Highlights from the work of G W G rant W iggins& J M J ay M cTighe Understanding by Design

Professional Development “Backward Design” focus: Clarify results and evidence of them before designing lessons. Teaching for understanding is the goal of teaching and compatible with standards-based curriculums. Understanding by Design is a way of thinking more carefully about design, not a program.

assessor R emember, thinking like an assessor, not only an activity designer, is key to effective design.

Professional Development Identify desired results Determine acceptable evidence Then and then only: Plan learning experiences & Instruction… Yippie!!!!

Professional Development The Desired Results consists of four components 1. Content standards 2. Understanding 3. Essential questions 4. Knowledge and skills #Key: Focus on Big Ideas!!!!

Professional Development Essential Questions: After you identify the enduring understandings for your unit, you then develop your essential questions. These questions are geared to help students take an inquiry approach toward the various learning experiences you will design. Look at your list of enduring understandings and develop 1-3 essential questions that cover all of them. You may have one “overarching” essential

Professional Development Good essential questions have the following criteria in common: Open-ended questions that resist a simple or single right answer Deliberately thought-provoking, counterintuitive, and/or controversial Require students to draw upon content knowledge and personal experience Can be revisited throughout the unit to engage students in evolving dialogue and debate Lead to other essential questions posed by students

Professional Development Examples of EQ’s Freedom and Responsibility What is freedom? Is freedom ever free? What is the relationship between freedom and responsibility? What are the essential liberties? Is liberty and justice for all attainable? Should people sacrifice freedom in the interest of security? When does government have the right to restrict the freedoms of people? When is the restriction of freedom a good thing?

Professional Development Language and Literature How is our understanding of culture and society constructed through and by language? How can language be powerful? How can you use language to empower yourself? How is language used to manipulate us? In what ways are language and power inseparable? Is it possible to have culture without language? Is it possible to think without language? What is the purpose of: science fiction? satire? historical novels, etc.?

Professional Development Essential Questions: Are arguable and important to argue about. Are at the heart of the subject. Recur—and should recur—in professional work, adlut, as well as in the classroom inquiry. Raise more questions-provoking and sustaining engaged inquiry. Often raise important conceptual or philosophical issues. Can provide purpose for learning. (How Powerful).

Professional Development Essential vs. Leading Questions Essential Asked to be argued Designed to “uncover” new ideas, views, lines of argument Set up inquiry, heading to new understandings. Leading Asked as a reminder, to prompt recall Designed to “cover” knowledge Point to a single, straightforward fact--a rhetorical question

Professional Development Tips for using Essential Questions: Use E.Q.s to organize programs, courses, and units of study. “Less is more”. Edit to make them “student friendly”. Post the questions.

Professional Development Knowledge and Skill: Students will know… Students will be able to… Example: The student will be able to explain how the American Dream has changed over time?

Professional Development Stage 2- Assessment Evidence: We have been talking about assessment for a couple of weeks. What are key complex performance tasks indicative of understanding? What other evidence will be collected to build the case for understanding, knowledge and skill. How will students self-assess?

Professional Development Stage 2 is the essence of backward design & alignment. “Measure what we value; value and act on what we measure”. Link assessment types to curriculum priorities.

Professional Development Assessment Types Traditional quizzess & tests Paper/pencil Selected-response Constructed response Performance tasks & projects Open-ended Complex Authentic

Professional Development “Food for thought”: Two questions for a practical test of performance tasks: Could the performance be accomplished (or the test be passed) without in-depth understanding? Could the specific performance be poor, but the student still understand the ideas in question? THE GOAL IS TO ANSWER NO TO BOTH!