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Understanding by Design (UbD). Sutherland Secondary School Professional Development Day April 23, 2010. “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. Welcome Activity.
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Understanding by Design (UbD) Sutherland Secondary School Professional Development Day April 23, 2010
“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.
Welcome Activity 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.
Understanding by Design “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
Barrie Bennett “…researching and valuing instruction is one thing; implementing and collectively sustaining it systemically over time is another.”
Curriculum Implementation DayMay 10, 2010 Human beings differ with their gifts and talents; To teach them you have to start where they are. Yuezheng in 4th century B.C. Chinese Treatise, Xue
“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.”
UbD: Stages of Backward Design 1. Identify desired results 2. Determine acceptable evidence 3. Plan learning experiences and instruction
“Twin Sins” of Curriculum Design • Activity-Oriented Design “Hands-on” without “Minds On” 2. Curriculum Coverage “Marching through the textbook”
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. Geometry: “Lesson Make-over”
Stage 1 • Identify desired results. 2. Determine acceptable evidence. 3. Plan learning experiences and instruction.
Establishing Curricular Priorities Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Enduring Understanding
Establishing Curricular Priorities Big Idea: Balanced Diet Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Your diet affects your health, appearance, and performance Enduring Understanding
Establishing Curricular Priorities Big Idea: Balanced Diet Canada Food Guidelines, Nutritional information on food labels Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Enduring Understanding
Establishing Curricular Priorities Big Idea: Balanced Diet Different conditions requiring dietary restrictions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Worth being familiar with Important to know and do Enduring Understanding
Unpack the PLOs – Establish GOALS Identify Enduring Understandings Develop Essential Questions Backward Design – Stage 1 Identify the Desired Results
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 Ideas What 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
Stage 2 • Identify desired results. 2. Determine acceptable evidence. 3. Plan learning experiences and instruction.
UbD: Stage 2 BIG IDEA: Valid Evidence ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS: What we assess and how we assess must align with the learning goals
Essential Questions 1. What is “valid” evidence of student learning? 2. How can we assess ‘deep understanding’ of learning? 3. How do we design “authentic” assessments?
Testing for ValidityGroup Activity In your group, sort the assessment tasks into columns 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?
The Six Facets of Understanding • 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
Explanation Application Interpretation Desired Understanding Perspective Empathy Self Knowledge 6 Facets of Understanding
ELECTRICITY Explanation • Explain to the class how a battery causes a light bulb to glow. Application Interpretation • Interpret a schematic diagram and predict the outcome. • Design an electrical circuit to accomplish a specific task • Troubleshoot a faulty electrical circuit • Describe an electron’s experience as it passes through a simple current. • Why does Canada use AC instead of DC current? (historical perspective) • What are the strengths of each type? • Give a pre-test and a post-test to assess common misconceptions (eg., force- concept inventory) and have students reflect on their deepening understanding. Perspective Empathy Self-Knowledge
Stage 3 • Identify desired results. 2. Determine acceptable evidence. 3. Plan learning experiences and instruction.
Enduring Understandingsare for ALL students 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
The Best Learning Designs are Engaging By engaging, we mean a design that the (diverse) learners find truly thought provoking, fascinating… By effective, we mean that the learning design helps learners become more competent and productive at worthy work. (Understanding by Design, Wiggins & McTighe) The Best Learning Designs are Effective
The Best Learning Designs areEngaging • 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 are Effective 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?
Activity: When is Learning Highly Engaging and Effective? Engaging 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…