Understanding by Design grant wiggins & jay mctighe Chapter 10: Teaching For Understanding

Design, v., - To have purposes and intentions; Understanding, n., - The act of one who understands something, in any sense of the verb; knowledge; discernment; comprehension; interpretation; explanation. - Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary Design, v., - To have purposes and intentions; to plan and execute - Oxford English Dictionary

Backward Design, n., an approach to designing a unit that begins with the end in mind and designs toward that end. - Higgins & McTighe

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results Consider goals, big ideas & identify the targeted understandings What should students know, understand, and be able to do? What “enduring” understandings are desired?

Determine Acceptable Evidence Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence How will we know if students have achieved the desired results and met the standards? What will we accept as evidence of student understanding and proficiency? Think in terms of: NOT Assessments to Content to be covered document and validate or understanding Learning activities

Teaching is a means to an end Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences & Instruction What prerequisite knowledge & skills will students need in order to perform effectively and achieve desired results? What will need to be taught & coached, and how should it best be taught, in light of performance goals? What materials and resources are best suited to accomplish these goals? Is the overall design coherent & effective? Teaching is a means to an end

What is the teacher’s classroom role in helping students understand ? Based on what we know … What is the teacher’s classroom role in helping students understand ?

Teaching = Learning It is not teaching that causes learning … Understanding is the result of the learner successfully making sense of the teaching.

The goal is to make an idea How can we, as teachers, “uncover” our ideas through well-designed learning experiences? The goal is to make an idea accessible and real to the students, regardless of the teaching methods.

This sentence appears, in passing, unexplained, as part of the account of the Revolutionary War in a commonly used U.S. textbook: “Washington had the daring to put [his patriots] to good use , too, as he broke the rules of war by ordering a surprise attack on the enemy in their winter quarters.”

Nothing more is said regarding the “rules of war”. Great classroom discussion points … How can there be rules for all-out battles to the death? And if surprise attacks were something wrong, how did soldiers normally fight? And why?

Possible essential questions … Is all fair in war? How can we be sure that we aren’t being hypocritical when we judge such events? What “rules” exist and by what authority? Have these rules (and crimes) changes over time? What happens (or should happen) when the rules are broken? Is “war crime” a legitimate moral idea or a contradiction in terms – just the vengeance of the victor on the loser?

TEXTBOOKS easily hide the big questions, the issues, the history of the ideas, and the inquiries that led to what we know … The very process needed by the learner to come to an understanding !!!

Textbooks How do we use them? Should we use them? Consider them a resource not the syllabus.

Teacher Student understanding “Uncoverer” of student misunderstandings and persistent performance errors through artful experiences and discussions Teacher Mistakes are not avoidable or shameful key episodes in gaining understanding Student

Usefulness of CFU exercises & Periodic Assessments Create situations where students ask questions, develop strategies for solving problems, and communicate with one another … explaining their answers and discussing how they arrive at their conclusions Assessing understanding through discussion, projects, or tests that demand explanation and extended writing …. Therefore incorporating ELAs. Value of self assessment Through the use of Rubrics

Consider this … Teacher as coach More a guide & assessor than a giver of information Authentic intellectual work involves original application of knowledge and skills, rather than just routine use of facts & procedures.

“Understanding develops as a result of ongoing inquiry and rethinking

“I hear, I forget. I see, I remember. I do, I understand “I hear, I forget. I see, I remember. I do, I understand.” - Chinese Proverb “I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” - Albert Einstein

Filters (Design Criteria) What the Final Design Accomplishes The big picture of a Backward Design approach Key Design Question Design Construction Filters (Design Criteria) What the Final Design Accomplishes Stage 1:  What is worthy and requiring of understanding? National Standards. State Standards. PGCPS Standards. Regional topic opportunities. Teacher expertise and interest. - Enduring ideas - Opportunities for authentic, discipline-based work. - Uncoverage - Engaging.   Unit framed around enduring understandings and essential questions. Stage 2:  What is evidence of understanding? Six facets of understanding. Continuum of assessment types. - Valid - Reliable. - Sufficient. - Authentic work. - Feasible. - Student friendly Unit anchored in credible and educationally vital evidence of the desired understandings. Stage 3:  What learning experiences and teaching promote understanding, interest, and excellence? Research-based repertoire of learning & teaching strategies. Essential & enabling knowledge and skill. - WHERE is it going? - Hook the students. - Explore and equip. - Rethink and revise. - Exhibit and evaluate. Coherent learning experiences and teaching that will evoke and develop the desired understandings, promote interest, and make excellent performance more likely.