

of learning?

3. How do we design “authentic” assessments?

Essential Questions

Types of Assessment

Assessment FOR Learning

Assessment AS Learning

Assessment OF Learning

Guiding instruction

Improving learning

Students monitoring

their own progress

Reporting out

Measuring learning

Descriptive feedback Goal setting Letter grades, %s,

performance scales

Continuous Continuous At the end

Formative Formative Summative

In your group, sort the assessment tasks intocolumns of “valid” or “invalid”

• Could a student do well in this assessment task without a real understanding of the goals?

• Could a student perform poorly on this assessment task but still have a good understanding if allowed to show understanding in other ways?

Testing for ValidityGroup Activity

• Help us find authentic assessment that is suitable for our significant concept/big idea

• Guide us to an measurement that we deem• quintessential for understanding and

comprehension• Help us find a balance between factual recall

and deep understanding

The Six Facets of Understanding

6 Facets of Understanding

DesiredUnderstanding

Explanation

Self Knowledge

Inte

rpre

tatio

n Application

Em

pathy Per

spec

tive

ELECTRICITY

Explanation

Self-Knowledge

Inte

rpre

tation

Application

Em

path

yPer

spec

tive

• Describe an electron’s experience as it passes through a simple current.

• Interpret a schematic diagram and predict the outcome.

• Why does Canada use AC instead of DC current? (historical perspective)• What are the strengths of each type?

• Design an electrical circuit to accomplish a specific task• Troubleshoot a faulty electrical circuit

• Explain to the class how a battery causes a light bulb to glow.

• Give a pre-test and a post-test to assess common misconceptions (eg., force- concept inventory) and have students reflect on their deepening understanding.

1. Identify desired results.

2. Determine acceptable evidence.

3. Plan learning experiences and instruction.

Stage 3

All students work to the same high standards on the same essential outcomes.

Differentiation is in how students learn, not in what they learn.

Hume, Start Where They Are, 2000

Enduring Understandingsare for ALL students

By engaging, we mean a design that the (diverse) learners find truly thought provoking, fascinating…

By effective, we mean that the learning design helps learnersbecome more competent and productive at worthy work.

(Understanding by Design, Wiggins & McTighe)

The Best Learning Designs are Engaging

The Best Learning Designs are Effective

1. When are students most fully engaged

in and out of school?

2. What makes them so engaged, and keeps them so engaged?

3. What are the transferable elements from these exemplary learning situations?

The Best Learning Designs areEngaging

1. When is student learning most effective?

2. Under what conditions are learners most

productive?

3. Under what conditions is the highest-quality

work produced?

4. What makes for the most effective learning,

and what are the transferable elements from

these exemplary cases?

The Best Learning Designs are Effective

Engaging Effective

Activity: When is Learning Highly Engaging and Effective?

UbD End Results

• Efficient and effective units with deeper understandings

• Curriculum design that meets the needs of all learners in the class

The Mission of High School

… is not to cover content, but rather to help learners become thoughtful about, and productive with, content. It's not to help students get good at school, but rather to prepare them for the world beyond school…