1. Understanding by Design: Unit Development Presented by: Judi Allen, Director of History/Social Studies Diane Perito, Director of Science Jane Skelton, Director of ELA August 22 – August 29, 2012 1

2. Why are we here? What do you want your students to remember about your class ten, twenty years from now? ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 2

3. Desired Results Explore backward design principles and common misunderstandings about design; Identify desired results for unit of study and draft a complete unit to include an assessment and learning plan; Review unit of study applying design standards ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold3

4. Performance Tasks: O Design a unit for a period of instruction between 1-4 weeks. O Review units by applying design standards and offering feedback to improve design. ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold4

5. 5 To Raise Student AchievementDistrict Goal : How do we do this? Research shows a guaranteed and viable curriculum is the #1 school-level factor impacting student achievement. --Marzano, What Works in Schools

6. A Definition “the course to be run” Curriculum = a plan to achieve designated goals Curriculum ≠ a list of topics and related activities ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold6

7. Standards are not curriculum “These Standards do not dictate curriculum or teaching methods.” - - The Common Core Standards ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold7

8. Standards are not curriculum “Consider an analogy with home building and renovation: The standards are like the building code. Architects and builders must attend to them but they are not the purpose of their design… ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold8

9. The house to be built or renovated is designed to meet the needs of the client in a functional and pleasing manner– while also meeting the building code along the way.”! ! ! -- Wiggins and McTighe! ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold9

10. Need to “Unpack” the Content Consider: What are the “big ideas” embedded within the standards? ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold10 Content Standards big ideas??

11. Three-Minute Pause 1. What is understanding?  Share your response with a partner 2. Summarize key points 3. Pose clarifying questions ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold11

12. What is Understanding? Understanding big ideas make meaning of the learning and permit transfer  Transfer is the key evidence of understanding (or lack of it) Good design  best done “backward” from the desired understanding  Given the understanding we seek, we ask: what follows for assessment and for student learning? ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold12

13.  What does understanding as a goal require -  ‘ Designs’ - our planning?  Learning and teaching activities?  Assessment and feedback to learners?  How do we achieve understanding by design vs.‘ good fortune’? What is ‘understanding’? - really ‘getting it’? ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold

14. Three stages of UbD ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 14 1. Identify desired results 2. Determine acceptable evidence 3. Plan learning experiences & instruction

15. Three stages of UbD (backward Design) ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 15 1.What should students be able to DO with their learning? 2. What IS valid evidence of ability to meet the long-term transfer goal? 3. What learning experiences & instruction do students need to get there?

16. Typically: ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 16 1.Identify content to be acquired 2. Brainstorm lessons to teach the content 3. Create an assessment to judge if students learned the content Without checking for alignment Without checking for alignment

17. ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold17 UbD Template

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19. Three stages of backward design ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold19 1. Identify desired results 2. Determine acceptable evidence 3. Plan learning experiences & instruction

20. Stage 1: Desired results ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 20 Stage 1 - Desired Results Understanding(s ): Essential Question(s ): Transfer Goals Students will know and be able to do: Insights students earn that will transfer to new learning Inquiry students pursue to earn insights and develop proficiency Content priorities for the unit / course / subject Students will be accountable to demonstrate in their work Key vocabulary concepts Demonstrates how unit will embody system expectations

21. Design Standards for Understandings Big ideas at the heart of the discipline Requires “uncoverage” Lasting value beyond the classroom Measurable ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold21

22. Worth being familiar with Important to know & do Big ideas & Understandings Establishing Priorities: From “Big Ideas” to Understandings “Big ideas” worth exploring and understanding in depth Foundational knowledge & skill Nice to know ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold

23. Key protests of Civil Rights Movement Analyze effects of landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education Conflict creates change “Big ideas” worth exploring and understanding in depth Foundational knowledge & skill Nice to know ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold U.S. II.25 Analyze the origins, goals, and key events of the Civil Rights Movement. (H)

24. Task:  Identify standard(s) in your content area  Choose a unit for your work today  Identify standard(s) from the ELA & literacy framework for Social Studies & Science  Begin to design stage 1

25. Designing with Essential Questions O More question-based, problem-based, and challenge-based design: as opposed to content- based design O Moving away from the textbook as syllabus: to the textbook as resource, in support of understanding- focused goals O More like athletics, art: complex performances of transfer that require the inferences and the content 25 ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold

26. Design Standards for Essential Questions Align with understandings Provoke genuine inquiry Encourage transfer ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 26

27. Is this an Essential Question? O What are the elements of writing? O How do you find the mean? O To what extent can you lie with statistics? O What are the causes of the Civil War? O Why read old books? O To what extent can we predict the future?

28. Sample essential questions Language Arts What does a good listener do? What does a reader bring to a text? How do you write so other people can understand what you are trying to say? What makes a story work? What is the speaker trying to communicate? How does the delivery influence my response? How do I figure out meaning when I don’t understand all of the words? ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 28

29. Sample essential questions ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 29 Science How do you know something is alive? Are we destined to become our parents? How is this system designed to handle change?

30. Sample essential questions ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 30 Social Studies What story do maps tell? What makes a community work? How do the stories we tell shape who we are? To what extent can one person change the world?

31. How the big ideas hang together Sample from a teacher’s draft ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold31 Big Idea UnderstandingsEssential Questions Cultural voice / heritage A group’s identity is defined by a shared system of beliefs and practices. How does family influence who we are? Who we become? What makes a group powerful? What do we learn about a group/culture by the stories they tell?

32. knowledge and skills...assist students in gaining understanding AND in illustrating their understanding ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold

33. Content—Knowledge--Skills ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold

35. Design Standards for Knowledge and Skills What students should know Appropriate given the unit focus, assessments, and time allotted Succinctly stated What students should be able to do Appropriate given the unit focus, assessments, and time allotted Choice of verb indicates performance expectation ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold35

36. Identifying key knowledge and skills ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold36 Knowledge: __________________ Skills: __________________ Given the targeted content standards and understandings, what will students need to know and be able to do?

37. Factual knowledge ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold37 includes... - vocabulary/ terminology - definitions - key factual information - critical details - important events and people - sequence/timeline

38. Skills ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold38 includes... basic skills - e.g., decoding, drawing communication skills - e.g., listening, speaking, writing research/inquiry/ investigation skills thinking skills - e.g., comparing, problem solving, decision making study skills - e.g., note taking interpersonal, group skills

39. The understandings are declarative statements that demand exploration. The essential questions engage students and guide them to understanding. Stage 1 truly centers on understanding. Knowledge and skills align with and are appropriate for the understandings. Self-assessment of Stage One: 4-3-2-1 ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold

40. 1. Identify desired results 2. Determine acceptable evidence 3. Plan learning experiences & instruction Three stages of UbD ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold40

41. Desired results for Stage 2 The purpose of assessment is to provide reliable and authentic evidence of understanding and transfer. Assessment not only measures student performance, it motivates it. If you value the desired result, learners deserve accessible opportunities to demonstrate learning. ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold41

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43. How to Assess Targets The photo album versus the snapshot

44. How to Assess Targets The photo album versus the snapshot.

45. Recognizing the limits of testing “Evaluation is a complex, multi-faceted process. Different tests provide different information, and no single test can give a complete picture of a student’s academic development. -- from CTB/McGraw-Hill Terra Nova Test Manual ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 45

46. Stage 2: Assessment Plan ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 46 Stage 2 - Assessment Evidence Curriculum Embedded Performance Assessment : Other Evidence: Performance task Products / Performances Academic Prompts -All other forms of assessment Quizzes, tests, prompts, work samples Observations Student self-assessment

47. Stage 2: Assessment Plan ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold 47 Stage 2 - Assessment Evidence Transfer Task(s):Other Evidence: Determine types of assessment (Formative) Summative Determine types of assessment Diagnostic Formative Summative

48. Worth being familiar with Important to know & do Big ideas & Enduring Understandings “Big ideas” worth exploring and understanding in depth Foundational knowledge & skill Nice to know Traditional quizzes & tests Paper/pencil Selected- response Constructed response Performance tasks & projects Complex Open ended Authentic ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold

49. Designing performance tasks Goal Role Audience Situation Product/Performance Standards ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold49 GRASPSGRASPS

50. Is the task relevant? Connected to the classroom — demonstration/extension of what was learned Connected to the real world — work that professionals in the field would do Connected to student’s life — Connected to capacity — students have clarity on what is expected from them and the necessary skills / knowledge to be successful ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold50

51. Do students have the ability to be successful? O Assess before teaching O Offer appropriate choices O Provide feedback early and often O Encourage self-assessment and goal setting O Allow new evidence of achievement to replace old evidence ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold51 Do You:

52. O Is there a range of assessments as opposed to a single task/test (photo album vs. snapshot)? O Could a student be successful on the assessment package without truly understanding? O Could the student understand and not be successful on the assessment package? ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold Review Standards—Stage Two:

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54. Three stages of UbD ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold54 1. Identify desired results 2. Determine acceptable evidence 3. Plan learning experiences & instruction

55. Stage 3: Learning Plan ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold55 Stage 3 - Learning Plan Design a set of learning experiences that fosters understanding and transfer.

56. Stage two planning is revealed in Stage three instructional design Pre-assessment (Finding Out) Formative Assessment (Keeping Track & Checking -up) Summative Assessment (Making sure) Feedback and Goal Setting Readiness, Interests, and Learning Preferences of students Essential Questions [reading/writing] Exit Cards Peer evaluation 3-minute pauses Vocabulary - quiz/notebooks Observations Creating Rubrics Self-evaluation Journals - Essential Questions+ Performance Task Academic Prompt Portfolio ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold

57. Where are we headed? How will the student be ‘hooked’? What opportunities will there be to be equipped, experienced, and explore key ideas? What will provide opportunities to rethink, rehearse, refine and revise? How will students evaluate their work? How will work be tailored to individual needs, interests, styles? How will work be organized for maximal engagement and effectiveness? ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold57 W H E E R T O

58. Teaching with misunderstandings in mind A study of how plants make food was conducted with students from elementary school through college [to] probe understanding of the role of soil and photosynthesis in plant growth and of the primary source of food in green plants (Wandersee, 1983)... Students from all levels displayed several misconceptions: O Soil is the plants’ food. O Plants get their food from the roots and store it in the leaves O Chlorophyll is the plant’s blood” -- Bransford, How People Learn ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold58

59. Implications for instruction ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold59 Address predictable misunderstandings by design. Provide real or simulated experiences related to the desired understandings. Build in checks for understanding and misunderstanding along the way. Require students to revisit/rethink what they thought they understood. Final assessments should check to see if common misunderstandings have been overcome.

60. O Acquire Information O Constructing Meaning O Transfer ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold A M T

61. A fact is a fact; a skill is a skill. We acquire each in turn. Acquisition does not yield understanding; it is necessary but not sufficient. If I have skills and facts, it does not mean that I understand. I cannot, however, understand without those skills and facts. ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold Acquire information

62. What do these facts imply? When would I use this skill (or not)? What is their sense, import, value? ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold Constructing meaning

63. Gallery Walk—Peer Review O Post enduring understandings, essential questions, transfer task, and student handout O Feedback including O I wonder... O I notice... O End of Day

64. O 3 units per group (max of 6 people) O Author shares overview of unit (5 minutes) O Reviewers discuss unit (5 minutes) O Author listens, takes notes, does not engage O Conversation (5 minutes) O Clarifications, suggestions, next steps O For Revisions on August 29 Put at the very end ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold Peer Review Protocol:

65. Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe) Understanding by Design Professional Development Workbook (Wiggins and McTighe) Assessment for 21 st Century Learning—DVD 1,2 &3 Moving Forward with Understanding by Design—DVD Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design (Tomlinson and McTighe) Schooling by Design (Wiggins and McTighe) Classroom Assessment and Grading That Work (Marzano) All available at ascd.org For more information: ASCD Allen Parish 2010; Rye and Herold

66. ©2010 by Thomas Rye and Donna Herold. All rights reserved. This handout is intended for your personal use only. Further reproduction and dissemination, in whole or part, requires the permission of the various owners as credited herein. ASCD Publications present a variety of viewpoints. The views expressed or implied in this publication are not necessarily official positions of ASCD.