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I agree with this reaction, for the most part. But I’m also a pragmatist

we do not have to buy into the idea that anything not-right is “wrong”

Any story with clear-cut answers regarding its “themes” or its characters’ motivations is one that probably isn’t worth reading in the first place,

I know what my students know, I know what they don't know, and I know what I need to do. How liberating.

To prepare his students for the departmental final exam, it will be necessary to switch into a fast-forward lecture mode.

both cases reveal no clear intellectual goals.

curriculum refers to the specific blueprint for learning that is derived from desired results—that is, content and performance standards

Most state standards identify or at least imply big ideas that are meant to be understood, not merely covered.

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.”

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.

a variety of instructional approaches can develop and deepen student understanding.

How do we make it more likely—by our design—that more students really understand what they are asked to learn?

backward design

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.

Should we conclude that the students who answered “remainder 12” really understand division and its use?

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.

We are thus not suggesting that all teaching and assessment be geared at all times toward deep and sophisticated understanding.

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.

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.

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.

the two should not be viewed as synonymous

and the two should not be viewed as synonymous

and the two should not be viewed as synonymous

if feedback shows that we are in danger of not achieving the successes sought.

and the two should not be viewed as synonymous