Ubd

Understanding By Design Winter 2004
Understanding by Design Overview

 Introduction:
2004  What is good design?
 What is understanding?
 Understanding Understanding
 Transfer
 Big ideas
 The 6 facets of Understanding
 Ubd is an embodiment of common

sense, and best practice in design
and what we know about learning
© 2004 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe 1 UBD 01/2004 © 2004 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe 2 UBD 01/2004
Introductory Q’s Understanding by Design

Key Questions – An 8-year national effort in improving the design
 How do you know when they “got it”? When don’t they skills of educators
get it even though it might seem as if they do? What is
 UbD is used in over 400 school districts
evidence of understanding?
 UbD is a textbook in over 225 school of education
 How can we promote understanding more by design
courses
than by good fortune (and native ability)?
 The text is in the hands of over 500,000 educators
 How do we move beyond designing mere interesting
activities or textbook “coverage”?  Supported by a book, workbook, websites, and a
cadre of veteran-educator trainers, through ASCD
 What is the relation between local design work and
‘audits’ of achievement against the content standards?
The “big ideas” of good design “Big ideas” of ubd: “process”

 “Backward design” - design with clarity about  Based on a cycles of vision-feedback-
the desired learnings, and on evidence of real adjust (continuous progress against models
learning (understanding/transfer)
and standards)
 UbD takes an old idea and makes them more
comprehensive and concrete  Test as you go - in designing as in teaching
 a sharper focus on learning priorities: the focus  Feedback, early & often (for us, too; not just
is on “big ideas” & “core tasks” of transfer, to students: peer review essential, given our
frame curricula egocentrism)
 Focus on anticipating student
misunderstandings (and learning rough spots)  Process is messy, product is clean
 Making assessment central to curriculum design,  Many doorways in, one template
not an afterthought
© Grant Wiggins 2004 1

3 key understandings - about 4 key understandings - about

understanding: design:
 Understanding is about wise use  A sound plan refers to the few key desired learnings,
the desired output; not the many ‘teachings’ and
of knowledge and skill - activities, the inputs
The design must be transparent to the learner; the
effective “transfer” 
student must understand the priorities
Understandings are counter-  We have to design backward from desired performance,

not desired content mastery - content mastery is a
intuitive inferences, not just more means to ability
The best plans are both purposeful and flexible: the
“knowledge” 
greater the clarity of our goals, the easier it is to adjust
in a timely and effective way
Without understanding: amnesia
and inert knowledge
Focus here: The non-contact

Teachers wear many hats: role of plan & design of work
•Instructor Instructional
•Coach Skills
•Friend Planning
•Evaluator &
•Disciplinarian Design of
Class Curriculum &
•Advisor Manage- Assessment Coaching
ment Skills
3 Stages of
(“Backward”) Design Typical Error in Design
1. Identify desired results Identify content
2. Determine acceptable evidence Brainstorm activities
Without checking
3. Plan learning experiences for alignment
& instruction Come up with an assessment and
link it to some Standard

Design work is iterative, Establishing Intellectual priorities

non-linear ! around “Big Ideas” & “Core Tasks”
STAGE 1: worth being ”nice to know”
It doesn’t matter G
familiar with
where you begin or U Q
how you proceed - important to foundational

STAGE 2:
know & do knowledge & skill
as long as the T OE
design ends up “big ideas”

with all elements
STAGE 3:
Big ideas
L & core tasks worth
& core tasks
aligned! exploring
in depth
Establishing Intellectual priorities: Establishing Intellectual priorities:

Math Example Social Studies Example
Authors of
Definition of ”nice to know” The Federalist ”nice to know”
distributive property
roles & limits of
How to group foundational the 3 branches foundational
& regroup skill of government knowledge
The dilemmas
Equivalence, of a representative
being able to solve democracy and big idea
problems
big idea &
separation of
using it core task
powers
Establishing Intellectual priorities: Some questions for identifying

World Language example truly “big ideas”
How to say  Does it have many layers and nuances, not
‘I am hungry’ ”nice to know” obvious to the naïve or inexperienced person?
 Can it yield great depth and breadth of insight
into the subject? Can it be used throughout K-12?
ability to use
 Do you have to dig deep to really understand its
key verbs in the foundational subtle meanings and implications even if anyone
target language skill can have a surface grasp of it?
idiomatic  Is it (therefore) prone to misunderstanding as well
as disagreement?
expressions,
 Are you likely to change your mind about its
and wisely big idea/core task
meaning and importance over a lifetime?
using them
 Does it reflect the core ideas in a field or in life, as
judged by experts?

Some “Big Ideas” Q’s to Identify “Core Tasks”:

 concepts: migration, adaptation, place value, function, equity,
text What do the discrete skills and facts enable?
 themes: “Good triumphs over evil”, “the outsider”, “the more  What task(s) provide credible answers to: “Why are we
we learn the less we know” learning this? What does it help you do?”
 debates: “Nature vs. nurture” “offense vs. defense”  What tasks require a full repertoire of the many discrete
 perspectives: America as seen by ourselves, our allies, and our skills and facts we teach?
foes; Euclidean vs. non-euclidean geometry  What complex tasks do people out in the world get
 paradox: freedom involves responsibility, no force is acting on called upon to do - on their own? What are the kinds of
a body moving at a fast constant speed challenges and conditions they face in the field?
 theory: form follows function; you are what you eat, less is  What work requires transfer - the thoughtful use of a
more (design, arts) repertoire, not just cued, simple plug-in or rote
 assumption: the text has meaning, “Occam’s Razor” (i.e. belief response?
that the best scientific explanation is the simplest), history as a  Is this the kind of task that can and must recur K-12
march of human progress, anything can be measured if we can because it is the essence of the discipline or field?
identify what it is we want to measure
Core tasks are 2nd key to

prioritized learning by design Core tasks
Examples from various fields:
Defined: “The most important complex
 Crafting a coherent, credible, and supported narrative
performances, in realistic contexts, in each field”
of what happened, despite conflicting and incomplete
 Ask: accounts (social studies)
 What does it mean to do the subject, to have your  Designing and de-bugging your own experiments
knowledge ‘tested’ in the world? (science)
What are realistic options, constraints, and
 Navigating successfully in a foreign language and

opportunities available in such work?
culture (world language)
 What are the key genres of performance in your
subject(s)? What might be the ‘decathlon’ in  Figuring out, on your own, what an author might have
your program area, that might anchor the meant, and saying why (lang. Arts)
curriculum?  Developing mathematical models of messy phenomena
(math, science, social science)
 Speaking to different audiences and purposes,
including highly challenging situations
Don’t confuse the drills with the Find lots of ideas in the
game (authentic performance) language of the Standards
‘Drill-tests’ - The ‘game’ - real Key verbs suggest the important tasks
exercises problems Key nouns reflect the big ideas
 Out of context  In context, with all
its messiness and  Important to anchor curriculum in core
 Discrete, isolated tasks which recur K-12 to avoid overly-
interest value
element discrete teaching of skills
 Requires a
 Unrealistically set up repertoire, used  Important to frame curriculum around
and prompted wisely essential questions to ensure Big Ideas are
 Doesn’t transfer  Not prompted: you highlighted and used to frame ‘content’
without practice judge what to do, goals
adapting it to the when
game itself

to teach for understanding is to

Ohio Examples coach for transfer, not just recall
Transfer requires…
 Demonstrate that motion is a measurable quantity that
depends on the observer's frame of reference and  Tasks with minimal cues and scaffolding, unlike
describe the object's motion in terms of position, typical test items: can the learner imagine and judge
velocity, acceleration and time. which knowledge & skills are required here?
 Local/classroom assessment is consistently too low-level
 Evaluate the limitations and the opportunities that
and narrow – not focused on transfer, but ‘plugging in’
result from decisions made in the past including:
 Adaptation of knowledge, based on understanding
 a. Electoral College;
the big ideas ‘underneath’ specific content;
 b. Direct election of senators;
 c. Income tax;  Grappling with new or unfamiliar elements, uses,
 d. Length of terms of elected and appointed officials. or obstacles
How people learn, for transfer Controversial transfer item

34 A straw is placed into a
“Students develop flexible under- rectangular box that is 3
standing of when, where, why, and inches by 4 inches by 8
inches, as shown in the
how to use their knowledge to accompanying diagram. If
solve new problems if they learn the straw fits exactly into
how to extract underlying the box diagonally from
the bottom left front
principles and themes from their corner to the top right
learning exercises.” back corner, how long is
- How People Learn, p.224 the straw, to the nearest
tenth of an inch? Over 70% wrong!
MCAS test item: 10th-grade

A NAEP item, same topic English reading item
What is the A fellow fourth grader broke the news to me after she saw my
diagonal effort on a class assignment involving scissors and construction paper.
30 inches
measurement of “You cut out a purple bluebird,” she said. There was no reproach in her
the TV screen? voice, just a certain puzzlement. Her observation opened my eyes—
not that my eyes particularly help—to the fact that I am colorblind. In
40 inches  25 the 36 years since, I’ve been trying to understand what that means. I’m
 35 still not sure I do….
Unlike left-handers, however, we seem disinclined
 50
to rally round our deviation from the norm. Thus there’s no ready
 70 source of information about how many presidents, or military heroes,
 1200 or rock singers have been colorblind. Based on the law of averages,
though, there must have been some. We are everywhere, trying
8th-grade: 25% correct 12th-grade: 42% correct to cope, trying to blend in. Usually we succeed. Until someone spots
our purple bluebirds. Then the jig is up.

The most wrong item on the

test: 70% incorrect: “Big Ideas” defined:
 This selection is best described as Is it a Big Idea? Does it –
 A. a biography.  have lasting value, with transfer to other
 B. a scientific article.
inquiries?
 C. an essay.  serve as a key concept for making important facts,
 D. an investigative report.
skills, and actions more connected, coherent,
meaningful, useful?
 epitomize “core” (not “basic”) insights in a
 Many students said it could not be an essay subject or discipline?
because “it was funny” and because “it had  require “uncoverage” (since it is an abstract or
more than 5 paragraphs.” often-misunderstood idea)?
The big ideas provide a way to

connect, recall, apply knowledge Big ideas - in skill areas
The Parallel Look for “big ideas” in key concepts and
postulate issues of judgment in using skill -
S.A.S. Like rules  strategy & tactics: “opening up space” in sports
Congruence of a game  why it works: “place value in base 10”
Big Idea: in adding or subtracting; “continuity” in numbers and
number line
A system  Purpose & value: “self-sufficiency” as foundation of “life
of many powerful skills”; “meaning” in
A2 + B2 = inferences from a Like Bill of print (as a rationale for actively using multiple strategies
C2 small set in decoding text)
of givens Rights
Pointing to big ideas via

essential questions Q Essential Questions Q
“How does one lead children to discover What questions –

 are important to argue about?
the powers and pleasures [of rethinking]?
 are at the heart of the subject?
Through organizing questions. They  recur - and should recur?
serve two functions: they put perspective  raise more questions – provoking and sustaining
back in the particulars... and they often engaged inquiry?
 must become habits of mind when we face real
served as criteria for determining where problems?
students were getting, how well they  often raise important conceptual or strategic issues in
were understanding, whether anything the subject?
 can provide organizing purpose for meaningful &
new was emerging.” – Jerome Bruner connected learning?

Class rank Class Class Class Class

A B C D
What is Fair? 1 4 6 1 2
Essential Questions 2
3
9
11
7
10
3
14
5
8
examples – Four 7th-grade classes 4 12 13 18 15
 What’s the pattern? How do I know? Are the exceptions

had a race of all the 5 20 16 19 17
6 21 22 23 31
anomalies or clues that it’s really a different pattern? students. Devise as 7 25 24 28 33
8 26 27 30 36
 Who is an American? Says who? many ways as you can to 9 29 34 32 37
 What is commonsensical and what is counter-intuitive determine a fair ranking 10 35 39 41 38
11 43 40 44 46
about this finding? When should I trust or be skeptical of the 4 classes, given 12 45 42 47 51
of ‘common sense’? 13 49 48 50 55
the individual runner 14 54 52 56 27
 What’s the difference between a good read and a great
book, if any? Does the question matter? results in the table. 15 61 53 60 58
16 65 62 63 59
 What is fair? How well can math help us answer the
Summarize the 2-3 top 17 69 66 64 67
18 70 72 * 68
question? ways you think would 19 71 * * 73
 Who is a true friend? How can you be sure, and how be most fair, and be 20 * * * 74
sure can you be? prepared to discuss…
 Should I count, estimate, calculate or sample here?
Individual ranking of runners in
© 2004 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe 37 UBD 01/2004 a race by all 7th -grade classes
The Questions ARE the

curriculum Essential vs. “leading” Q’s
We must frame curricula around Essential - STAGE 1 Leading - STAGE 3
questions  Asked to be argued  Asked as a reminder,
 Designed to to prompt recall
 Don’t confuse ‘teaching via questions’ with
a curriculum and assessment system based “uncover” new  Designed to “cover”
on penetrating and important questions in ideas, views, lines knowledge
each field of argument  Point to a single,
 One of 2 key moves for escaping the  Set up inquiry, straightforward fact -
tyranny of the textbook (the other is: heading to new a rhetorical question
designing around core tasks). understandings
Misconceptions as another E.g. Misconceptions in

way to identify big ideas science
“[What] an extensive research literature now From 2061 Benchmarks (AAAS):
documents is that an ordinary degree of “ Some students think that ‘cold’ is being
understanding is routinely missing in many, transferred from a colder to warmer
perhaps most students. If, when the object…students often think that objects
circumstances of testing are slightly altered, cool down or release heat
the sought-after competence can no longer be spontaneously…
documented, then understanding - in any Even after instruction, students don’t always
reasonable sense of the term - has simply not give up their naive notion that some substances
been achieved.” (e.g. flour) cannot heat up, or that metals get hot
– Howard Gardner, The Unschooled Mind because they “attract heat” etc.” (pp. 337-8)

Clarifying big ideas & real

problem-based tasks Understanding – by Design
 Transfer 3 Stages of Backward
Use this set of prompts: Given the Standard – 
 Rethink, via Design
What are the greatest challenges in understanding [the
Overarching under
 standings
topic]? i.e. - what are typical misunderstandings and big ideas  Built upon the desired
performance errors when doing work in this area? learnings, not the
 6 facets key to content or teacher
assessment Essential Quest
ions moves
 What kinds of problems, framed as assessment tasks, must
design  Focused on big ideas
students ultimately confront if we are to grasp their degree of
understanding and mastery of the Standard? What ‘other  All 3 stages align
 Explain
evidence’ is needed to round out the picture? Knowledge and  Anticipate
 Interpret
skill to be acquired
misunderstandings
 What, then might be ‘exercises’ and ‘transfer tasks’ for that  Apply  Grounded in
standard?
 perspective performance
assessment
 Refer to our rubrics for further advice on the distinctions between  Empathy
types of exercises and problems
 Self-knowledge
A focus on the big ideas and From Big Ideas to

the big picture throughout Understandings about them U
 In Stage One, the big ideas are highlighted by
An understanding is a
the Essential Questions and Understandings
 In Stage Two, the core assessment tasks focus
“moral of the story” about the big ideas
on evidence of mastery of the big ideas; and
mastery of key performance types requires  What specific insights will students take away
understanding big ideas about the the meaning of ‘content’ via big
 In Stage Three, the Learning Plan makes clear ideas?
to students what the big ideas are, what they  Understandings summarize the desired
look like in the concrete, why they matter, and insights we want students to realize
how a grasp of them will be assessed
Understanding, defined:
They are... Big idea - Equivalence
 specific generalizations about the “big Understandings:
ideas.” They summarize the key meanings,  Numerals can represent many numbers
inferences, and importance of the ‘content’
 “Equal” means “of the same value” and does not
 deliberately framed as a full sentence mean “calculate the answer”
“moral of the story” – “Students will
understand THAT…”  The same mathematical ideas can be represented
concretely, graphically, or symbolically. Context
 Require “uncoverage” because they are not determines which is most appropriate.
“facts” to the novice, but unobvious  Tables, graphs, and symbols are alternatives ways of
inferences drawn from facts - counter- representing data and relationships that can be translated
from one to another.
intuitive & easily misunderstood

Big idea - model,

representation “Finding Useful Patterns”
 EU: Math involves the modeling of phenomena, to find useful Understandings:
quantitative relationships, and many models are possible
 Mathematics is the study of patterns, finding and using
them to solve problems
 EU: Models can both clarify and confuse the truth.
 Patterns can be represented concretely, graphically, or
symbolically.
 EQ: How might this phenomenon be modeled mathematically?
What is the best model, given this data and this context? How  Finding patterns allows us to predict the future and
should we test the model? What are the strengths and limits of the reveal the hidden.
model?  Eqs: If my prediction was right, can I say I understand the pattern? If
my prediction is wrong, can I say I don’t understand the pattern?
 Many of the most powerful patterns are patterns within
patterns - recursive
Patterns: EQ’s Patterns: misunderstandings -

 What’s the pattern? Is there a useful pattern here? Are  There’s one way to model the problem.
there still others? How sure am I?
 E.g. - What’s the pattern in multiplication by 6, 7, 9,
 There’s one pattern.
etc.  There’s one right answer.
 Is the most obvious pattern the most important
 The pattern must be related to what we
pattern? When is ‘simple’ powerful and when is it too
‘simplistic’ or superficial? just studied
 Is the pattern real or a matter of human perspective?  If the pattern isn’t obvious, there’s no
 How do I find a pattern or come up with a model if I pattern
don’t readily see one?
 The pattern is just some made up, arbitrary
thing, not useful – “just dumb math”
3 Stages of Design: “Backward Design” of

Stage 2 Learning:
Stage 1
What is the complex

1. Identify desired results learning goal/standard?
What transfer evidence is implied

2. Determine acceptable evidence in the goal/standard?
Stage 2
What specific “performance” will

3. Plan learning experiences provide such evidence?
& instruction
Stage 3
What follows for learning activities that

would equip learners to perform?

Stage 2 is the essence of

What is acceptable evidence? backward design & alignment
“Measure what we value,
Judicial Analogy: value what we measure”
 Don’t just test what is easy to test,
 What “preponderance of or grade what is simple to grade
evidence” would show that  Derive the required assessments
students have achieved the from the complex performances
desired understanding, explicit or implicit in the
knowledge, and skill? Are able understandings and content
standards
to address the essential
questions?
The mantra of Backward Implications: Agree on core

Design rubrics and core tasks
“Think like an assessor, Key rubrics as well as tasks are explicit
and implied in the standards
not an activity designer!!”
 rubrics for charting progress against key
performance traits - critical thinking,
 The goal is valid and reliable evidence effective problem-solving, reading and
for Stage 1: What do the standards and writing fluently in key genres, etc.
desired results imply for evidence? (How  Key tasks as the most important
should the learning activities thus be performances requiring such work:
shaped to achieve the evidence)? defensible research, multi-step problems,
speak and write fluently, etc.
Need: Agree on “core tasks” per

Math Task Example program (via Standards)
 “Hoops” McGinty wants to donate millions of dollars from his salary
and sports-drink earnings toward a special exhibit in the new Rose
Planetarium area of the Museum of Natural History. Hoops wants there Example: Math
to be a 3-D scale model of our planetary system. There is a catch,
however. The size of the planets and the distance of each planet from
 Make sense of inconclusive, incomplete,
the sun must be exactly to scale – where the sun is represented by a misleading – messy - data
regulation NBA basketball. The nervous folks in the gifts department
of the Museum call you up to their office because of your expertise in  Model a real-world phenomenon
astronomy.
 What will you advise them about the feasibility of the plan? What  Solve multi-step non-routine problems
approach toward a scale model will work best to ensure a basketball-
related design?  Choose technology wisely and use it to
solve complex problems (spreadsheets,
graphing calculators, etc.)

“core tasks” per

Example - Science program/department
High Climbers. You are a researcher hired by a group of Example: Science
expert mountain climbers. Hypoxia is the set of  Design and de-bug a worthy experiment from scratch
symptoms that comes from a lack of O 2 in body tissues.
It is often felt by mountain climbers as they ascend  Critically evaluate the research of others - peer review
altitude quickly. Sherpas, long-time residents of high  Show evidence of having carefully considered the ethics and
altitudes, seem to feel no hypoxic discomfort. Why public policy issues of scientific research
might that be? Your group wants to know, and to benefit
 Adapt scientific research to practical solutions/inventions
from the knowledge. Design a series of experiments that
would test the difference in hypoxic symptoms between  Propose and design tests of a novel hypothesis
mountain climbers and sherpas. Then, explain the
findings to the climbers in a simple guidebook…
Example - US History AP “core tasks” per

course program/department
 Your goal is to determine why the urban riots of the
late 60's happened. You are one of many august Example: History
members of an LBJ appointed panel, the Kerner  Makes sense of multiple, conflicting primary &
Commission, who must report to the president and the
country on why the violence happened and what can
secondary accounts, do an oral or written narrative
be done about it.  Critically research the merit of cited sources, e.g.
 You will produce a collective report that must be on the Internet
thoughtful, thorough, and clearly presented. Your  Journalistic background: do a helpful history of a
personal contribution will be judged through journal
entries, observations of work and discussion, and
present problem/issue/event = e.g. 9/11
sections of writing you produce.  Design informative multi-media historical
exhibits to show causal reasoning
2 Questions for a Assessment of Understanding

practical test of your ideas: ! via the facets
1. Could the performance be i.e. You really understand when you can:
accomplished (or the test be passed)  explain, connect, systematize, predict it
without in-depth understanding?  show its meaning, importance
2. Could the specific performance be  apply or adapt it to novel situations
poor, but the student still understand  see it as one plausible perspective among others,
question its assumptions
the ideas in question?
 see it as its author/speaker saw it
avoid and point out common misconceptions, biases,
The goal is to answer NO to both 
or simplistic views

For Reliability & Sufficiency:

Scenarios for Authentic Tasks T Use a Variety of Assessments
Build assessments anchored in Varied types, over time: Photo Album
authentic tasks using GRASPS:  authentic tasks and projects
G  What is the Goal in the scenario?  academic exam questions, prompts, and problems
quizzes and test items
R  What is the Role?

 informal checks for

A  Who is the Audience? understanding
S  What is your Situation (context)?  student self-assessments
P  What is the Performance challenge?

S  By what Standards will work be judged
in the scenario?
Design criteria to ensure focus Stage 3 Design Standard

on big ideas & standards:
To what extent do the assessments and activities -
 Require complex problem-solving (as opposed to E
simple plug-in exercises)?
F E
 Provide minimal cues (as opposed to telling the N
student exactly what content is needed and what to F
do)? E G
 Reflect “real-world” use of the content (as opposed to C and A
pat school questions) - “core” tasks? T G
 Validly address the targeted Standard(s) (as opposed I I
to being merely interesting or fun)?
V
N
 Provide sufficient work for that Standard (as opposed G
to providing only one piece of many needed lessons E
and assessments)?
Organize by Focusing design on pursuing

W. H. E. R. E. T. O. L Questions and Problems L
Where are we headed? (the student’s Q!)

W “Content” is often best learned in response
How will the student be ‘hooked’?
H What opportunities will there be to be equipped, to starting with and framing upon
E
experienced, and explore key ideas?
What will provide opportunities to rethink, rehearse,
questions and problems
refine and revise?
R How will students evaluate their work?
How will the work be tailored to individual needs,  The art of holding interest lies in
E interests, styles?
How will the work be organized for maximal engagement
“raising questions and delaying
T and effectiveness? the answers...”
O – D. Lodge, The Art of Fiction

Good design - by design… Good design - by design…(2)

What was the best-designed learning  What do the best-designed lessons
experience you ever had?
have in common? Against what
 ‘Best’ here means: it resulted in highly criteria should all our designs be
engaged and effective learning. judged?
 We seek replicable lessons about good
design
Share stories with a neighbor, and
 We have asked this question with every generalize: “The best designs….”
group we have worked with, over a three
year period
Systemic Support for UbD

Resources:
Job Definition:
• find & allocate to
• design and teach for
support strategic actions
understanding
• provide incentives
• examine results
• adjust schedules
• adjust based on results
System-Wide Rubric(s) • reflect (e.g., lesson study,
Leadership: study groups, action research,
Overarching Core Overarching Essential • create common vision, goals, coaching/supervision)
framework & language
Understanding(s) Task(s) Question(s) • commit for the long-term
• align actions and policies
Course 1 Course 2 Course 3 Course 4 Professional Development: Curriculum Development:

• design collaboratively • map curriculum
unit 1 unit 1 unit 1 unit 1 • peer review & coaching • design collaboratively
unit 2 unit 2 unit 2 unit 2
unit 3 unit 3 unit 3 unit 3 • study groups • conduct reviews
unit 4 unit 4 unit 4 unit 4 • lesson study/ action research • share designs (ubdexchange)
unit 5 unit 5 unit 5 unit 5
• results-focussed training • improve continuously
76
Unit Design Cycles Backward Design: Micro and Macro

Backward Design
based on: Design: Map the curriculum: “Backward”
Designer’s
• Program goals • Stage 1 • Overarching understandings
observation “Work
• Performance gaps • Stage 2 and essential questions
Smarter”
• Core assessment tasks
Student • Stage 3 • Check for gaps and alignment Refine
feedback designs
Trial Design “Micro” Design:
Evaluate Results: units and lessons
• student feedback
Working smarter via:
Feedback • design teams
“Macro” Design: • student work
• external data
programs & courses
• ubdexchange.org
Review against
Expert Set local performance design standards
Reviewed against • self assessment
review Analysis of Design Standards by:
standards and “anchor”
student work • peer review
student work • self • peers
77 78

Moving Reform Forward: Why bother? - Rationale #1

too much focus on “teaching” and “content” -
not enough on designs and feedback against
standards
 In our experience, people work too hard on
“Yes, their “teaching” and not enough on the

design of learning and use of feedback to
achieve results
But…”
 State tests are insufficient and untimely as
feedback: “All adjustment based on
assessment is local”
TIMSS Survey: Teacher Aims TIMSS: Lesson (in)Coherence

80
2.5
70
60 2
50 Japan
USA 1.5
40 Germany
Japan
30 1 USA
20
10 0.5
0
0
Skills Focus Thinking Focus Topics Topic Segments
TIMSS Scores: 8th-grade

TIMSS: Class Activity Mathematics
100
Practice
90 Procedure
80 Apply
70 Concept
60 Invent/Think
50
40
30
20
10
0 Test Scores
Germany USA Japan

Research - Learning and

Assessment Chicago research
 Newmann et al. (1996) measured how well 24  Assignments were rated according to the degree to which
restructured schools implemented authentic pedagogy they required “authentic” intellectual work: “Students
and authentic academic performance approaches in who received assignments requiring more
mathematics and social studies. challenging intellectual work also achieved
 Students with high levels of authentic pedagogy and greater than average gains on the Iowa Tests of
performance were helped substantially whether they Basic Skills in reading and mathematics, and
were high- or low-achieving students. Another demonstrated higher performance in reading,
significant finding was that the inequalities between mathematics, and writing on the Illinois Goals
high- and low-performing students were greatly Assessment Program...
decreased when normally low- performing students
used authentic pedagogy and performance strategies and
assessments.
feedback and its use is key to

Chicago, cont. great gains
 “Contrary to some expectations, we found high-
Black & Wiliam meta-analysis:
quality assignments in some very disadvantaged “There is a body of firm evidence that
Chicago classrooms and [found] that all students in formative assessment is essential... We
these classes benefited from exposure to such
instruction. We conclude, therefore, [that]
know of no other way of raising
assignments calling for more authentic intellectual standards for which such a strong prima
work actually improve student scores on facie case can be made.”
conventional tests. (p. 29)  Black and Wiliam (1998) “Inside the Black
The complete research is available online at Box: Raising Standards through Classroom
http://www.consortiumchicago.org/publications
Assessment,” Phi Delta Kappan, volume 80, 2
(October), pp. 139 ff.
Fit between standards and

textbooks? Algebra text review - AAAS
 No textbook does a satisfactory job of
1. textbook content
content standards 2. textbook content
content standards
providing assessments to help teachers make
instructional decisions based specifically on
what their students have--or have not--
learned.
textbook  No textbook does a satisfactory job of
textbook
content content
3. standards
content 4. content building on students' existing ideas about
standards
algebra or helping them overcome their
misconceptions or missing prerequisite
Which is the closest fit for your subject? knowledge.

Goodlad’s Research
 "What do students perceive themselves to “We have not succeeded in answering
be learning? We asked [them] to write
down the most important thing learned in
all of your problems. The answers we
school subjects...Most commonly students have found only serve to raise a whole
listed a fact or topic...Noticeably absent new set of questions. In some ways, we
were responses implying the
realization of having acquired some
feel we are as confused as ever, but we
intellectual power… believe we are confused on a higher level
and about more important things.”
Omni Magazine, March 1992
for further information... for further information...

Contact us: Resources:
 grant@grantwiggins.org  The Understanding by Design Workbook (2004)
 Book: Understanding by Design, ASCD, (1998)
 denise@grantwiggins.org
 Videos: What is Understanding ? What is
Backward Design?
 Design & share site:  Educative Assessment, Jossey-Bass
www.ubdexchange.org

Ubd

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Understanding By Design Winter 2004

Understanding by Design Overview

2004  What is good design?

 The 6 facets of Understanding

 Ubd is an embodiment of common

Introductory Q’s Understanding by Design

The “big ideas” of good design “Big ideas” of ubd: “process”

© Grant Wiggins 2004 1

3 key understandings - about 4 key understandings - about

Understandings are counter-  We have to design backward from desired performance,

Focus here: The non-contact

2. Determine acceptable evidence Brainstorm activities

© Grant Wiggins 2004 2

Design work is iterative, Establishing Intellectual priorities

how you proceed - important to foundational

design ends up “big ideas”

Establishing Intellectual priorities: Establishing Intellectual priorities:

Establishing Intellectual priorities: Some questions for identifying

© Grant Wiggins 2004 3

Some “Big Ideas” Q’s to Identify “Core Tasks”:

Core tasks are 2nd key to

© Grant Wiggins 2004 4

to teach for understanding is to

How people learn, for transfer Controversial transfer item

MCAS test item: 10th-grade

© Grant Wiggins 2004 5

The most wrong item on the

The big ideas provide a way to

Pointing to big ideas via

“How does one lead children to discover What questions –

© Grant Wiggins 2004 6

Class rank Class Class Class Class

 What’s the pattern? How do I know? Are the exceptions

The Questions ARE the

Misconceptions as another E.g. Misconceptions in

© Grant Wiggins 2004 7

Clarifying big ideas & real

A focus on the big ideas and From Big Ideas to

© Grant Wiggins 2004 8

Big idea - model,

Patterns: EQ’s Patterns: misunderstandings -

3 Stages of Design: “Backward Design” of

What is the complex

What transfer evidence is implied

What specific “performance” will

What follows for learning activities that

© Grant Wiggins 2004 9

Stage 2 is the essence of

The mantra of Backward Implications: Agree on core

Need: Agree on “core tasks” per

© Grant Wiggins 2004 10

“core tasks” per

Example - US History AP “core tasks” per

2 Questions for a Assessment of Understanding

© Grant Wiggins 2004 11

For Reliability & Sufficiency:

 informal checks for

S  What is your Situation (context)?  student self-assessments

P  What is the Performance challenge?

Design criteria to ensure focus Stage 3 Design Standard

Organize by Focusing design on pursuing

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