Understanding By Design

A Contemporary Approach to Curriculum Design

Understanding by Design (UbD) may be thought of as purposeful task analysis:

Given a task to be accomplished, how do we get there?

What lessons and practices are needed to master key concepts?- Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Understanding by Design

Think with the end in mind; start with assessment

Stage One: Identify Desired Results

Elements of the Design: Goals, Knowledge and Skills, Essential Questions, Enduring Understandings

Key Elements

Goals

Knowledge and Skills

Essential Questions

Enduring Understandings

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Goals

The Goals for each unit are typically the national, state, and/or local standards.They often represent content that must be

met for a particular grade level or subject. Goals are over-arching in nature.

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Knowledge and Skills

These are objectives that students should be able to know and to do.

Specific content knowledge and skills must be included.

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Essential Questions

These are open-ended questions that are thought-provoking and interpretive.

Essential Questions are at the core of your content. They often lead to or require further investigation.

Essential Questions: Have no obvious right answer Raise more questions Address concepts that are important to the subject

matter.

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Enduring Understandings

Enduring Understandings:They are Big Ideas (knowledge) that will be

transferred; they are made into statements.

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

UbD’s FACETS

Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe state that there are Six Facets of Understanding.

When the facets are a part of the curriculum design, students are offered opportunities to obtain key understandings.

Six Facets of Understanding

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

• Explanations: Definitions, clarifications, reasons that provide foundation knowledge

• Interpretation: Narratives, translations, metaphors, etc. that provide meaning

• Application: Ability to effectively apply knowledge in a variety of contexts.

• Perspective: Critical and insightful points of view. Recognize the significance of ideas.

• Empathy: Ability to see things from other points of view.• Self-Knowledge: Awareness of one’s limitations and

strengths, as well as the ability to recognize the roles others play.

Examples of Performance Tasks:

• Explanation: Write letters home describing what the pioneer life was like.

• Interpretation: Compare English and Spanish versions of Cinderella to determine if language influences meaning.

• Application: Adapt events from history that contributed to societal reaction to the Civil Rights Movement by recreating a scene and presenting it to a group.

• Perspective: Participate in a roundtable discussion on the impact of the First Amendment on a specific group.

• Empathy: Create a diary that reflects the day in the life of a soldier.

• Self-Knowledge: Write a self-assessment reflecting on your progress in mastering a skill.

Stage Two: Determine Acceptable Evidence

Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence

This stage identifies specific assessments that will be used.

Identify the summative assessment.What is the culminating activity that will

represent the understandings students have gained from the unit?

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Observations/Dialogues

Performance Tasks

Informal Checks

for Understanding

Academic Prompts

Tests/Quizzes

Acceptable Evidence

Examples of Assessment Types

Stage Three: Plan Learning Activities

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Stage Three: Plan Learning Activities This is the stage where specific learning

activities (lessons) are planned to accompany each unit.

The lessons designed in this stage should be based on the desired results from stages 1 and 2.

W.H.E.R.E.T.O. is an acronym for planning steps to help meet the requirements of the unit. The acronym does not represent the order to be

followed

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

W.H.E.R.E.T.O.

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

• W - Where are you going with this unit? • How does the unit fit in the curriculum and with state

standards?• What is expected?

• H - How will you hook the students?• E - How will you equip students for expected performances?• R - How will you rethink or revise?• E - How will students self-evaluate and reflect their learning?• T - How will you tailor learning to varied needs, interests, and

learning styles of the students?• O - How will you organize the sequence of learning?

IN SUMMARY

Begin with what you want your students to understand at the end of the unit.

Identify each of the elements required in each stage. Identify Desired ResultsDetermine Acceptable EvidencePlan Learning Activities

Contact Information

For access to the UbD Exchange to search or build units in the UbD format, contact:

DeNelle Knowles

at

knowlesd@edcuationcentral.org