Jacque Melin, Facilitator 1. Examine the three big ideas behind Understanding by Design Identify...
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Understanding by Design: Thinking about the Key Principles for Your Classroom Jacque Melin, Facilitator 1
Jacque Melin, Facilitator 1. Examine the three big ideas behind Understanding by Design Identify key challenges in teaching and learning in your classroom
Examine the three big ideas behind Understanding by Design
Identify key challenges in teaching and learning in your classroom
Student Achievement Coherence Preparation for post-graduation
2
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What is understanding as a goal and what does it demand of
assessment and instruction? How can we more likely achieve
understanding by design rather than by good fortune? 3
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4 Teach Assess Plan Adjust
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A framework to Stay focused on the long-term goals Get the
blend of content and performance right Engage learners by using
questions and tasks that focus on understanding. 5
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If too many students do not apply their learning unless you
hold their hand do not know why they are learning what they are
asked to see their job as passive learners 6
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I learn like a ______________________ because
__________________________ Sample response: I learn like a car
because when I hop into gear, I accelerate quickly when I get into
the swing of things. 7
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I learn like a turtle because it takes awhile for me to get
something but in the end I understand. I learn like a lamp; when Im
on I do my job well and when Im off I dont do much. I learn like a
dog because it takes me a while to completely understand things but
once I get it, I wont forget it. I learn like a digestive system
because I take in what I want and take out the rest. 8
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I learn like a clock because every second changes. One second
Im listening, the next second Im not. I learn like a little kid
because everything they see and hear they want to touch and talk
about it. I learn like a CD because in some subjects I just flow
freely and in others I skip like a scratched one and in others I
need things repeated like the way a favorite song is repeated over
and over again. 9
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I learn like a tabletop. Things just get piled on top of me and
after a while everything gets cluttered. Eventually I discard
everything and the process starts all over again. I learn like
meatloaf because my brain is fat in the beginning and then it
shrinks up when it is overheated. I learn like a camera because I
am capable of doing great things, but I need motivation. I need to
know why. Just like a camera, I need the perfect light and a
perfect moment, then everything is in focus. Without these things,
the camera has no use. Without inspiration I am like a camera
without film. 10
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I learn like a dead body because all I do is lay there. I learn
like a ball of clay because teachers can mold my mind into whatever
they teach. I learn like a parrot because after seeing something I
can mimic it. I learn like a sponge because I absorb all of the
information that is thrown at me. I learn like a tunnel because
things go in one side and out the other. 11
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Your thoughts 12
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How did learners come to see themselves that way? Too much
stuff Too much teacher talk Not enough student questioning Not
enough student application Not enough connections 13
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15 BackwardDesign: from engaging work and competent
understanding, not coverage BackwardDesign: from engaging work and
competent understanding, not coverage The point of school is
effective understanding, not prompted recall of content &
compliance The point of school is effective understanding, not
prompted recall of content & compliance Understanding = using
content effectively for transfer & meaning
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16 BackwardDesign: from engaging work and effective
understanding, not coverage BackwardDesign: from engaging work and
effective understanding, not coverage The point of school is
effective understanding, not prompted recall of content &
compliance The point of school is effective understanding, not
prompted recall of content & compliance Understanding = using
content effectively for transfer & meaning
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By the end of the year, learners should be (better) able, on
their own, to effectively use all the content learned this year,
to... 17
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By the end of their formal schooling, learners should be able,
on their own, to use all thecontentlearned, to... 18
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Learning is an active process. We learn by doing. Only
knowledge that is used sticks in your mind. 21
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22 BackwardDesign: from engaging work and effective
understanding, not coverage BackwardDesign: from engaging work and
effective understanding, not coverage The point of school is
effective understanding, not prompted recall of content &
compliance The point of school is effective understanding, not
prompted recall of content & compliance Understanding = using
content effectively for transfer & meaning
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If you really understand you can... If you know a lot, but dont
really understand, you can only... 23
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If you really understand you can... 24 Apply Teach Create Not
just Plug in Figure Out Interpret SupportUse Say whyConnect
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If you really understand you can... 25 Apply Figure Out
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"Application is different from simple comprehension: the
student is not prompted to give specific knowledge, nor is the
problem old-hat. The tests must involve situations new to the
student... Ideally we are seeking a problem which will test the
extent to which the individual has learned to apply an abstraction
in a practical way." 26
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Efficiently and effectively retrieve and adapt the most
appropriate content, in context, to make sense of things and
perform effectively 27
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Work must require students to Learn how to use content in novel
situations Confront endless problems with no obvious answer and
various plausible alternatives Face challenges that require
figuring out which prior learning applies here Handling varied
situations: different demands/audiences/purposes/options/
constraints 28
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What is fair? How can math help (or not)? When we say something
is fair or unfair what do we mean? How mathematical should our
evidence be? Students generate, categorize examples of Thats fair!
and Thats not fair! 29
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30 Problem - Four 7th-grade classes had a race of all the
students. IN GROUPS: Devise at least 2 different ways to determine
a fair ranking of the classes, given the results. Agree on the most
fair way, and be prepared to defend your answers Individual ranking
of runners in a race by all 7 th -grade classes
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Jigsaw on fairness What do we mean when we say that the rules
of a game of chance are not fair? What role does math play in our
judgment? What is a fair way to rank many teams when they do not
play each other? When is straight majority voting fair and when is
it not fair? When is it fair to consider an average in ranking
performance (e.g. salaries, home prices, batting average) and when
is it unfair? 31
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You know what? Mathematicians have a few tools that might help
us Lessons on measures of central tendency: o Mean o Median o Mode
Quizzes to check for skill 32
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Propose and defend a fair grading system for use in this class.
How should everyones grade be calculated? Why is your system more
fair than the current system (or: why is the current system most
fair?) A final reflection on the question: What is fair and what
isnt fair? When should you and shouldnt you use mean, median, mode?
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THIS UNIT....TYPICAL UNITS... The start: The assessment: The
textbook: The EQ: Building efficacy: 34
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35 AuthenticLearningAuthenticLearning MakeMeaning Transfer
Acquire
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Adapt your knowledge, skill, and understanding to specific and
realistic situations and contexts AIM: efficient, effective
solutions for real- world challenges, audiences, purposes, settings
36 Transfer
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Make connections & generalizations, using the facts and
skills e.g. interpret, gist, main idea, thesis, empathize,
critique, etc. AIM: independent and defensible student inferences
about situations, texts helpful and insightful understandings 37
MakeMeaning
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Learn, with accurate and timely recall, important facts and
discrete skills Aim: automaticity of recall when needed in
performance 38 Acquire
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T: Make a map of your school; see if people can read your map
and use it to get somewhere M: Make sense of the spatial relations,
so as to interpret three dimensions into two; make sense of other
peoples maps A: Acquire skills of making and reading maps 39
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T: Solve a non-routine and unfamiliar problem in context in
which there may or may not be a linear relationship. M: Correctly
interpret the meaning of data patterns or line of best fit of data
points A: Acquire skills of plotting point pairs, accurately
drawing the graph of a line from a linear equation, etc. 40
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41 BackwardDesign: from engaging work and competent
understanding, not coverage BackwardDesign: from engaging work and
competent understanding, not coverage The point of school is
effective understanding, not prompted recall of content &
compliance The point of school is effective understanding, not
prompted recall of content & compliance Understanding = using
content for transfer & meaning
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42 Stage 1: Identify the long-term desired results Stage 2:
Determine appropriate assessment evidence to achieve those results
Stage 3: Design learning activities and instruction, given the
goals of Stage 1 and evidence in Stage 2
44 Identify the topics and content to be covered Determine
instruction for teaching the content When grades are due, assess
the learning of the content
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I want students to understand The Constitution The 3 branches
of government 45 No - not a goal - this just says what the content
is
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I want students to leave having inferred/realized that, now
& in the future The Constitution is a solution, based on
compromise, to real problems of balance and limit of powers The
compromise has a long, sometimes bitter history with many fights
that are with us and will always be with us. 46
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I want students to leave able to transfer their understanding
on their own to concretely address current and future situations:
Design a school government Design a government for Syria Support
candidates who understand our core principles 47
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There has to be a deliberate plan for developing independent
and pro-active meaning & transfer 48
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Content Standards = building code The Curriculum = the
architects blueprint 49
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The UbD Template by design addresses the issues we have
identified T-M-A live at each stage of the template 50 Stage 1 -
Desired Results Performance Tasks Other Evidence: Stage 2 -
Assessment Evidence Other Evidence: Stage 3 - Learning Plan Other
Evidence
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51 WHAT HOW we assess HOW we teach
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52 STAGE 1 Standards Long term goals of schooling Enduring
Understandings Insight, wisdom, inference, gist, generalization
that the learner develops over time Essential Questions Kid
friendly question that activates prior knowledge and focuses
learning events Meaning Primary knowledge and skills embedded in
this topic, chapter or theme as a basis for transfer Acquisition
Transfer
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Addition of 21 st century skills Addition of student friendly
goals Addition of critical vocabulary Separation of knowledge and
skill Elimination of Transfer 57
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58 STAGE 2 ASSESSMENT EVIDENCE Evaluative Criteria Elements of
Success Aligned with Transfer Meaning Acquisition Novel problems or
challenges that requires explanation and application of learning
Aligned with meaning and transfer in Stage 1 Straightforward,
efficient forms of assessment Aligned with acquisition in Stage 1
Other Evidence Transfer Tasks
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59 Worth being familiar with familiar with Important to know
& do Big ideas & Enduring Understandings Big ideas worth
exploring and understanding in depth Foundational knowledge &
skill Nice to know Traditional quizzes & tests Paper/pencil
Selected-response Constructed response Performance tasks &
projects Complex Open ended Authentic ASCD SF 2011; Zmuda and
Herold
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60Transfer Meaning Making Acquisition AuthenticCritical
analysis Immediate recall Application Judgment or conclusion
Procedural steps
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(TRANSFER) By what evidence can we convince ourselves that they
understand well enough to transfer what they have learned? (MEANING
MAKING) How will we determine if they grasp subtle understandings
or can make new meaning of the content? (ACQUISITION) Where do we
look and what do we look for to see if students genuinely
understand what they also recall? 61
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EXPLAIN in their own words the meaning making APPLY to new,
complex situations SELECT (without being cued) what is relevant
based on an existing repertoire of knowledge and skills 62
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Students will work in groups to identify the main offerings in
the lunch line. Using their knowledge of My
Platehttp://www.choosemyplate.gov/ students will determine the most
healthful and least healthful options offered in the cafeteria
(rank ordering). Students will explain the rationale for their
order. (Critical thinking,
Communication)http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ 63
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Students will design and draw their plate for their favorite
cafeteria lunch. Write a persuasive letter to the cafeteria manager
to ask for additional healthy items to be offered to supplement
that favorite lunch. (Problem Solving, Communication) 64
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You are a researcher hired by a group of expert mountain
climbers. Hypoxia is the set of symptoms (headache, fatigue,
nausea) that comes from a lack of oxygen in body tissues. It is
often felt by mountain climbers as they ascend altitude quickly.
Sherpas, long-time residents of high altitudes, seem to feel no
hypoxic discomfort. Why might that be? Your group wants to know,
and to benefit from the knowledge. Design a series of experiments
that would test the difference in hypoxic symptoms between mountain
climbers and Sherpas. Explain, using chemical equilibrium, why high
altitude causes hypoxia in the climbers. How can Sherpas avoid
these symptoms? How can you test for these possibilities? What
would a positive test look like? What inherent errors would you
have to be aware of?
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BIGMART is a chain of very large department stores. The owners
of BIGMART have asked you, a geographer, for advice. They want to
know if Rockford, Michigan will eventually be large enough to
support a BIGMART store. Currently, there arent enough people
living in Rockford and the surrounding area to make the investment
in building a BIGMART store worth while. But, if the population of
Rockford is likely to grow by as much as 10 percent in the next 5
to 10 years, then the owner will go ahead with plans to build a
store. Your task is to obtain enough geographical information about
Rockford to predict whether the population of Rockford is going to
increase by 10 percent in the next 5 to 10 years. In the space
below, identify the geographical information you would need to
obtain in order to formulate a reasonable prediction. 66
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The design of a tour of the worlds most holy sites The writing
of a Bill of Rights for use in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other new
democracies Report on Latin America to the Secretary of State:
Policy analysis and background report on a Latin American country.
What should be our current policy, and how effective has recent
policy with that country been? Collect and analyze media reports
from the Internet on other countries views of US policies in the
Middle East. Do we understand the issues? Provide a briefing on the
AIDS crisis in Africa and how American policy has helped as well as
hurt the situation Take part in a model UN on the issue of
terrorism: you will be part of a group of 2-3, representing a
country, and you will try to pass a Security Council resolution on
terrorism Russia: friend or foe? Provide the Foreign Relations
Committee with a briefing on the current state of Russia, the last
century of American- Russian relations, and future worries and
possibilities India and outsourcing: to what extent is the global
economy a good thing for America? India? India s neighbors? 67
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G = R = A = S = P = S = Goal Role Audience Situation
Product/Performance and Purpose Standards for Criteria and Success
Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998). Understanding by Design.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development
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How likely is it that a student could do well on the assessment
by... Making clever guesses, parroting back, or plugging in what
was learned, perhaps with accurate recall but limited or no
understanding? Making a good-faith effort, with lots of hard work
and enthusiasm but with limited understanding? Producing a lovely
product or an engaging and articulate performance but with limited
understanding? 69
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How likely is it that a student could do poorly on the
assessment by... Failing to meet the requirements of this
particular task while nonetheless revealing a good understanding of
the ideas? Not being skilled at certain aspects of the task but
those skills are not central to the goal or involve outside
learning or natural talent (e.g. require acting or computer ability
unrelated to Stage 1 goals)? 70
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Efficiently measures acquisition goals Goal is a balanced
assessment plan Performance tasks are necessary to measure transfer
and meaning making Other evidence is necessary to measure the full
complement of knowledge and skills 73
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Renamed performance tasks or performance assessments Add
G.R.A.S.P.S prompt Elimination of established criteria and added
link for rubrics Separation of Summative Tasks and Formative Tasks
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75 STAGE 3 LEARNING EVENTS Code Identify learning events as
Transfer Meaning Acquisition Goal is to maximize engagement and
effectiveness of instruction through Robust use of formative
assessment Gradual release of responsibility Encourage learning
from failure Key Learning Events & Instruction
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If you have determined the goals (STAGE 1), and If you have
determined the evidence of learning (STAGE 2), THEN what kinds of
learning activities are most appropriate? (STAGE 3) 76
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Plan purposeful learning activities and directed teaching to
help all students reach the desired achievements W Where the unit
is going, What is expected H Hook and hold the students E Equip
students, Experience, Explore R Rethink and Revise E Evaluate and
reflect T Tailored learning to varied needs, interests, styles O
Organize and sequence learning
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Identified technology resources Identified any pedagogical
strategies to be used (i.e. think/pair/share; jigsaw; exit card;
etc.) 80
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Given the three stages and the variations presented, build your
ideal template (15 minutes) Work in groups of 2-4 Use Post-it Notes
or index cards Be prepared to explain your thinking to others (5
minutes) Determine similarities and differences through gallery
walk of templates (10 minutes) Conference committee of everyone to
get consensus on final version 81
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How are these alike? How are they different? What do I learn
from the grouping/comparison? How can one person impact the world
around them? What are the rules of this relationship? How does the
context/situation affect the rules? What am I bringing to the text?
What am I getting from it? (text-self connection) What relationship
do I see here? How do I apply that? Where do I see evidence of
interactions in the world?
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What changes occurred? What stayed the same? How is this
story/shape/problem the same? How do people/communities change over
time? What are the events/challenges that create change? How do
people/environments respond to change?
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What looks familiar here? How do I use that to make sense of
this situation? Whats the pattern here? How does that help me make
predictions? How do I find/set up a pattern? How do I know if it
works? How do I describe/communicate a pattern? What is the pattern
in the text? How does that help me be a better reader?
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What does the author / text / the results mean? How do my
results compare with what other people have found? What are the
relationships that I see in the text? What is the relationship that
I see in the equation? How do I read between the lines? How do I
use my inferences to draw a conclusion? Is my conclusion supported
by my details/evidence?
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What information is this text giving me? Whats missing? What is
the intent of the text/author? What does the author/character want
me to believe? How do I convince someone that Im right? Why am I so
sure that Im right? Why is this person so convinced that he/she is
right? What do these groups/people disagree about? Is it possible
to resolve it? How do I justify my conclusion/judgment?
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Whats my strategy? How is it working? What do I do if Im stuck?
Where do I go for help? How am I learning from how other people see
or work on the problem? What is the best strategy for this given
problem? What kind of problem/situation is this? Have I seen it
before? How do I use that past experience to help me?
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Pursue the Essential Questions in order to establish or create
a theory craft an inference develop and test ideas by the
learner
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Big ideas at the heart of the discipline Requires uncoverage in
order to be earned Assessor-friendly language -- measurable
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Successful teams strategically position themselves to enhance
performance. K-12 Collaboration, Knowledge An effective training
plan is clearly grounded in the goals of the individual. 9-12
Knowledge Attention to detail has significant effect on overall
results. K-12 Preparation, Knowledge Successful individuals
constantly monitor and adjust their plan to ensure that they are
appropriately challenged. 9-12 Knowledge Understanding rules and
the appropriate use of equipment decreases the risk of injury to
you and other people. K-12 Collaboration, Knowledge
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(Relations: Functions, Inverses) Recognizing the predictable
patterns in mathematics allows the analysis of functional
relationships. (Variables) Variables represent the unknown so that
we can generalize a pattern rather than being limited to looking at
specific values. (Measurement, Formulas) The accurate measurement
of space is determined by the ability to visualize the
object/problem situation and apply an appropriate algorithm.
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I do, you watch I do, you help You do, I help You do, I watch
This is a general schema for the development of transfer ability at
any age, in any subject
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GOAL TYPEACTION VERBS ACQUISITION apprehend calculate define
discern identify memorize notice paraphrase plug in recall select
state Making Meaning analyze compare contrast critique defend
evaluate explain generalize interpret justify/support prove
summarize synthesize test translate verify Transfer adapt (based on
feedback) adjust (based on results) apply create design innovate
perform effectively self-assess solve troubleshoot 95
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GOAL TYPE ACTION VERBS Acquisition apprehend calculate define
discern identify memorize notice paraphrase plug in recall select
state MAKING MEANING analyze compare contrast critique defend
evaluate explain generalize interpret justify/support prove
summarize synthesize test translate verify Transfer adapt (based on
feedback) adjust (based on results) apply create design innovate
perform effectively self-assess solve troubleshoot 96
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GOAL TYPEACTION VERBS Acquisition apprehend calculate define
discern identify memorize notice paraphrase plug in recall select
state Making Meaning analyze compare contrast critique defend
evaluate explain generalize interpret justify/support prove
summarize synthesize test translate verify TRANSFER adapt (based on
feedback) adjust (based on results) apply create design innovate
perform effectively self-assess solve troubleshoot 97
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The research is very clear on this point: students who really
develop and own an idea are more likely to successfully interpret
new situations and tackle new problems than students who possess
only drilled knowledge and skill. Wiggins and McTighe 98
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PowerPoint by Allison Zmuda The Understanding by Design Guide
to Creating High-Quality Units Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins - 2011
An Introduction to Understanding by Design Jay McTighe - 2010
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