UBD Introduction - 48 views
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To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now so that the steps you take are always in the right direction
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Meghan Hynes on 22 May 12This quote made me think of the activity we did in class last night. I felt I could not give an accurate grade to Rita since we did not set up a rubric and clear expectations from the beginning. Since she did not know what was expected of her, it is not fair to give her a poor grade. -
Michelle Ginett on 22 May 12I completely agree! I think that the activity we did last night gave us an idea of where we are now and where we should be headed. I think that this quote really summarizes what we set in motion in class. -
naturegirlblue on 01 Jun 14It is important to know where your end is, otherwise you may meander here and there. It is important for students to have guidelines and know what is expected for the end product. -
Scott Hudson on 02 Jun 14In my student teaching placement, I made the rookie mistake of planning my lessons of a geology unit I was going to teach, without thinking about the end in mind. My SBE noticed this and asked if we could sit down for a bit to discuss my unit, we chatted about what we wanted the children to get out of the unit and this made it MUCH easier to plan my lessons! -
laurenkmetz on 02 Jun 14I just learned about UbD in the past fall semester. I did not go to undergrad here and had never heard of it before. I really agree with this quote after giving UbD a try!
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I could memorize very easily and so became valedictorian, but I was embarrassed even then that I understood much less than some other students who cared less about grades.
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I believe that this is what many students believe is "learning". Many students only memorize information, they do not truly understand it... and most of them succeed just by doing this. If students are able to memorize facts and reproduce the information on a test, they will most likely get good grades without ever understanding the concepts.
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Dr. Ricca calls this the "Bulimia model" of learning because you shove all the information in your head and regurgitate it onto the test. Afterwards, you are left feeling empty of knowledge and many times that is the case.
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“How many buses does the army need to transport 1,128 soldiers if each bus holds 36 soldiers?” Almost one-third of the 8th graders gave the following answer: “31 remainder 12”
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This student quotation shows that they know how to do calculations and get an answer. But this also shows that they do not understand the concept of division and how to put an answer into context. Once they got an answer, they should have put it into context and realized you cannot have 31 remainder 12 busses. The student was probably too focused on doing a problem and getting the correct answer, which is a common mistake for students.
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I was thinking the exact same thing as Meghan when I read this. Students were too worried about getting the correct answer that they "forgot" to think about if the answer made sense. If students were actually thinking about the problem, they would realize that the remainder needed to have another bus because you cannot have a remainder of 12 bus.
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Again, real world application comes in to play here. This doesn't mean the students don't know how to divide, they just need to learn to look at the whole picture and how it applies to real life.
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This is so typical! Students are so focused on the answer that they are not even looking at the actual problem!
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Assessment is thus a more learning-focused term than evaluation, and the two should not be viewed as synonymous. Assessment is the giving and using of feedback against standards to enable improvement and the meeting of goals. Evaluation, by contrast, is more summative and credential-related.
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This idea that assesssment and evaluation are two different things has never occured to me. I always assumed the two were interchangable. I think it's important as teachers to understand the difference between the two terms and how to implement assessment and evaluation into our classroom in a successful way.
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I always thought the two were interchangable as well. It makes sense though. Assessment is derived from a goal (standards, meeting a task), where evaluation usually involves a grade.
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To me it also sounds like the assessment is more for the teacher during the actual teaching. The evaluation is for after, and if it is a grade, more for the student. -
I think the key here is doing something with the results of the assessment! The assessment is only useful if you can pick it apart and gain some information from it.
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I know what my students know, I know what they don't know, and I know what I need to do. How liberating.
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I know we just started with assessment, but I feel like this is the overall goal. I think, as teachers, we need to know what our students know and don't know and how it relates to what we (as teachers) need to do.
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This is always my goal of teaching; I really want to be able to understand what each of my students are achieving well and what topics they are struggling with. I would like to learn more about how to gather information from assessments to better assist me in this. -
It is important to know what students' prior knowledge is. What is their mindset? A quality pre-assessment is a good way to begin.
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To prepare his students for the departmental final exam, it will be necessary to switch into a fast-forward lecture mode.
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Often, teachers are more worried about the final tests than actually teaching the students. It gets to the point where teachers go into "fast-forward mode" just to get through the material. In reality, getting through the material does not always mean that the students learned the material.
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While completing my observation hours last semester, I have seen teachers go into this type of teaching. The whole class period was lecture based and the teacher kept referring to the state standards and what was expected of them. This teaching does not let the students explore for themselves but rather has them regurgitate the information being told to them. -
We are experiencing this dilemma right now in my school. There are so many great, interactive activities that the algebra teachers would like to do for our last unit but there just isn't enough time to do them, cover all the material and review for the state exams.
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I find it a little different as an elementary teacher. Since most exams are in May we have almost the whole year to get them ready to take it. Once it is done I have seen that the rest of the school year is about having fun. This is when the kids are outside much more, field day activities take place, movies are watched and parties are thrown. From my experience I have seen that teachers push, push, push until May and then after the exam they are more laid back. If a teacher is behind in a certain topic, that is the time to catch up. But other than that, the students are just getting ready for the next grade.
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both cases reveal no clear intellectual goals.
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This reminds me of what we talked about in class with the rubrics. The students need to know the goals of the project and why it is important. When you give students a rubric where 30% of their grade is meeting the 5 slide requirement, what is this telling students? That the 5 slides were the goal for the experiment? As teachers, I think it is important to explicitly state the intellectual goals and what is expected of students.
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I feel like there is a difference though. The apple unit was thought out and planned, whereas the history teacher probably tried to teach better in the beginning and just ran out of time. The rest of the history lessons were not really planned out with the students in mind, but maybe the beginning ones were.
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curriculum refers to the specific blueprint for learning that is derived from desired results—that is, content and performance standards
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I like that they use curriculum as a term that refers to a way to obtain desired results. Again, I think this is exactly what we talked about in class about working backwards. First, we need to think about the standards and what we want the students to learn (results) then develop the activities, lectures, etc.
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Most state standards identify or at least imply big ideas that are meant to be understood, not merely covered.
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I never really thought about state standards in a positive light before. I feel like we are taught to dislike state tests and therefore, the standards. This statement really shines a light on our goals as teachers. Like this sentence says, the standards are meant to be understood, not covered. Which makes sense because the purpose of the standards is to create a framework of understanding for our students. They were created with good intention, we are just using them improperly by just trying to "cover" the material instead of teaching for understanding.
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To understand is to make connections and bind together our knowledge into something that makes sense of things (whereas without understanding we might see only unclear, isolated, or unhelpful facts). But the word also implies doing, not just a mental act: A performance ability lies at the heart of understanding, as Bloom (1956) noted in his Taxonomy in discussing application and synthesis. To understand is to be able to wisely and effectively use—transfer—what we know, in context; to apply knowledge and skill effectively, in realistic tasks and settings. To have understood means that we show evidence of being able to transfer what we know. When we understand, we have a fluent and fluid grasp, not a rigid, formulaic grasp based only on recall and “plugging in.”
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I think that this statement is very important in teaching and in any aspect of learning.
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Michelle I completely agree with you! I think this shows that just because a student can gather information and spit it back out on the test does not mean they completely understand it. Also I like that they connect application to this. Just because students can repeat things on a test doesn't mean they can apply what they learned to other problems, without understanding.
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that student misunderstanding is a far bigger problem than we may realize, and that assessment of understanding therefore requires evidence that cannot be gained from traditional fact-focused testing alone.
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We talked aboutt his concept in Inquiry. How students may be percieved as understanding the material, but in reality have huge misconceptions that inhibit their ability to take on new information because it interferes with their prior understanding of the material. In class we talked about the idea of using formative assessment to understand student misconceptions and hopefully we will learn how other ways of handling these issues.
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a variety of instructional approaches can develop and deepen student understanding.
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I think that this is important. I read an article once that stated how new teachers often struggle with teaching understanding to students because they lack the wide variety of "tools" to help different students. I think that have a variety of instructional approaches at your fingertips allows you to better access and develop a students understanding.
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the activity-oriented curriculum—in which students participate in a variety of hands-on activities. Such units are often engaging for students. They may be organized, as in this case, around a theme and provide interdisciplinary connections. But questions about the value of the work remain.
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I found this description of the activity oriented curriculum very interesting. When I first read over the apple lessons, I though to my self how great this is. All of the classes are working together to show students how each disipline can have an impact on one subject. I thought it was great that the lessons were so engaging and the words Inquiry were flashign in my mind. However, it did not occur to me that through all of these good intentions, the learning goals were not made clear at all. I think this really connects to what Dr. Tiffin was saying about how inquiry is not always the best fit choice. Even though this lesson is very engaging are the students really learning what the lesson is intended to teach?
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I had the opposite reaction to Jessica...I kept thinking that all the apple stuff seemed pointless, like there was no reason behind it. But, since it seemed like it was a teaching method talked about in a teaching book, I kind of squashed my thoughts. Maybe that is exactly what I am not supposed to do?
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they specify the desired output and means of achieving it, not just a list of content and activities.
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I thought it was a good note to say that the curriculum is used to specify a desired output. To plan this direction allows teachers to not only know what activities they will be using, but more importantly what is going to come of those activities, why am I using this activity and what will my students take a way from this lesson. Additionally I think this will help in our own reflections. Say if we plan a lesson to have a specific out come and things did not go as planned. This can now be focused on how the activity did not work as well for this specific goal and less on my learning goal did not come out of my activity planned. I feel this way of thinking takes away some of the guess work in what learning goal an activity will provide.
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effective teachers follow a cycle of plan-revise-teach-assess-reflect-adjust many times
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I think this goes along well with what Michelle highlighted in the pervious sentence. As new teachers we will not have an infinite amount of tools under our belts. However, each class is different and has different needs. We will need to keep changing and reflecting each time we have a different classroom of students.
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I like that you added reflection to this idea. I did not mention it in my previous statement, but it is very important for teachers to reflect on their teaching. Reflecting on the experience allows teachers to tailor the lesson to better fit the needs and goals of the students.
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How do we make it more likely—by our design—that more students really understand what they are asked to learn?
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If this is what we will really learn in class, I will be thrilled to be in class every week!
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backward design
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Interesting idea. Sounds like a good way to get to where you want to be as a teacher.
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Show how such individual units should be nested in a larger, more coherent framework of courses and programs also framed around big ideas, essential questions, and core assessment tasks.
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This part seems like it should be the way all courses are designed. A big idea should be something that everything feeds into, and I like the thought of using smaller units to build into the larger concepts.
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I agree with this because I feel that we can simplify whole curriculums down to a couple of overarching themes that everything can fall into. It just depends on the points of emphasis and the lens you want put on the course.
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Should we conclude that the students who answered “remainder 12” really understand division and its use?
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I would conclude that the students did understand division, but were not focused on the way the question was asked.
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Of course, lesson plans should logically flow from unit plans: Lessons are typically more purposeful and connected when informed by larger unit and course designs.
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As someone who has not yet taught a class in which I have designed the units and lessons, this will be a useful thing to learn.
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We are thus not suggesting that all teaching and assessment be geared at all times toward deep and sophisticated understanding.
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You have to be realistic... not every lesson is going to deepen students' understanding. You have to start with the basics sometimes before you can dive in.
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Indeed, central to the design approach we propose is that we need to design lessons and assessments that anticipate, evoke, and overcome the most likely student misconceptions.
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This makes me think that the teacher would have to really think about their students while designing the lesson. The teacher would need to try and determine how their students are thinking, what they know, and what they will misunderstand. Might be difficult for a new teacher, but it would be something that a teacher could learn as they got more experience.
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it specifies the most appropriate experiences, assignments, and assessments that might be used for achieving goals.
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If you notice, this says experiences, assignments, and assessments that might! be used. Curriculum does not have to be set in stone. Every teacher has a different teaching style which means one teachers experiences, assignments, and assessments will be different from others. It is important to establish your own curriculum and use it to your teaching style.
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Jeremy I completely agree with what you are saying. This also depends on what your students are like. Not every classroom will operate the same way and different students need different teaching techniques, which may lead to different curriculum approaches
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Argue that designers need to work smarter, not harder, by sharing curriculum designs worldwide via a searchable Internet database.
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This statement goes perfectly with what we are doing right now. Everyone that is reading this introduction has a different viewpoint of it, and by sharing our thoughts with everyone we are working smarter by being able to read other classmates' thinking.
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Don't reinvent the wheel. Use your resources; colleagues, books, internet etc...
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Without goals in mind, these foci do not impose much "learning." Sure kids are given information, but what can they gain from these approaches without any objectives or goals?
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clarifying the goal called “student understanding” while exploring the means called “good design”
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Consider the role that predictable student misunderstandings should play in the design of curricula, assessments, and instruction
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Last semester I took Developing Reasoning ... in that class we considered misconceptions and where students might misunderstand or get confused or just plain lost. It is always important to realize that just because you understand a concept does not mean other will. AND you need to plan for misconceptions so it at least looks like you have all the answers haha
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In class last night we talked briefly about misconceptions- I think this idea will be revisited a lot during the semester and should be a key focus in the design of our assessments.
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This is why accessing students' background knowledge to figure what their misconceptions are is key. This could be considered the pre-assessment or diagnostic exam.
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six facets of understanding
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The best curricula (and syllabi), in other words, are written from the point of view of the desired learnings
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a curriculum needs to be a means to an end. With the end in mind, curriculum designs a program that will effectively get you to the end
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This is exactly what you did last night! I was a little worried when you didn't give us a syllabus right away, but when you explained that you wanted to wait to write one until you knew what we wanted to learn, it all made perfect sense. Why would you waste time teaching us something we already know or don't necessarily want to know? We learn best when we yearn for the information being presented.
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This is an excellent point! The students should always be aware of the learning targets and they should also always know what is expected of them (i.e. rubrics). -
This goes back to whole idea behind UbD: create from where you want to end up. As far as assessments, create an authentic assessment based on goals that you want the students to reach. Same here with a curriculum.
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the difference between knowing and understanding. Pinning this distinction down in theory and in practice has not been easy.
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curriculum guides have argued against framing objectives in terms of understandings
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This is frustrating!! This has been argued between different classes I took here at Fisher. Within my childhood/special program, we were pushed back and forth on this idea of how to write objectives. I guess the hardest part really was to remember which class wanted you to write which type of objective. Feel free to disagree, but I kind of feel like having a measurable objective is a way to ensure understanding instead of stating that "students will understand..." But UBD (understanding by design) sees it differently.
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For two weeks every fall, all the 3rd grade classes participate in a unit on apples.
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I feel like integrating a general topic like apples is more easily done at an elementary level, but I feel something like this would be just as valuable, if not more, at a secondary level. We, as teachers, are always so focused on finishing our curriculum in time, that we don't even think about collaborating with different departments. A lot could be accomplished and learned if teachers started working together more.
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In this way of integrating departments, students will see the sum of the parts. And not view each subject as entirely independent of all others.
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Neither case provides an adequate answer to the key questions at the heart of effective learning:
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By assessment we mean the act of determining the extent to which the desired results are on the way to being achieved and to what extent they have been achieved.
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I like that this included the phrase "on the way to being achieved". This implies, and should, that assessment is ongoing and doesn't always just happen at the end of a unit. A teacher should be assessing throughout a topic/unit to ensure that students are on their way to success.
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as “coaches,” we will likely have to adjust our design and performance
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Many times teacher expect students to adjust to their teaching style. We are the professionals and experts on the material; it is much easier for us to change how we are presenting the information than it is for a student to change the way in which they learn best.
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Exactly! We have the tools to teach many differnet styles, let's make sure we use them. More to this point, if a student hasn't the material, whose fault it is? The student or the teacher?
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What must our planning entail to have an intellectual impact on everyone: the less experienced; the highly able, but unmotivated; the less able; those with varied interests and styles?
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Curriculum takes content (from external standards and local goals) and shapes it into a plan for how to conduct effective and engaging teaching and learning. It is thus more than a list of topics and lists of key facts and skills (the “inputs”). It is a map for how to achieve the “outputs” of desired student performance, in which appropriate learning activities and assessments are suggested to make it more likely that students achieve the desired results.
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They specify what the learner should have achieved upon leaving, what the learner needs to do to achieve, and what the teacher needs to do to achieve the results sought.
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By desired results we mean what has often been termed intended outcomes, achievement targets, or performance standards. All four terms are meant to shift our focus away from the inputs to the output: what the student should be able to know, do, and understand upon leaving, expressed in performance and product terms.
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The definition of Differentiated Instruction! Even when you level your instruction or focus on a concept for an extended time with some students, all students need to be able to take something from your instruction. It takes a lot of planning and management, but it is completely necessary if you'd like all of your students to benefit from each lesson in some way.
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The collected evidence we seek may well include observations and dialogues, traditional quizzes and tests, performance tasks and projects, as well as students' self-assessments gathered over time.
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I think it is important to note that assessment is not the same thing as grading. As the author mentions here, assessment can include "observations and dialogues" among many other things. Assessment, as this introduction describes, is a way to see if we, as teachers, have achieved the results we are looking for. Knowing that we are not teaching for grades alone, I think it is important that we use methods of assessment that go beyond grades.
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the two should not be viewed as synonymous
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and the two should not be viewed as synonymous
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and the two should not be viewed as synonymous
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This is so important! Assessment and evaluation are always used interchangeably.
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if feedback shows that we are in danger of not achieving the successes sought.
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and the two should not be viewed as synonymous
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Teaching for understanding must successfully predict potential misunderstandings and rough spots in learning if it is to be effective.
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We should look for misconceptions before they even have the chance to occur!
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An electronic version of the Introduction to Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe's book. -
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I have this book and it is fantastic! A great book to have in a teachers collection.
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