JUNE 2016 (18)
e-PUBLICATION
SERIES
Familiarising oneself with
Understanding by Design
It would
appear that
in 14 years
little has
changed and
contemporary
educational
leaders around
the globe are
being held
accountable
for reform so
much more
than their
counterparts
of the past
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing
over and over and expecting different results”
Benjamin Franklin
L
evin (2008) as cited by Donohoo concurs
asserting that:
“Effective change in schools comes
from ‘thoughtful application in particular
contexts’. When doing what has been done does
not result in outcomes intended, real change is
required. Real change comes from and is sustained
when goals are achieved in new ways under
complex circumstances. When real change occurs,
students and educators benefit” (Levin, 2008, p.81).
In 2002 Michael Fullan, a major proponent of
educational reform, stated that:
“Only principals who are equipped to handle
a complex, rapidly changing environment can
implement the reforms that lead to sustained
improvement in student achievement” (asdc, 2002,
p.16).
e-Leading June 2016 (18) – researched
and prepared for ACEL by Carroll Byrne,
Head of Drama, Ballarat Clarendon
College, Victoria
It would appear that in 14 years little has changed
and contemporary educational leaders around
the globe are being held accountable for reform
so much more than their counterparts of the past.
With student achievement, pedagogy and teacher
efficacy the focus for many educational leaders, many
principals look to Teaching Frameworks to solve
some of the dilemmas that they face when tackling
these issues.
I could literally write a thesis on the plethora
of frameworks that are being utilised globally
at present and as a result I had intended to
discuss four frameworks in this article: Teaching
for Understanding by Harvard’s Project Zero,
Dimensions of Learning by Robert Marzano,
Understanding by Design by Jay McTighe and
Grant Wiggins and Michael Fullan’s initiative, New
Pedagogies for Deep Learning: A Global Partnership.
There is, however, such an incredible volume of
information on each of these efficacious frameworks
that boast increased student achievement that I
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Table 1: The UbD framework
Stage 1: Desired Results
What long-term transfer goals are targeted?
What meanings should students make in
order to arrive at important understandings?
What essential questions will students
explore?
What knowledge and skill will students
acquire?
What established goals/ standards are
targeted?
“The
Understanding
by Design
(UbD)
framework
offers a
planning
process and
structure
to guide
curriculum,
assessment,
and
instruction”
Stage 2: Evidence
What performances and products will reveal
evidence of meaning-making and transfer?
By what criteria will performance be assessed,
in light of Stage 1 desired results?
What additional evidence will be collected for
all Stage 1 desired results?
Are the assessments aligned to all Stage 1
elements?
Stage 3: Learning Plan
What activities, experiences, and lessons will
lead to achievement of the desired results and
successes at the assessments?
How will the learning plan help students with
acquisition, meaning-making, and transfer?
How will the unit be sequenced and
differentiated to optimise achievements for all
learners?
How will progress be monitored?
Are the learning events in Stage 3 aligned with
Stage 1 goals and Stage 2 assessments?
Learning is enhanced when teachers think purposefully about
curricular planning.
The UbD framework helps focus curriculum and teaching on the
development and deepening of student understanding and transfer
of learning. The ability to make meaning of learning via “big ideas” and
to transfer learning.
UbD unpacks and transforms content standards and mission-related
goals into relevant Stage 1 elements and appropriate assessments in
Stage 2.
Understanding is revealed when students autonomously make sense
of and transfer their learning through authentic performance. Six
facets of understanding: the capacity to explain, interpret, apply,
shift perspective, empathise, and self-assess – ALL CAN SERVE AS
INDICATORS OF UNDERSTANDING.
Effective curriculum is planned backward from long-term, desired
results through a three-stage design process. Avoids the treatment of
a textbook as curriculum rather than a resource.
Teachers are coaches of understanding, not mere purveyors of
content knowledge, skill or activity. They focus on ensuring that
learning is happening not just teaching!
Regularly reviewing units and curriculum against design standards
enhances curricular quality and effectiveness, and provides engaging
and professional discussions.
The UbD framework reflects a continual improvement approach to
student achievement and teacher craft. The results of our designs –
student performance – inform needed adjustments in curriculum
as well as instruction so that student learning is MAXIMISED.
could not do them justice in a short overview. As
a result, I will focus on Understanding by Design
which I am currently utilising and which has a great
deal of similarities to Teaching for Understanding.
Therefore, I will draw some parallels between the
two from my experience. I will address Fullan’s New
Pedagogies for Deep Learning: A Global Partnership
in an article later in the year.
Understanding by Design is the brainchild of Jay
McTighe and Grant Wiggins, who claim that:
“The Understanding by Design (UbD)
framework offers a planning process and structure
to guide curriculum, assessment, and instruction.
Its two key ideas are contained in the title: 1) focus
on teaching and assessing for understanding
and learning transfer, and 2) design curriculum
“backward” from those ends” (www.asdc.org).
The UbD framework is based on eight tenets
and Table 1 shows how it looks in a nutshell (The
Understanding by Design Guide to Creating HighQuality Units; 2011, p. 3).
One of the most important concepts of the UbD
framework is the ‘Backward Design’. This three-stage
process for curriculum planning includes a template
and a set of design tools that embody the process.
Stage 1: Identify Desired Result
When considering Stage 1 it is important to ask the
following questions in relation to the learning:
1 What should students know, understand, and be
able to do?
2 What is the ultimate transfer we seek as a result
of this unit?
3 What enduring understandings are desired?
4 What essential questions will be explored indepth and provide focus to all learning?
Through the process of asking these questions
Stage 1 aims to have curriculum developers consider
the goals, examine integral content and standards
and review curriculum expectations, leading to ‘clarity
about priorities’ (ascd.org, 2016). This is similar to
Harvard’s Teaching for Understanding where the
‘generative topic’ is also decided before the unit is
planned. Generative topics are significant topics,
issues, concepts or ‘big ideas’ which provide depth and
rigour, multiple connections and different perspectives
required to support students’ development of powerful
understandings. A generative topic is typically central
to one or more of the disciplines, interesting to both
teachers and students, accessible and supports
inquiry-based approaches to learning. Stage 1 of UbD
similarly identifies the transfer goals of the curriculum
developer. Table 2 provides a brief example across a
couple of disciplines.
Stage 1 of UbD aims to provide important
knowledge and skill objectives related to the
established standards. It is important here to
acknowledge that in the UbD framework:
“Factual knowledge and skills are not taught
for their own sake, but as a means to a larger end.
Acquisition of content is a means, in the service of
meaning making and transfer. Ultimately, teaching
Table 2: Sample Transfer Goals from UbD
Discipline/ Subject/ Skill
Transfer Goals
Mathematics
Apply mathematical knowledge, skill, and reasoning to solve real-world problems
History
Apply lessons of the past (historical patterns) to current and future events and
issues.
Critically appraise historical claims
Arts
Create and perform an original work in a selected medium to express ideas and
evoke mood.
(ascd.org, 2016, p.3)
should equip learners to be able to use or transfer
their learning” (ascd.org, 2016, p.4).
Stage 2 – Determine Assessment Evidence
Thinking like the assessors as curriculum planners
before designing specific units and lessons is the
fundamental premise of Stage 2 of Understanding
by Design. Identifying what students need to
explain, interpret, apply and have knowledge of can
really assist in the planning of lessons, units and
assessment.
Stage 3 – Plan Learning Experiences and
Instruction
In this stage of backward design, teachers plan
appropriate lessons and learning activities to
address the three different goals identified in Stage 1:
transfer, meaning making, and acquisition.
One addition to unit planning that has really
assisted me in the development of my lesson plans is
shown in Table 3 where I clearly identify the targets
of the session in three specific areas of the knowledge
I expect students to assimilate from a lesson.
Should you wish to embark on the Understanding
by Design journey in your department or School,
a critical tool is the The Understanding by Design
Guide to Creating High-Quality Units by Grant
Wiggins and Jay McTighe.
“This is targeted to individuals and groups
interested in improving their skills in designing
units of study based on Understanding by Design
(UbD) framework. This guide introduces UbD unit
design and directs readers through the process. It is
organized (sic) around a set of modules that move
from basic ideas (e.g., the three stages of “backward
design”) to more complicated elements of unit
design (e.g., authentic performance tasks)” (The
Understanding by Design Guide to Creating HighQuality Units; 2011, p.1).
Ultimately all frameworks aim to provide the
educational institution with a solid platform
from which to spring when designing curriculum,
assessment and instruction. Each of the frameworks
mentioned in this article claim to be efficacious in
the enhancement of student achievement; I hope
that this has been informative in providing a small
insight into one of these.
References
ascd.org, 2016 ASCD: Professional Learning & Community
for Educators, available at: http://www.ascd.org, accessed
May 2016.
Donohoo, J 2013, ‘Chapter 1: Why Collaborative Inquiry?’,
Table 3: Areas of knowledge expected to be
assimilated
Lesson One
All Students will
be able to:
• Define fiction
• Define nonfiction
• Demonstrate
an
understanding
of a couple of
theatrical styles
• Present their
partner
Most students
will be able to:
• Define fiction
• Define nonfiction
• Demonstrate
an
understanding
of a number of
theatrical styles
• Present their
partner using
expressive skills
Some students
will be able to:
• Define fiction
• Define nonfiction
• Demonstrate
an
understanding
of many
theatrical styles
and that they
have particular
conventions that
make up each
style.
• Present their
partner using
expressive and
performance
skills in a
particular style
with knowledge
of some
conventions
Collaborative Inquiry for Educators: A Facilitator’s Guide
to School Improvement, Newbury Park, Los Angeles.
Fullan, M 2002, ‘The Change Leader’, Beyond
Instructional Leadership, vol. 59, no. 8, pp. 16–21.
Fullan, M 2011, Choosing the wrong drivers for whole
system reform. Summary of Seminar Series Paper No.
204, Centre for Strategic Education, Melbourne.
Pz.harvard.edu. 2016, Teaching for Understanding |
Project Zero, available at http://www.pz.harvard.edu/
projects/teaching-for-understanding, accessed May 2016.
Wiggins, G, McTighe, J 2011, The Understanding by
Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units, Pearson,
USA.
Productivity is never an accident. It is always
the result of a commitment to excellence,
intelligent planning, and focused effort.
Paul J. Meyer
Plans are nothing; planning is everything.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Meticulous planning will enable everything a
man does to appear spontaneous.
Mark Caine
Identifying
what students
need to
explain,
interpret,
apply and have
knowledge
of can really
assist in the
planning
of lessons,
units and
assessment