Understanding By Design & Essential · PDF fileUnderstanding By Design & Essential Questions...

Understanding By Design & Essential Questions

© Wiggins & McTighe 2005 1

© 2001 Grant Wiggins UBD 10/20051

What is Understanding byDesign?

Charlotte, 2006!Grant Wiggins & Denise Wilbur


Overview of UbD

!A recurring look at 2 questions:"What is good design?

"What is understanding?

!A set of ideas and tools that are anembodiment of

"common sense,

"“best practice” in design,

" what we know about learning


The two strands of inquiry

!Understanding Understanding"Transfer is the long-term goal, and the key

evidence of understanding (or lack of it)

"Big ideas must focus the work along with thetransfer tasks

! Good design is best done “backward”from the desired transfer

"Given the understanding/transfer we seek,what follows for assessment and for studentlearning?


Why UbD? The Rationale




The need

! Poor results on assessment related tohigher-order performance, transfer

! Weakness of local assessment, especiallythe lack of focus on transfer

! Insufficient analysis of state standards indesigning units and courses

! A lack of clarity locally about whatcounts as good instructional design: toomuch “coverage” without understanding


Rationale #1: A FrequentAbsence of Understanding

!In even our best students andtheir work, we see frequent –

"amnesia

"misunderstanding

"rigid knowledge,no transfer


Transfer defined and justified

What is ‘transfer of learning’?

! ‘Transfer of learning’ is the use of knowledge andskills (acquired in an earlier context) in a newcontext. It occurs when a person’s learning in onesituation influences that person’s learning andperformance in other situations.

! When transfer of learning occurs, it is in the formof meanings, expectations, generalizations,concepts, or insights that are developed in onelearning situation being employed in others

" Bigge & Shermis, 1992.


NAEP 8th-grade test item,constructed response

!How many buses doesthe army need totransport 1,128 soldiers ifeach bus holds 36soldiers?




Answer from 30% of the test-takers:

“31, remainder 12”!!

Remainder

12 bus


1. Why is it warmer insummer and colder inwinter?

2. What causes thephases of the moon?

The now-famous videos: PrivateUniverse & Minds of Their Own


MCAS (MASS) test item: 10th-grade English reading item

A fellow fourth grader broke the news to me after she saw my

effort on a class assignment involving scissors and construction paper.

“You cut out a purple bluebird,” she said. There was no reproach in her

voice, just a certain puzzlement. Her observation opened my eyes—

not that my eyes particularly help—to the fact that I am colorblind. In

the 36 years since, I’ve been trying to understand what that means. I’m

still not sure I do….

Unlike left-handers, however, we seem disinclined

to rally round our deviation from the norm. Thus there’s no ready

source of information about how many presidents, or military heroes,

or rock singers have been colorblind. Based on the law of averages,

though, there must have been some. We are everywhere, trying

to cope, trying to blend in. Usually we succeed. Until someone spots

our purple bluebirds. Then the jig is up.© 2001 Grant Wiggins UBD 10/200512

The most wrong item on thestate ELA test: 71% incorrect!

! This selection is best described as

"A. a biography.

"B. a scientific article.

"C. an essay.

"D. an investigative report.

! Many students said it could not be an essaybecause “it was funny” and because “it hadmore than 5 paragraphs.”




Bloom!s “application” = transfer

Taxonomy said it 50 years ago:

! "Application is different from simplecomprehension: the student is notprompted to give specific knowledge, nor isthe problem old-hat."

! "The tests must involve situations new tothe student... Ideally we are seeking aproblem which will test the extent to whichthe individual has learned to apply anabstraction in a practical way."


Understanding is transfer-ability:! Understanding reveals itself as transfer: a wise

use of knowledge and skill, on one’s own;using good judgment, with minimal cues andprompting, in various important situations,about which content is needed when and why.

! Without such understanding, we see:" rigid knowledge – Whitehead’s “inert” ideas

"Surprisingly bad student amnesia

"Persistent misunderstanding of key ideas


Transfer: We often confuse thedrills with the game

‘Drill-tests’ - testitems/exercises! Out of context

! Discrete, isolatedelement

! Unrealistically set upand prompted

! Doesn’t transferwithout practice inadapting it to newsituations

The ‘game’ - realtask, problems! In context, with all

its messiness andinterest value

! Requires arepertoire, usedwisely

! Not prompted: youjudge what to do,when


Transfer tasks: different typesScience

! Design, debug your own experiments

! Critique the experimental designs and results ofothers

! Demonstrate your understanding of the ethics ofscience by how you conduct research

! Propose hypotheses and models for phenomena,and test those ideas fairly

! Demonstrate your understanding of thedifference between science vs. belief, trial anderror, common sense




Rationale for UbD andbackward design - # 2

the common TWIN SINS: “AimlessActivity” and “Superficial Coverage”!Aimless activity: “fun” hands-on activities

that keep kids engaged, but which are notclearly and explicitly linked toStandards/learning goals

!Coverage: marching through the textbookwith no overarching ideas or transparentlearning goals

!No learning goals in either case© 2001 Grant Wiggins UBD 10/200518

Rationale for UbD #3

Many designs are notaligned

! Our assessments rarelymatch what goals (and statestandards) demand

! We do not sufficientlydesign & teach for transfer:there is too much infoprovided, upfront and outof context


Identify content

Brainstorm activities & methods

Come up with an assessment

What we typically do:

Without checking for

alignment

Without checking for

alignment


1. Identify desired results

2. Determine acceptable evidence

3. Plan learning experiences & instruction

KEY: 3 Stages of

(“Backward”) Design

14




Rationale #4: Few educatorsunderstand the Standards

Far too little close reading, analysisof and designing backward from the

Standards! In many schools, there has been little or no

close reading of all relevant standards andthe development of interpretive guidelinesfor local design work

! Far too few educators understand what theStandards demand for local assessment


Biology Standard - Goal #2

2.01 Compare and contrast the

structure and functions of the

following organic molecules: ･! Carbohydrates.

! Proteins.

! Lipids.

! Nucleic acids.


Biology Standard - Goal #5

5.02 Analyze the flow of energy and

the cycling of matter in the

ecosystem:

! Relationship of the carbon cycle to

photosynthesis and respiration.

! Trophic levels - direction and efficiency

of energy transfer.


What is implied?

!What does the phrase Compare andContrast the structure and functionsdemand for local work andassessment?

!What does the phrase Analyze theflow of energy and the cycling ofmatter imply for local work andassessment




5th Grade Standard

COMPETENCY GOAL 4: The learner will

conduct investigations and use appropriate

technologies to build an understanding of

forces and motion in technological designs.! Objectives 4.01 Determine the motion of an object by

following and measuring its position over time.

! 4.02 Evaluate how pushing or pulling forces can

change the position and motion of an object.

! 4.03 Explain how energy is needed to make

machines move.


Related Objectives

! 4.04 Determine that an unbalanced force isneeded to move an object or change itsdirection.

! 4.05 Determine factors that affect motionincluding: ･ Force ･ Friction. ･ Inertia. ･Momentum

! 4.06 Build and use a model to solve amechanical design problem. ･ Devise a test forthe model. ･ Evaluate the results of test.

! 4.07 Determine how people use simplemachines to solve problems.

Overarching Essential

Question(s)

Overarching

Understanding(s)

unit unit 2

unit 3unit 4

unit 5

unit unit 2

unit 3unit 4

unit 5

unit unit 2

unit 3unit 4

unit 5

unit unit 2

unit 3unit 4

unit 5

Key Transfer

Task(s)

Common Rubric(s) & Exemplars

Course 1 Course 3 Course 4Course 2


How UbD Addresses Key

Weaknesses in Designs




Big ideas and transfer tasksfocus learning & teaching

Ideas and tasks enable all theknowledge and skill to be logically

grouped, integrated, and PRIORITIZED

! Big Ideas and tasks are the synthesizersneeded, given the list-like nature ofStandards (analysis) –"make learning goals concrete

"help avoid coverage and aimless activity

"Provide clear priorities for learners and teachers


worth being

familiar with

important toknow & do

Big ideas

& core transfer

tasks

Establishing Clear LearningPriorities via Ideas & Transfer

“big ideas”

& core transfer tasks

at the

heart of the subject

importantknowledge & skill

”nice to know”

69ff


Definition of

“predator”

How to createa food chain

“ecosystem as a

dynamic balance”,

and being able to

analyze the implications

of disruptions to a

particular food chain

Establishing Intellectual priorities:Science Example

big idea &

core task

foundational skill

”nice to know”


To what extent does !form"

follow !function"?

The difference a big ideamakes:

Vestigial organsBiological

adaptation

mutation




What makes plants thrive?

Develop a brochure for

the local nursery…

The difference a transfer taskmakes:

Measuring

skills Scienti#c

method

Plant parts


“Big Ideas” defined:

Is it a Big Idea? Does it –

! have lasting value, with transfer to otherinquiries?

! serve as a key concept for making important facts,skills, and actions more connected, coherent,meaningful, useful?

! epitomize “core” (not “basic”) insights in asubject or discipline?

! require “uncoverage” (since it is an abstract oroften-misunderstood idea)?

69ff


Big ideas:! Inertia as a characteristic of matter at rest and

in motion

! The water cycle – and the conservation of allmatter - is true despite appearances

! Science “theory” is neither speculation nor“plausible belief” but testable and empiricallyjustified explanation of the facts

! Homeostasis as a biological goal

! Solve problems by finding what is familiar inwhat seems to be strange


Some questions for identifyingtruly “big ideas”

! Does it have many layers, not obvious to the naïveor inexperienced learner?

! Can it yield great power, depth and breadth ofinsight, into the subject?

! Can it be used K-12?

! Do you have to dig deep to really understand itssubtle meanings and implications, even if anyoneat any level, can have a surface grasp of it?

! Is it (therefore) prone to misunderstanding as wellas disagreement?

! Are you likely to change your mind about itsmeaning and importance over a lifetime?

! Does it reflect a core idea in life or in a field, asjudged by experts?




The design and instructionalchallenge

Make the big ideas not only clear butcentral to achieving learning goals!The learner needs to experience the

“idea” as both “real” and powerful, bothfor making sense of old learning andmaking new learning possible

!Most teachers merely refer to the bigideas instead of designing their coursesaround them to show their power


In UbD, big ideas framed asQuestions, Understandings

Idea: categorizing parts of the country into regions!Understandings:

"We choose to define regions by various categories – physicalfeatures, legal boundaries, weather, culture, local economy,recreation, etc. – depending upon our interests and needs.

"Defining a vast area in terms of regions can provide a clearersense of history, place, and possibilities, for both natives andvisitors – especially where legal boundaries mask importantsimilarities and differences.

"The traditional regions of the United States reflect importantdifferences not only in terrain but in culture, economics, anddemographics.

" Important generalizations can be made when examininggeographical data and comparing regions; but stereotypes easilyarise about people and places, unless we are careful.


In UbD, big ideas framed asQuestions, Understandings

Idea: categorizing parts of the country into regions! Essential Questions:

"How does a region’s physical characteristics influence wholives and migrates there, and the industries and culture thatdevelop there?

" Just how different are the traditional US regions these days? Towhat extent have modern life and mass media made the idea of“region” less important?

"What kinds of regions are most useful for us to define? Towhat extent do we define ourselves in ‘regional’ terms [e.g.easterner] as opposed to by state or group?

"To what extent is defining an area as a “region” useful? Whatdo we gain by identifying the many different regions we livein?


A unit outline for planning viaquestions/transfer1. Start with an interesting question/problem to raise all

the key issues and ideas related to this topic - establishinterest and a “need to know”

2. Ensure that that the initial activity/discussion/exploration leads “naturally” to an Essential Question

3. Make the “core content” needed, clearly useful inclarifying the problem/addressing the question

4. Address the question/problem from multipleperspectives to push the question deeper

5. Assess for final understanding via a transfer task - aperformance requiring thoughtful application of keylearnings and in-depth addressing of the question(supplement as needed with checks for discreteknowledge and skill)



Intro problem: Four 7th-grade classes had a race ofall the students. Devise asmany ways as you can todetermine a fair ranking ofthe 4 classes, given theindividual runner results inthe table. Summarize the 2-3top ways you think would bemost fair, and be preparedto discuss your answers… Individual ranking of runners in

a race by all 7th-grade classes

Math example:

“What is Fair?

How well can math

help?”


Other question-framingactivities/discussions

! What do we mean when we say that the rulesof a game of chance are “not fair”? What roledoes math play in our judgment?

! Why is it fair to have one person cut the cakeand the other person to choose the piece?

! When is straight majority voting “fair” andwhen is it “not fair”?

! When is it “fair” to consider an “average” inranking performance (e.g. salaries, homeprices, batting average) and when is it“unfair”?


The content to be learned onthe way, as a means

What mathematical tools are wellsuited to judging fairness?

! Measures of central tendency:

"Mean

"Median

"Mode

"Standard Deviation (range/variance)


Final task in the unit onmean/median/mode

So, what is a fair grade?! Based on our study in this unit of various

measures of central tendency, and the prosand cons of using “averages” (and othersuch measures) in various situations,Propose and defend a “fair” gradingsystem for use in this school. How shouldeveryone’s grade in classes be calculated?Why is your system more fair than thecurrent system (or: why is the currentsystem most fair?)




Bottom Line: UbD is NeededThe new mantra: “Nothing personal,

but…”

!we can greatly improve our designs

!we too often lose sight of transfer goalsand big ideas - and they are in theStandards

! it’s not about you and your teaching butabout something less personal and moreobjective: do your designs meetstandards?





The 3 Stages of



What big idea should they leave with?

What counts as evidence that they got it?

So, what learning will help themto get it?

The 3 Stages of



What transfer should they leaveable to do?

What counts as evidence that theycan transfer?

So, what should the learning be toenable them to transfer?

The 3 Stages of





Backward Design logic

! STAGE 1: If the desired results are for learnersto..."Understand that...

"Be able to handle such questions as...

"Meet such Standards as…

! STAGE 2: then, you need evidence of thestudent’s ability to..." [General evidence needs, regardless of task specifics]

! STAGE 3: so, the learning activities mustinvolve..."Such implied activities as…


UBD Design TemplateStage 1 - Desired Results

# The Templateembodies thethree stages ofbackward design

# It provides a toolfor design, reviewand sharing.

Performance Tasks

Other Evidence:Stage 2 - Assessment Evidence

Other Evidence:Stage 3 - Learning Plan

Other Evidence

14





3 Stages of Design

60ff


“Children are rarely provided work inredefining, reshaping, and reorderingwhat has been encountered. Thecultivation of reflectiveness is oneof the great problems one faces...

Jerome Bruner, “Growth of Mind” 1966

Making CurriculumUnderstanding-friendly

...in devising curricula.”




Essential QuestionsWhat questions –

! are important to argue about?

! are at the heart of the subject?

! recur - and should recur?

! raise more questions – provoking and sustainingengaged inquiry?

! must become habits of mind when we face realproblems?

! often raise important conceptual or strategic issues inthe subject?

! can provide organizing purpose for meaningful &connected learning?

Q


Pointing to big ideas viaessential questions

“How does one lead children to discover thepowers and pleasures [of rethinking]? Throughorganizing questions. They serve twofunctions: they put perspective back in theparticulars... and they often served as criteriafor determining where students were getting,how well they were understanding, whetheranything new was emerging.” – JeromeBruner

Q


Key questions in Physics

! Can we understand big things byunderstanding little things?

! Is physics really an environmental science?i.e. can there be other physics? Is accident akey aspect of nature?

! Can the theory of evolution be madepredictable?"From a recent talk by Nobel physicist D. Gross,

on the 25 key questions of physics Cf. New YorkTimes “Science section” 10/19/04


My son!s teacher!s EQs (9thgrade Global Interdependence)! Whom should we care for? How do we identify ourselves?

! What causes conflict? Why do people abuse their power over others?

! Does global interdependence help or harm the people involved? How do oureconomic and political choices affect others?

! Do human beings have rights? Are people "equal"? What does it mean to saythat people have “rights” and are all “equal”?

! What responsibilities do we have to others in the world? What responsibilitiesdo governments have to people? What responsibilities do corporations have topeople?

! Is there right and wrong? If there is right and wrong, how do I come to know it?How does one live in the world with integrity? How well do my choices, words,and actions reflect my values?

! What habits and attitudes do I need to be successful in life? How can ‘Global’help?

! What information should you trust? How do we know what to believe? How dowe know what we know about the past? What are the key challenges andresponsibilities of historians?




The Questions ARE the corecurriculum, not the “content”!

Framing curricula around questionshelps clarify priorities for learners

and teachers

!Don’t confuse ‘teaching viaquestions’ with framing a curriculumand assessment system onpenetrating and important questionsin each field


A realistic "win-win! approach

Core content is addressed, but in amore engaging, coherent, and

memorable way! The research clearly supports this

approach, including when standardizedtests are the measure of success

! Common sense and what we know aboutmemory say that this is the only waycontent can be stored and retrieved withaccuracy and understanding


Questions for All I.B. PrimarySchools worldwide

! What is it like?

! How does it work?

! Why is it the way it is?

! How is it changing?

! How is it connected to other things?

! What are the points of view?

! What is our responsibility?

! How do we know?


Essential vs. “leading” Q!s

Essential! Asked to be argued

! Designed to“uncover” newideas, views, linesof argument

! Set up inquiry,heading to newunderstandings

Leading

! Asked as a reminder,to prompt recall

! Designed to “cover”knowledge

! Point to a single,straightforward fact -a rhetorical question




Essential QuestionsWhat questions –

! are important to argue about?

! are at the heart of the subject?

! recur - and should recur?

! raise more questions – provoking and sustainingengaged inquiry?

! must become habits of mind when we face realproblems?

! often raise important conceptual or strategic issues inthe subject?

! can provide organizing purpose for meaningful &connected learning?


Math Essential Questions

! What’s the pattern? Where should I look?

! When should I estimate? Sample? Calculate? Count?When shouldn’t I?

! What kind of problem is it? What does this remind meof?

! What should I do when I’m stuck?

! How can this be simplified?

! What makes a math model a good or poor one? Howdoes a model illuminate and how does it distort?

! How sure am I? What’s the margin of error?

! How accurate (precise) does this need to be?

! How else might we represent this?


Key questions in Science

! How well can we understand big things byunderstanding little things?

"From a recent talk by Nobel physicist D. Gross,on the 25 key questions of physics

! How solid is the evidence?

! What are the key variables?

! What is a scientific test of that claim?

! Nature or nurture?


Edited Questions: Math

Draft! What is a linear

equation?

! How do yourecognize a linearequation?

Edited

! What key relationships are

linear?

! What couldn’t we

understand or do efficiently

without linear equations?

! Linear with anomalies vs.

non-linear: how can you

best find out?




Edited Questions: Biology

Draft

!What are thesystems of thehuman body?

!Why must thesystems worktogether?

Edited! How do the body’s

systems work togetherwhen there is no stressvs., when there isstress?

! Thrive, survive, die:how much stress tothe system can a bodytake?


An understanding is a

“moral of the story” about the big ideas

! What specific insights will students take away about the the

meaning of ‘content’ via big ideas?

! Understandings summarize the desired insights we want

students to realize

! An understanding may be that there IS NO agreed-upon

understanding! (e.g. in confusing data or historical

interpretation)

From Big Ideas toUnderstandings about them U

107ff


Understanding, defined:They are...

! specific generalizations about the “bigideas.” They summarize the key meanings,inferences, and importance of the ‘content’

! deliberately framed as a full sentence“moral of the story” – “Students willunderstand THAT…”

! Require “uncoverage” because they are not“facts” to the novice, but unobviousinferences drawn from facts - counter-intuitive & easily misunderstood


Avoid truisms, facts, definitions:! what un-obvious and important realizations

do you want students to leave with about the

subject?

! What are powerful insights that students

should come to with your help (vs. bland

generalizations that are superficial or too

vague to be useful)?

Understandings: design tip U




Understandings...

!Great artists often break with conventions tobetter express what they see and feel.

!Price is a function of supply and demand.! Friendships can be deepened or undone by

hard times!History is the story told by the “winners”! F = ma (weight is not mass)!Math models simplify physical relations – and

even sometimes distort relations – to deepenour understanding of them

!The storyteller rarely tells the meaningof the story

U


Misconceptions as anotherway to identify big ideas

117

“[What] an extensive research literature nowdocuments is that an ordinary degree ofunderstanding is routinely missing in many,perhaps most students. If, when thecircumstances of testing are slightly altered,the sought-after competence can no longerbe documented, then understanding - in anyreasonable sense of the term - has simplynot been achieved.”

– Howard Gardner, The Unschooled Mind


E.g. Misconceptions inscience

From 2061 Benchmarks (AAAS):“ Some students think that ‘cold’ is being

transferred from a colder to warmerobject…students often think that objectscool down or release heatspontaneously…

Even after instruction, students don’t alwaysgive up their naive notion that some substances(e.g. flour) cannot heat up, or that metals get hot

because they “attract heat” etc.” (pp. 337-8)


1. Why is it warmer insummer and colder inwinter?

2. What causes thephases of the moon?

The now-famous Harvardvideo: A Private Universe




E.g. Misconceptions in mathFrom 2061 Benchmarks (AAAS):

"Variables Students have difficulty understandinghow symbols are used in algebra (Kieran, 1992).They are often unaware of the arbitrariness of theletters chosen to represent variables in equations(Wagner, 1981). Middle-school and high-schoolstudents may regard the letters as shorthand forsingle objects, or as specific but unknown numbersbefore they understand them as representations ofvariables (Kieran, 1992). These difficulties tend topersist even after instruction in algebra (Carpenter etal., 1981) and are evident even in college students(Clement, 1982).


Knowledge vs. Understanding

!An understanding is an unobviousand important inference, a big ideaneeding “uncoverage” in the unit;knowledge is a set of established“facts”.

!Understandings make sense of facts,skills, and ideas: they tell us whatour knowledge means; they ‘connectthe dots’





3 Stages of Design:Stage 2

136


What question should they address?

What is evidence that they addressed it?

So, what learning will help themto address it?

The 3 Stages of





The mantra of BackwardDesign

“Think like an assessor,

not an activity designer!!”

! The goal in assessment is valid and reliable

evidence for Stage 1, not a merely fun and

interesting task or a simple test of knowledge:

What do the desired results imply for evidence?


What is acceptable evidence?

Judicial Analogy:

! What “preponderance of evidence”would show that students haveachieved the desired understanding,knowledge, and skill?

! Innocent of understanding until‘proven guilty’ by a preponderance ofevidence!


2 Questions for apractical test of your ideas:

1. Could the performance beaccomplished (or the test bepassed) without in-depthunderstanding?

2. Could the specific performance bepoor, but the student stillunderstand the ideas in question?

The goal is to answer NO to both

!

180


What assessment forunderstanding implies

Bloom and common sense say:! Your thinking and support, not just your answer -

“show your work”, the dissertation and its defense

! The ability to apply what you have learned to anovel problem or situation

! Being able to perform, on your own, with minimalprompting - to do the subject

! The ability to adjust, as needed

! The ability draw inferences, on your own, fromthe facts: generalize, compare & contrast, etc.

! The ability to argue/critique/evaluate the work ofothers as well as one’s own




Scenarios for Authentic Tasks

Build assessments anchored inauthentic tasks using GRASPS:

! What is the Goal in the scenario?

! What is the Role?

! Who is the Audience?

! What is your Situation (context)?

! What is the Performance challenge?

! By what Standards will work be judgedin the scenario?

SPS

GRA

T

170


Assessment of Understandingvia the facets

i.e. You really understand when you can:

! explain

! interpret

! apply & adapt

! see from different perspectives

! show empathy

! reveal self-understanding

155ff





3 Stages of Design:

Stage 3

212


Purposeful Learning, alignedwith goals

The essence of backward design! ALIGNMENT of learning with goals and evidence:

Determine how to teach and what to teach by thedemands of Stages 1 and 2, not habit or comfort level ofthe approach

! The key question, then: what learning isneeded? How can the needed learning bestoccur?

"Think of “teaching” and “content” as resources, notthe causes of learning.

"Think of textbook as resource, not the syllabus




Stage 3 Design Standard

EFFECTIVE

ENGAGING

and


Key misunderstanding at work:

first, learn ALL the “stuff”

We learn by trying it out:! Think of how we learn a sport, new

software, a new job - NEVER byfrontloading all the information, out ofcontext. We go back and forth betweeninformation and its use in context

! The sequence of the textbook is designedto organize information logically, notnecessarily to provide the best sequencefor learning.


Research on students likes:

! Completing!worksheets and writingthoughts in a diary are some of the mostdespised classroom activities, according toa survey of pupils in years 5-9. Being asked"to write my thoughts on what I've learntin a diary or journal" was the mostunhelpful teaching strategy, according tothe 7000 students from 50 primary schoolsand 13 secondary schools surveyed in the[Australian] study.


Student likes

! The activities students rated as the bestincluded"doing investigations or projects of their own

choice,

"being able to choose how they present things anddoing activities out of the school.

"doing hands-on activities,

"watching the teacher demonstrate how to dothings,

"searching and collecting information and askingquestions about things that interest them.




As "teacher! we employ 3distinct roles

Recall the 3 kinds of teaching fromthe Paideia Proposal

! Instructor, professor

! Coach of skill and performance

! Facilitator of shared inquiry and dialogue

Teaching for understanding requiresall 3, in a new balance


Goodlad!s Researchfrom A Place Called School

! “Consistently and at all levels, studentsrated the arts as more interesting andenjoyable than other subjects…”

! “The only subjects getting ratings of ‘veryinteresting’ from more than a third of juniorand senior high school students taking themwere the arts, vocational education, physicaleducation and foreign languages…”


Goodlad!s Research

!“It was especiallydistressing to see that thekinds of classroompractices found most oftenin school were liked bysmall percentages ofstudents.”


Goodlad!s Research! "What do students perceive themselves

to be learning? We asked [them] to writedown the most important thing learnedin school subjects...Most commonlystudents listed a fact or topic...

!Noticeably absent were responsesimplying the realization of havingacquired some intellectual power…




Goodlad!s research

!“A somewhat different emphasispervaded the arts, physical education,vocational education and severalcourses outside the mainstream suchas journalism. There was a noticeableshift away from the identification ofsubjects and topics toward theacquisition of some kind of ability orcompetence…”


A set of "moves! students need tolearn, so as to understand

To come to understand, learners need tomaster how to (on their own) –

! Question any ‘text’ critically but respectfully

! Verify/Test all major claims made by the text

! Compare and contrast different views

! Generalize and extend learning - a thesis

! Adapt learning to new and messy situations

! Monitor and adjust to achieve performance goals

! Frame problems and solve them

! Ask: “What if?” and similar imaginative/empathy Q’s

! Find and consider relevant causes/effects


“Coverage Anonymous” interms of textbook-as-syllabus

Our “6-step Solution”!!!! We admit there is a problem: we are addicted to coverage

! We find a “higher power” in Standards and Learning Goalsthat lie outside the textbook

! We commit to those goals

! We conduct a “fearless inventory” against those goals

! We admit to other educators and to students the nature ofour past errors

! We have a “spiritual awakening” about the true nature ofour job: to cause learning, not just “teach”


Organize byW. H. E. R. E. T. O.

Where are we headed? (the student’s Q!)

How will the student be ‘hooked’?

What opportunities will there be to beequipped, experienced, and explore key ideas?

What will provide opportunities to rethink,rehearse, refine and revise?

How will students evaluate their work?

How will the work be tailored to individualneeds, interests, styles?

How will the work be organized for maximalengagement and effectiveness?

W

H

E

E

R

L

T

O214




No one expects such “cooking”every day

!The aim is “gourmet” unit design -

!work smarter, not harder: keep addingeach year to a database of units:

www.ubdexchange.org

Misconception Alert !


“Coverage Anonymous” interms of textbook-as-syllabus

Our “6-step Solution”!!!! We admit there is a problem: we are addicted to coverage

! We find a “higher power” in Standards and Learning Goalsthat lie outside the textbook

! We commit to those goals

! We conduct a “fearless inventory” against those goals

! We admit to other educators and to students the nature ofour past errors

! We have a “spiritual awakening” about the true nature ofour job: to cause learning, not just “teach”

Unit Design Cycles

Draft:

•!Stage 1

•!Stage 2

•!Stage 3

DESIGN, based on:

•!Goals/Standards

•!Performance gaps

Analysis of

formative

student work

Expert

review

Student

feedback -what works,

what doesn’t

In-class

observations

Unit self-assessed against

UbD design standards

Design itTeach itwith revisions,

as needed

Peer

review

Pre-assessment

Analysis of

summative

student work© 2001 Grant Wiggins UBD 10/2005100

Our "benediction!…

“We have not succeeded in

answering all of your questions. The

answers we have found only serve to

raise a whole new set of questions.

In some ways, we feel we are as

confused as ever, but we believe we

are confused on a higher level, and

about more important things.”

Omni Magazine, March 1992




for further information...

Contact us:

[email protected]

[email protected]

!Check out Big Ideas, a monthlyonline newsletter:www.bigideas.org

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