1. Understanding by Design
“If you don’t know exactly where you are headed, then any road will get you there.”
Learning by Design
Parkway School District

2. Handout: UbD in a Nutshell
The goal of teaching should be to provide students the ability to use the stuff of the subject, not just learning the stuff.
UbD is not a formula but a way of thinking about lesson design and teaching for transfer – UbD in a Nutshell provides a simple overview of Understanding by Design. -

3. Essential Questions
What should educators and learners be doing inside and the outside the classroom to best accomplish Mission?
Why teach for understanding and transfer?
To what extent can teaching for understanding impact student learning?
The Parkway School District adopted the backward plan model (Understanding by Design) for curriculum design in UbD was selected because it addressed several concerns of staff members regarding too much content and not enough time. Understanding by Design provides a curriculum design framework that “starts with the end in mind” with the goal for students to transfer their learning from the classroom to the world outside of the classroom. Three essential questions for the participants to consider for the course are included – you may want to have the participants jot down their first thoughts regarding these Essential Questions OR have the participants write down questions they have about the essential questions - to model a strategy for the application of Understanding by Design in the classroom.

4. An Overview of the Three Stages of Understanding by Design
Stage 1 – Desired Results
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Identify desired results
Stage 1
Determine acceptable evidence
Stage 2
Plan learning experiences and instruction
Stage 3

5. Stage 1: Identify Desired Results
Stage 1: Goals, established content standards (national, state, district), enduring understandings, essential questions, knowledge, and skills.
What should students know, understand, and be able to do?
What content is worthy of understanding?
What enduring understandings are desired?
Parkway’s guaranteed curriculum is on the OCG and lives in Stage 1 – it is the job of educators in Parkway to ensure all students have equal access to Parkway’s guaranteed curriculum. The curriculum is only viable when it is actually being taught. Why a guaranteed curriculum?
Robert Marzano (2003) identifies a guaranteed and viable curriculum as the factor with a proven track record of increasing student achievement. Marzano (2003) defines a guaranteed and viable curriculum as one in which
Clear guidance is given to teachers regarding the content to be addressed in specific courses, at specific grade levels.
Individual teachers do not have the option to disregard or replace content that has been assigned to a specific course or grade level.
The content articulated in the curriculum for a given course or grade level can be adequately addressed in the time available. (pp. 25–30)
Misconception Alert:
Clarifying learning goals through a guaranteed and viable curriculum does not need to lead to "scripted" teaching. Robert Marzano (2007) devotes several paragraphs in The Art and Science of Teaching to establish the position that teaching is both an art and a science. He emphatically states, "I strongly believe that there is not (nor will there ever be) a formula for effective teaching" (p. 4). A guaranteed and viable curriculum identifies the "what" of teaching, not the "how." How a particular learning goal will be taught will always require considerable judgment on the part of teachers (the art of teaching), within the guidelines provided by the research on best practices (the science of teaching).

6. UbD Template – Stage 1 (Parkway’s Guaranteed Curriculum)
Refer to UbD in a Nutshell – Pair and Share “What is included in Stage I (Parkway’s guaranteed curriculum)?” and “What is NOT included in Stage I (Parkway’s guaranteed curriculum)?”

7. Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence
Stage 2: Decide upfront (before designing specific lessons) how student attainment of a desired understanding will be determined
How will we know if students have achieved the desired results?
What will we accept as evidence of student understanding and proficiency?

8. UbD Template: Stage 2 (District Level Common Assessments)
Some courses have guaranteed district level common assessments.
Examples - Elementary Math and Communication Arts, Middle School Social Studies, Modern and Classic Languages, Middle School Science

9. Stage 3: Plan learning experiences and instruction
Stage 3: Determine the most appropriate instructional activities for the identified results and evidence of understanding.
What are the knowledge and skills the students will need in order to perform effectively and achieve desired results?
What will be need to be taught or coached?
How should it be best taught in light of the performance goals?

10. UbD Template: Stage 3 (Teacher as Lesson Designer)
Lesson plan ideas can be found in Stage 3 of the OCG – these are ideas or suggested lessons NOT part of the guaranteed curriculum.

11. Vocabulary of the Backward Planning Model
Stage 1 (Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions)
Stage 2
Stage 3 (WHERETO)
Performance Event (GRASP)
A – M – T (Acquisition, Meaning Making, Transfer)

12. Focus of the Course is……
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Instructor – select the stage in which your course focuses – make it BIG (remind the participants that everything aligns with Stage 1 (and Stage 3 aligns with Stage 1 and Stage 2)