Stages of Backward Design (Understanding by Design (UbD))
Designing a course or curriculum by beginning with the end in mind and designing toward that end.
Backward design helps to avoid the twin sins of traditional course design:
- Coverage oriented design: the student is led through unending facts, ideas and readings with little or no sense of the overarching ideas, issues and learning goals that might inform study. Topics are "covered" superficially.
- Activity-oriented design: "hands-on without being minds-on" engaging experiences, fun activities but do not lead anywhere intellectually.
Stage 1: Identify desired results
Clarify priorities by considering course goals, student learning outcomes/objectives, and curricular expectations.
- What do we want students to know and be able to do?
- What content is worthy of understanding?
- What enduring understandings are desired?
Stage 2: Determine acceptable evidence
Think about assessments to demonstrate evidence of learning.
- How will we know if students have achieved the desired results?
- What will we accept as evidence of student understanding and their ability to use (transfer) their learning in new situations?
- How will we evaluate student performance in fair and consistent ways?
Stage 3: Plan learning experiences and instruction
Plan pedagogy: learning experiences and instruction.
- What activities, sequence, and resources are best to accomplish goals?
- How will we support learners as they come to understand important ideas and processes?
- How will we prepare them to autonomously transfer their learning?
Adapted from Wiggins, G.J. and McTighe, J. (2005) Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition. Pearson.