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Understanding by DesignAdapted from and based on the work of Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighePriscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.EdAltamira International SchoolStarting Point…By the end of this workshop, you should be able to: 1. Explain the research principles underlying Understanding by Design (UbD). 2. Describe and facilitate six ways your students can demonstrate understanding, rather than just knowledge-recall learning. 3. Apply the principles of backward Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed A
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Adapted from and based on the work of Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe
Understanding by Design
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
By the end of this workshop, you should be able to:1. Explain the research principles underlying
Understanding by Design (UbD).2. Describe and facilitate six ways your students
can demonstrate understanding, rather than just knowledge-recall learning.
3. Apply the principles of backward design to your professional role(s), including designing UbD units.
Starting Point…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• How do you define the term “understanding”?
• Reflect on your initial definition as you participate in the next two warm-up activity.
• What are the various aspects of understanding that they requires you to use?
As you start this workshop…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
If the day before the day before yesterday were Tuesday…
What will be the day after the day after tomorrow?
Warming UP to Understanding
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• IF Tuesday= day (1) before the day (2) before yesterday (3).
• Then, today must be three days after Tuesday. (Tuesday—day before the day before yesterday, Wednesday—day before yesterday, Thursday—yesterday…) SO, today must be Friday.
• Then, tomorrow must be Saturday.• Therefore, the day after the day after tomorrow must
be Monday.
Warming Up to Understanding
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Tuesday=day before the day before yesterday.
Wednesday=the day before yesterday.
Thursday=yesterday
Friday=TODAY
Saturday=tomorrow
Sunday=the day after tomorrow
Monday=the day after the day after tomorrow
Another Way of Seeing it…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
“How many buses does the army need to transport 1,128 soldiers if each bus holds 36
soldiers?”
Another Way of Seeing it…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• “31 buses, remainder 12”
-remainder 12
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Common Answer from 30 of 8th Graders%:
What’s so important about understanding? Why should
we be concerned with it?
An Essential Question for you to Consider…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• In your opinion, what does it mean for students to be “engaged” in learning?
• Is there a time you can remember when as a student, you were actively engaged in the learning process?
Addressing These Trends Through Student Engagement…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Understanding by Design
How Can We Promote Student Understanding, Rather than Just
“Knowing/Doing”?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Why are the best curriculum designs backward?
• What is good design? How does UbD support effective curriculum design?
• How does continuous improvement apply to curriculum design?
Overarching Essential Questions for our Workshop
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Why teach for understanding?• How will we know students really
understand?• What is the difference between
understanding and knowing?
Overarching Essential Questions for our Workshop
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1)Who was the most effective teacher you ever had? What made him/her so?
• Share examples, then generalize: “the best teachers…”
2)When was a time you made significant progress/ improvement as a learner? What was it that made that possible?
• Share examples, then generalize: “the greatest learning happens when…”
Share with a neighbor…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Upfront explicit goals and performance requirements • Models and modeling provided• The bigger picture, the “why”, is made clear• Working back and forth from whole to part• A genuine challenge/problem frames the work that stretches you-
real, meaningful tasks• Work culminates in real or realistic application• Trial and error, reflection and adjustment are needed and
expected• Constant helpful feedback opportunities • Safe environment for trying out, getting feedback, adjusting
Common Responses:
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Too many students learn without thinking– Instruction has become an activity in repeating the
teacher• Most test questions are recall
– Where’s the deeper thinking?• The “Course” is NOT
– The textbook: that’s a resource– The activities: these are steps– The content: this is to be mastered
• There is a BIG difference between just knowing and really understanding…
Key Points to Remember
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• A framework that synthesizes research-based best practices in curriculum, assessment, and instruction that promote the learning process.
• A language that educators can use to describe and analyze the best ways to promote student understanding, rather than just knowledge/recall.
What is Understanding by Design?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• It is not a program.
• It is not one more thing for you to “have to do.”
• It does not include anything that hasn’t been used by master teachers throughout the centuries.
Understanding by Design is not…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Integrating curriculum, instruction, and assessment within a unit of study in any discipline
• A unit design template for beginning with the end in mind
• A way to enhance meaningful understanding and transfer of learning.
What is UbD?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• In even our best students and their work, we see frequent…– Amnesia– Misunderstandings– Rigid knowledge, no transfer of learning
Does this sound familiar?
Why the Need for Understanding?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• What is good design?– Best done “backward” from the desired result
• What is understanding?– Transfer of knowledge- long term goal and key
evidence of understanding– Use of Big Ideas to focus the work along with the
transfer tasks
Two questions:
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• The use of knowledge and skills (acquired in earlier context) in a new context. It occurs when a person’s learning in one situation influences that person’s learning and performance in other situations.
• Transferability is Understanding– Understanding reveals itself as transfer: an appropriate
and affective use of knowledge and skill, on one’s own; using good judgment, with minimal cues and prompting, in various important situations, about which content is needed when and why.
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
What is Transfer of Learning?
24
25
26
I. Digital-Age Literacy: Scientific, mathematical, and technological literacies; visual and information literacies, and cultural literacy and global awareness
II.Inventive Thinking:Adaptability/ability to handle complexity; curiosity, creativity, and risk-taking; and higher-order thinking and sound reasoning
III. Effective Communication:Teaming, collaboration, and interpersonal skills; personal and social responsibility; interactive communication skills
IV. High Productivity:Ability to prioritize, plan, and manage for results; effective use of real-world tools; and ability to create relevant, high-quality products
Thornburg: “The New Basics”
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• The following slides will take you through how to construct a unit, using the three stages of backward design
• So, as you read, think of a unit that you currently teach or would like to teach.
• As we go, consider how your unit would fit in to the three stages.
The Three Stages
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, MEd Altamira Intenationl School
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
“You Are What Your Eat”
1. Identify Desired Results
What is it that I want the students to understand and know and be able to do?
2. Determine Acceptable Evidence
How will I know that they know what I want them to know?
3. Plan Learning Experiences
What do I need to do in the classroom to prepare them for the assessment?
The Three Stages of Backward Design
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
TEMPLATEG
U
K S
Q
T
OE
L
According to Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, the best curriculum and instructional designs are “backwards”:
a. Stage One: Determining Desired Results
b. Stage Two: Assessing Results
c. Stage Three: Designing Instructional Activities
“Backward Design”
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Stage One: Identify Desired Results:a. Content Standardsb. Enduring Understandings & Essential Questionsc. Enabling Knowledge Objectives
• Stage Two: Assess Desired Results:a. Use a Photo Album, Not Snapshot, Approachb. Integrate Tests, Quizzes, Reflections and Self-Evaluations with
Academic Prompts and Projects
• Stage Three: Design Teaching and Learning Activities to Promote Desired Results:a. W.H.E.R.E.T.O. Design Principlesb. Organizing Learning So That Students Move Toward Independent
Application and Deep Understanding Using Research-Based Strategies
Backward Design ar a Glance
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• In order to begin, we must start at the end:– Clarify results and evidence of them before designing
lessons.• UbD is a way of thinking more carefully about
design; it is NOT a program.• Thinking like an assessor (not only an activity
designer) is key to effective design• The work is only “coverage” or “nice activity”
unless focused on questions and big ideas, related to the Standards
Key Points to Remember…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
35
EffectiveInstruction
Acquire
Learning for UnderstandingLearning for
Understanding
MakeMeaning
Transfer
Crucial to to get the balance &
sequence right!
Crucial to to get the balance &
sequence right!
UNIT COVER PAGE
Unit Title: You Are What You Eat Grade Level: 5th
Subject/Topic Areas: Health and Nutrition
Key Words: nutrition, health, wellness, balanced diet, food pyramid
Designed by: Bob James Time Frame: 3 Weeks
School: Cheshire Cat Elementary
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Brief Summary of Unit(including curricular context and unit goals) In this introductory unit of the health education course, students will learn about human nutritional needs, the food groups, the nutritional benefits of various foods, the USDA Food Pyramid guidelines, and health problems associated with poor nutrition. They will design an illustrated nutrition brochure to teach younger children about the importance of good nutrition for healthy living, work in cooperative groups to analyze a hypothetical family’s diet and recommend ways to improve their nutritional value, and conduct research on health problems resulting from poor eating habits.
You Are What You Eat
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
UbD big idea Why is this important?
If not…
Backward Design Plans need to be well aligned to be effective
Twin sins: Aimless activity and coverage
Transfer as goal The essence of understanding and the point
of schooling
Students fail to apply learning
Understanding via Big Ideas
How transfer occurs; creates connections in learning
Fragmented learning; more difficult, less engaging
Meaningful Learning This engages and invites students
Plans need to be well aligned to be effective
The Big Ideas of UbD
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
How do we know when we really
understand something?
Teaching Does Not Cause Understanding
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Are knowing and understanding the same?
• Can you know something and not understand it? Explain.
• What is the evidence of understanding something?
Knowing and Understanding
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
What Does the Research Tell Us About How Schools Can Promote
Student Understanding?
Essential Question One
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Knowledge: look it up somewhere.• Understanding – derived by you.• Knowledge – a set of established not
controversial facts.• Understanding – an unobvious and
important judgment about what the facts mean.
Knowing and Understanding
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. THINK of a time when you moved from knowing about or being able to do something—to understanding it.
2. PAIR: Describe that time to another participant.
3. SHARE: What are the behaviors and attitudes common to the experiences you described?
A Reflection Checkpoint
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
Remembering: can the student recall or remember the information? define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall, repeat, reproduce,state
Understanding: can the student explain ideas or concepts? classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate, paraphrase
Applying: can the student use the information in a new way? choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
Analyzing: can the student distinguish between the different parts? appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.
Evaluating: can the student justify a stand or decision? appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate
Creating: can the student create new product or point of view? assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, write.
• Knowing as a “state of possession” – you have the information.
• Understanding enables one to go beyond the information given – to do something with the information.
Understanding or Knowing
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Facts Concepts PrinciplesDiscrete pieces of information believed to be true May typically fall within topicsExample: Westward Movement
Early American settlers migrated to the west.Many settlers traveled in wagon trains.
Ways of organizing or categorizing things that have something in common Example:
Concept of migration is a way of viewing Westward Movement ...a way of organizing facts about the settlers' experiences
Ideas and deeper understandings that give meaning to the concepts (essential understandings, generalizations, "big ideas”)Example:
"People migrate to meet a variety of needs" "Migration may lead to enhanced opportunity or greater freedom."
How Knowledge is Structured
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
I want students to understand… I want students to understand THAT…
The US Constitution
(this is content!)
The three branches of US government
The US Constitution was a solution based on compromise to real and pressing problems and disagreements in government
They were a brilliant balance and limit of powers.
The Difference
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Explanation• Interpretation• Application
• Analysis of Perspectives
• Empathy• Self-Knowledge
How Can We Tell When Students Are Understanding?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• ____________: Backing up claims and assertions with evidence.
• ____________ : Drawing inferences and generating something new from them.
• ____________:Using knowledge and skills in a new or unanticipated setting or situation.
• ___________: Analyzing differing points of view about a topic or issue.
• ___________: Demonstrating the ability to walk in another’s shoes.
• ____________: Assessing and evaluating one’s own thinking and learning: revising, rethinking, revisiting, refining.
The Six Facets of Understanding
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
With which of the following “facets of understanding” do your students generally perform well? With which do they have trouble? Why?
a. Explanation d. Perspectiveb. Interpretation e. Empathyc. Application f. Self-Knowledge
A Reflection Checkpoint
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. How would you describe the six facets of understanding to a colleague who is not present?
2. Create at least three “enabling knowledge” objectives using some of the six facets verbs.
Activity
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Through which facets will students develop and reveal their understandings?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Six Facets of Understanding
Develop an illustrated brochure to explain the principles and practices of healthy eating to younger students.
Investigate healthy eating from the perspective of different regions and cultures.
1. Analyze a hypothetical family´s diet for nutritional balance.
2. Develop a menu for meals and snacks for an upcoming three day trip to the outdoor education camp.
Modify their eating habits for two days to have a taste of the experience of people wiho must restrict their diets because of specific conditions.
Reflect on their own eating habits and evaluate the extent to which they are eating healthy.
EXPLANATION
INTERPRETATION
APPLICATION
PERSPECTIVEEMPATHY
SELF-KNOWLEDGE
1. Identify Desired Results
What is it that I want the students to understand and know and be able to do?
2. Determine Acceptable Evidence
How will I know that they know what I want them to know?
3. Plan Learning Experiences
What do I need to do in the classroom to prepare them for the assessment?
The Three Stages of Backward Design
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 1- Desired ResultsEstablished Goals: G
Understandings: U Students will understand that…
Essential Questions: Q
Students will know… K Students will be able to… S
Stage 2- Assessment EvidencePerformance Tasks: T Other Evidence: OE
Stage 3- Learning PlanLearning Activities: L
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 1
• What goal am I addressing?• What’s the point?• How does this fit into the content
standards?• What should they come away having
learned?• What is the bigger purpose?• Answer: Consider BIG IDEAS
Stage 1- Identify Desired ResultsEstablished Goals
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Content Standards: i.e., what all students should be able to know, do, and understand?
• Performance Standards: i.e., levels of competency expected of all students at key points in their educational development?
• Benchmark Assessments: i.e., ways in which students will be assessed at key points in their development to ensure they are mastering identified performance standards in order to show progress relative to long-range content standards?
To What Extent Does Your School Have Consensus About…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following
statement? “Standards have to be interpreted and ‘unpacked’ by educators. They
can’t just be ‘pasted on the board.’”
Reflection Activity (I)
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Robert Marzano (McRel): “If teachers are expected to get students to learn all of the [K-12] standards identified by their district, on average we need to expand students’ time in school by a minimum of 6,000 hours.”
An “Overloaded” Curriculum
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Marzano, and others report a test preparation paradox:
We seem to feel the obligation to “cover” and “touch on” lots of things in case they are “on the test.” Results confirm, however, that superficial coverage of material causes poorer, not better, test results.
What Does It All Mean?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• “What an extensive research literature now documents is that an ordinary degree of understanding is routinely missing in many, perhaps most students. If, when the circumstances of testing are slightly altered, the sought-after competence can no longer be documented, then understanding—in any reasonable sense of the term—has simply not been achieved.”
Howard Gardner, The Unschooled Mind
Why Should We Care?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
In light of the need for standards to be “unpacked,” how can we build consensus
about what all students should understand (not just know and do) so that they can see the universal issues, patterns, and significance of what they
are studying?
Essential Question Two
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 1: Identify Desired Results
Creating Your Own UBD Unit
Standard 6 - Students will understand essential concepts about nutrition and diet. 6, a -Students will use an understanding of nutrition to plan appropriate diets for themselves and others. 6, c -Students will understand one’s own eating patterns and ways in which these patterns may be improved.
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 1- Desired ResultsEstablished Goals:
Understandings: Students will understand that…
Essential Questions:
Students will know… Students will be able to… S
Stage 2- Assessment EvidencePerformance Tasks: Other Evidence:
Stage 3- Learning PlanLearning Activities:
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 1
G
S
QU
K
T OE
L
What are BIG IDEAS? (Think CONCEPTS)• Core idea at the “heart” of the discipline• Enduring: has lasting, universal value• Transferable to other topics/disciplines• Connective of facts and skills• Requires “un-converage” or “unpacking”
Stage 1- Identify Desired ResultsEstablished Goals
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
STAGE 1
Select and develop Essential Questions to guide inquiry into the
big ideas
Frame the big ideas as specific
Understandings (“the student will
understand THAT …”)
Identify the big ideas
Consider possible misunderstandings
Test your ideas against Stage 1 Design Standards and
revise as needed “Unpack” the Goals (e.g.
content standards) to derive the big ideas, key
knowledge and skills Identify key
Knowledge and Skills
Q
U
SK
G
Does it have many layers and nuances, not obvious to the naïve or inexperienced person?
Does it yield optimal depth and breadth of insight into the subject?
Do you have to dig deep to really understand its meanings and implications even if you have a surface grasp of it? Is it (therefore) prone to misunderstanding as well as disagreement?
Are you likely to change your mind about its meaning and importance over a lifetime?
Does it reflect the core ideas as judged by experts?
How can I tell if something is as Big Idea?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
You Are What You Eat
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
The understandings to be developed in this unit
elements of good nutrition
?Will an “apple
a day” keep the doctor
away?
Why do foods that are good for you taste
bad?
What is a balanced
diet?
Why do foods that are good for you taste
bad?
What would happen if you only ate junk
food?
What is healthy eating?
• Big Ideas: interdependence, heroism, patterns and systems, investigation
• Enduring Understandings: All great writing is rewriting. Science can help us reveal the structural patterns and processes that shape and define our physical universe.
• Essential Questions: Is war inevitable? How can we determine what an author means? To what extent is mathematics a language?—How can we learn to “speak” it with fluency and mastery?
To What Extent Do Your Desired Results Address Understanding?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. Big ideas are significant and recurring concepts, principles, theories, and processes that represent essential focal points or “conceptual lenses” for prioritizing content.
2. Through the identification of big ideas, we can find ways to organize discrete curriculum elements such as facts, skills, and activities.
3. They are powerful because they embody transferable ideas applicable to other settings, situations, and content areas.
4. They engage students in the process of “uncoverage,” discovering meaning, drawing significant inferences, and enhancing the authenticity of learning experiences.
“Big Ideas” as Curriculum Organizers
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
ConceptsEquivalent FractionsAdaptation
ThemesThe American DreamEthical citizenship
Issues/DebatesHomeland SecurityCreationism vs. Evolution
ProblemsDeforestation of the rain forestsThe technology gap
ChallengesSurviving the harsh and dangerous frontier lifeProspering in a global economy
ProcessesHistoriographyScientific inquiry
TheoriesThe Theory of RelativityNatural Selection
Paradoxes Poverty in the Wealthiest Nation in the WorldOne person’s healthiest diet may be another’s least healthy.
Assumptions/ Perspectives
We are experiencing a condition of global warming.We need to go back to the “basics” in education.
Categories for “Big Ideas”
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Change Justice Exploration
Abundance Charity Environment
Freedom Interaction Communication
Migration Patterns Power
Symbols Diversity Culture
Conflict Cycles Fairness
Balance Perspective Friendship
What else can you think of?
Concepts as Big Ideas
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
UnderstandingsWhat insights will students take away about the meanings of the content via Big Ideas?Understandings summarize the desired insights we want the students to realize about the Big IdeasUnderstandings connect the dots; they tell us what our knowledge means and make sense of facts and skills.
Essential QuestionsImportant questions that will reoccur throughout our lives
Helps students make sense of Big Ideas through questioning and then making decisions.
Engages and motivates.
Use Big Ideas to form Understandings and Essential Questions
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
The UbD “Three-Circle Audit” Process
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. Standards need to be interpreted and “unpacked.”
2. Staff members need to determine:a. Outer Circle: What is worth being familiar with?b. Middle Circle: What should all students know and be able to do?c. Center Circle: What are the enduring understandings students should explore and acquire?
The UbD “Three-Circle Audit” Process
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
For a group of tenth-grade World History students, how would you rank each of these:
• The day and year the Magna Carta was signed…
• The historical significance of the Magna Carta…
• The enduring influence of significant political documents throughout the history of world civilization…
For Example…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. Identify the years in which Mark Twain was born and died. (English, Grade 8)
2. Use the Periodic Table to identify the atomic weights of carbon, oxygen, and helium. (Chemistry, Grade 11)
3. Describe how a bill becomes law at state and national levels. (Civics, Grade 9)
4. Explain how we can use the relationships between sounds and letters to make sense of text. (Reading, Grade 1)
5. Apply the habits of mind used by scientists to engage in scientific inquiry. (Science, Grade 5)
6. Interpret how a primary source document reflects political bias on the part of an author. (U.S. History, Grade 8)
7. Describe eating patterns and menus from previous historical eras. (Health, Grade 4)
8. Identify key figures who contributed to the development of modern statistics. (College-Level Intro. to Statistics Course)
9. Trace universal patterns, themes, and motifs common to art through the ages. (Humanities, Grade 12)
Into Which Circles Would You Place the Following Learning Goals?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
How can you use the UBD three-circle curriculum audit to “unpack” your standards?
Reflection Activity (II)
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Worth Being Familiar With
Important to Know and Do
Enduring Understanding
What concepts should be students
be familiar with
What important knowledge and skills must students have
for masteryAnchors the
unit; Why is this topic worth
studying
Three Ring Audit Process
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Worth being familiar with
Familiar: • General eating patterns and menus from the past• Different conditions requiring dietary restrictionsImportant:• Types of food in each of the food groups and their nutritional
value• The USDA Food Pyramid guidelines• Nutritional information on food labels and how to interpret
Big Ideas:• Balanced Diet• Nutritional NeedsUnderstandings:The students will understand that…• “You are what you eat.” Your diet affects you
health, appearance and performance.• People have different dietary needs based on
age, activity level, weight and various health considerations.
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Focusing in On Understandings- Nutrition
1. Statements or declarations of understandings comprised of two or more big ideas.
2. Framed as universal generalizations—the “moral” or essence of the curriculum story.
3. Help students to “uncover” significant aspects of the curriculum that are not obvious or may be counterintuitive or easily misunderstood.
4. Formed by completing the statement: Students will understand THAT:……
Enduring Understandings
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. Numbers are abstract concepts that enable us to represent concrete quantities, sequences, and rates.
2. Democratic governments struggle to balance the rights of individuals with the common good.
3. The form in which authors write shapes how they address both their audience and their purpose(s).
4. Scientists use observation and statistical analysis to uncover and analyze patterns in nature.
5. As technologies change, our views of nature and our world shift and redefine themselves.
6. Dance is a language through which the choreographer and dancer use shape, space, timing, and energy to communicate to their audience.
Sample Enduring Understandings
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
What enduring understandings are desired?
Students will understand that . . .
• A balanced diet contributes to physical and mental health.• The USDA Food Pyramid presents relative guidelines for nutrition.• Dietary requirements vary for individuals based on age, activity level, weight,and overall health.• Healthful living requires an individual to act on available information about good nutrition even if it means breaking comfortable habits.
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 1- Desired ResultsEstablished Goal: G
Understandings: U Students will understand that…
Essential Questions: Q
Students will know… K Students will be able to… S
Stage 2- Assessment EvidencePerformance Tasks: T Other Evidence: OE
Stage 3- Learning PlanLearning Activities: L
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 1
• Are interpretive, i.e., have no single “right answer.”• Provoke and sustain student inquiry, while focusing
learning and final performances.• Address conceptual or philosophical foundations of a
discipline/ content area.• Raise other important questions.• Naturally and appropriately occur.• Stimulate vital, ongoing rethinking of big ideas,
assumptions, and prior lessons.
Essential Questions…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Essential questions vary according to their scope and level of generalization.
• An overarching essential question can apply to multiple points during a student’s education; the most overarching can also apply to multiple content areas.
• A topical essential question is unit or time-specific and generally applies to a specific unit within the student’s course of study.
Overarching Vs. Topical Essential Questions
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Overarching
• How do effective writers hook and hold their readers?
• How do organisms survive in harsh or changing environments?
Topical
• How do great mystery writers hook and hold their readers?
• How do animals and plants survive in the desert?
Examples of Overarching and Topical Essential Questions
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Avoid questions that have a single correct answer or a range of correct answers: e.g., What makes fractions equivalent? What are the major characteristics of Romantic poetry?
• Avoid merely “rephrasing” lesson objectives as questions: How can we edit for subject-verb agreement? How can we describe the parts of a cell? How can we apply the steps in the scientific method?
• Avoid emphasizing overly obscure or subsidiary aspects of the curriculum as a basis for essential questions: How did Emerson’s family history contribute to his ideas about Transcendentalism? How did Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle shape his views about natural selection?
• Avoid excessively vague or unfocused questions: Why is literature important? How has the United States changed?
Avoiding Common Pitfalls…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. What are the differences between a democracy and a monarchy?
2. What were the major causes of the American Civil War?
3. Why is mathematics important?4. How can we create a personal fitness plan?5. How do Socrates and Euripides differ in their use of
the chorus?
Try Your Hand at Correcting the Following “Flawed” Essential Questions…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1.Determine the “big ideas” in your enduring understandings.
2.Decide which of the big ideas you wish your students to explore and debate.
3.Use “how, why,” or to what extent” to reframe your big ideas as questions:
• How=process• Why=cause and effect• To what extent=matters of degree or kind
An Algorithm for Creating Essential Questions
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
What essential questions will be considered?
• What is healthful eating?• Are you a heathful eater? How would you know?• How could a healthy diet for one person be unhealthy for another?• Why are there so many health problems caused by poor eating despite all of the available information?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 1- Desired ResultsEstablished Goals: GUnderstandings: U Students will understand that…
Essential Questions: Q
Students will know… K Students will be able to… S
Stage 2- Assessment EvidencePerformance Tasks: T Other Evidence: OE
Stage 3- Learning PlanLearning Activities: L
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 1
Stage 1- Desired ResultsEstablished Goals: G
Understandings: U Students will understand that…
Essential Questions: Q
Students will know… K Students will be able to… S
Stage 2- Assessment EvidencePerformance Tasks: T Other Evidence: OE
Stage 3- Learning PlanLearning Activities: L
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 1
Declarative (Know)• Facts• Concepts• Generalizations• Theories• Rules• Principles
Procedural (Do)• Skills• Procedures• Processes
The Structure of Knowledge
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
VocabularyTerminologyDefinitionsKey factual informationFormulasTechnologiesCritical detailsImportant events and peopleSequence and timelines
Basic- decoding, arithmetic, computation
Communication- listening, writing, speaking
21st Century LiteraciesThinking- comparison,
inference, analysis, interpretation
Research, inquiry, investigation
Study- note takingInterpersonal- group skills
Knowledge Skills
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Knowledge and Skills
Knowledge includes…Vocabulary/terminologyDefinitionsKey factual informationCritical detailsImportant events and peopleSequence/timelineThese questions HAVE a correct answer!
Skills include…Basic skillsCommunication skillsResearch/inquiry/ investigation skillsThinking skills (problem- solving, decision making)Study skillsInterpersonal or group collaboration skills
Stage 1- Identify Desired ResultsKnowledge and Skills
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Facts: 1776; Annapolis is the capital of Maryland; Lyndon Johnson succeeded John F. Kennedy.
• Concepts: interdependence; scientific method; equivalent fractions; grammar and usage
• Generalizations: Tragic heroes frequently suffer because of a failure to recognize an internal character defect; Technology changes frequently produce social and cultural changes.
• Theories: Einstein’s Theory of Relativity; Natural Selection
• Rules: The Pythagorean Theorem; rules for pronouncing sound-symbol combinations in English
• Principles: Newton’s Laws; the Commutative Principle
Declarative Knowledge (Know)
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Skill: Focus a microscope; Decode the meaning of a word using a context cue.
• Procedure: Prepare and analyze a slide specimen; Summarize the main idea of a paragraph or passage.
• Process: Collect a variety of leaf specimens and compare their structures using a microscope; Trace the development of an author’s theme in a work of literature.
Procedural Knowledge (Do)
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
Students will know: Students will be able to: • key terms - protein, fat, calorie, • Read and interpret nutrition carbohydrate, cholesterol, etc. • Information on food labels.• types of foods in each food group & • Analyze diets for nutritional their nutritional values. value.• the USDA Pyramid guidelines. • Plan balanced diets for• variables infl uencing nutritional needs. themselves and others• general health problems caused by poor nutrition.
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• The Six Facets: explain, interpret, apply, analyze perspectives, express empathy, demonstrate self-knowledge and meta-cognitive awareness
• Know: facts, concepts, generalizations, rules and principles
• Do: skills, procedures, processes
To What Extent Do Your Desired Results Contain Objectives That Emphasize the
Six Facets of Understanding?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Students will be able to:1. Explain the significance of the following facts about the
American Civil War.2. Interpret the meaning of and apply the following concepts to
the analysis of cause and effect patterns in labs focusing on chemical and physical changes in matter.
3. Analyze and explain the origins of conflicting perspectives about the Kennedy assassination.
4. Express empathy for the characters by participating in a role-play or simulation of events from the novel.
For Example…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. What are the four key elements of Stage One in the backward-design process?
2. How does each element relate to the three-circle audit process?
Activity
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
If you were asking questions on the left side of the last slide, you’re ready to design some
assessment evidence!
Understanding by Design
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. Identify Desired Results
What is it that I want the students to understand and know and be able to do?
2. Determine Acceptable Evidence
How will I know that they know what I want them to know?
3. Plan Learning Experiences
What do I need to do in the classroom to prepare them for the assessment?
The Three Stages of Backward Design
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 1- Desired ResultsEstablished Goals: GUnderstandings: U Students will understand that…
Essential Questions: Q
Students will know… K Students will be able to… S
Stage 2- Assessment EvidencePerformance Tasks: T Other Evidence: OE
Stage 3- Learning PlanLearning Activities: L
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 2!
• This is where UbD departs from conventional unit design and planning.
• Before we plan the activities and lessons, we must plan the assessment.
• What then logically follows is an orderly progression of activities, specifically designed to meet their target.
Stage 2- Determine Acceptable Evidence
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Understanding develops as a result of ongoing inquiry.
• Think of effective assessment like a scrapbook of mementos and pictures, rather than a single snapshot.
• Gather lots of informal evidence along the way in a variety of formats!
• Use the continuum on the next slide as a guide.
Stage 2- Determine Acceptable Evidence
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Think of anchoring your unit with a performance task.But use the Other Evidence along the way.(i.e. Don’t throw out all your old quizzes!)
Other evidence
Continuum of Assessment
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Informal checks for understa
nding
Tests and
Quizzes
Academic
Prompts
Performance Tasks
• Informal checks for understanding- ongoing assessments such as questioning, observations, dialogue, examining work, think alouds
• Tests and Quizzes- simple, content focused items• Academic Prompts- open ended questions, problems that require students to
think critically, not just recall knowledge, and to prepare a specific academic response, product or performance
• Performance Tasks- complex challenges that mirror the issues and problems faced by adults, ranging from short-term to long term tasks, multistaged projects, they yield one or more tangible products and performances.
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Collect Diverse Evidence from Assessments
• Contextualize it to a real-world situation.• Require students to use judgment and innovation.• Call for exploration of the subject like a professional in the
field.• Replicate challenging situations in which people are truly
“tested” in life and work.• Compel students to use a repertoire of knowledge and skill
to negotiate a task• Allow opportunities to rehearse, practice, consult
resources, get feedback, and refine performance.• Use the Six Facets of Understanding
What should a Performance Task ask students to do?
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Use these when generating ideas for Performance Tasks!
When we truly understand, we…1. Can Explain (generalize, connect, provide examples)2. Can Interpret (tell accessible stories, provide dimension)3. Can Apply (use what we know in real contexts)4. Have perspective (see points of views through critical eyes)5. Can Empathize (walk in another’s shoes, value what others do)6. Have Self-knowledge (meta-cognitive awareness, know what we don’t
know, reflect on meaning of learning and experience)
These are excellent starting points or touchstones for performance tasks!
The Six Facets of Understanding
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Assessments are too often created without carefully considering the evidence needed or only as a means for generating grades.
• Instead, consider this: How do we know that the learner…– met the goal through performance?– “got” the understandings?– deeply considered the essential questions?
Stage 2- Determine Acceptable Evidence
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Assessors ask:What would be sufficient and revealing evidence of understanding?Given the goals, what performance tasks must anchor the unit and focus the instructional work?What are the different types of evidence required by Stage 1?Against what criteria will we appropriately consider work and assess levels of quality?Did the assessments reveal and distinguish those who really understood from those who only seemed to? Am I clear on the reasons beyond learner mistakes?
Activity designers ask:What would be fun and interesting activities on this topic?What projects might students wish to do on this topic?
What tests should I give, based on the content taught?How will I give students a grade and (justify it to their parents)?
How well did the activities work?How did the students do on the test?
How to tell if you’re thinking like an assessor
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
How can schools develop and sustain an effective assessment process that
reinforces the monitoring the understanding of all learners?
Essential Question Four
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Assessment and instruction are inextricably linked.
• The nature of your desired result(s) will determine the type(s) of assessment task you use to monitor student achievement.
• When assessing for understanding, more than selected-response test items (true-false, fill in the blank, multiple choice) are required.
Assessing Understanding: Some Starting Points…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Traditional quizzes
and tests (selected response)…….
Quizzes and tests
(constructed response)……. Performance tasks and projects…
Performance tasks and projects
(complex, open-ended, authentic)……...
Curricular Priorities and Assessment Methods
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Do you select the appropriate assessment tool or process to assess each desired result?
• Do you use a range of assessment tools, rather than just tests and quizzes?
• Do you strive for a photo album, not a snapshot, of student performance data?
• Does your photo album provide a full portrait of what your students know, do, and understand relative to your desired results?
Assessing Your Assessments…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Do you make use of…• Tests and quizzes that include constructed-
response items?• Reflective assessments (reflective journals, think
logs, peer response groups, interviews)?• Academic prompts with a FAT-P (audience, format,
topic, purpose) clearly stated?• Culminating performance assessment tasks and
projects?
Assessing Your Assessments
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Assessment and instruction are inextricably linked.
• The nature of your desired result(s) will determine the type(s) of assessment task you use to monitor student achievement.
• When assessing for understanding, more than selected-response test items (true-false, fill in the blank, multiple choice) are required.
Assessing Understanding: Some Starting Points…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Clearly lay out what students should demonstrate, transfer, or apply to show what they understand and can do as a result of the study.
• Provide one or more modes of expression.• Lay out clear, precise expectations for high-quality content (e.g.,
rubrics, scoring guides); steps and behaviors of developing the product; and the nature of the product itself.
• Provide support and scaffolding for high-quality student success.• Provide for variations in student readiness, interest, and learning
profile.
Criteria for Differentiated Assessment “Products”
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. Why does UBD recommend a “photo album” approach to assessment, rather than just a snapshot?
2. Describe the four UBD “non-negotiable” elements of a good assessment photo album.
Activity
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Require some form of performance by the student within the testing situation.
• Involve students in demonstrations of understanding, not just knowledge-recall learning.
• Are often written, but can be differentiated to allow for alternative approaches.
• Can involve some form of choice by the learner.
Constructed-Response Test Items
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. Defend or negate the following statement: Those who fail to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
2. Examine the solution to the math word problem presented below. Describe an alternative—and more efficient—way of solving it.
3. Observe the following videotape, which highlights elements of a local eco-system. Describe your observations and conclusions about the health of that system.
Sample Constructed-Response Test Items
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Encourage students to internalize and apply to themselves and peers significant evaluation standards and criteria.
• Engage students in self-evaluation and meta-cognitive processing.
• Ensure that all learners are becoming self-monitoring and are “owning” the evaluation criteria.
• Encourage active feedback and adjustment.
Formal and Informal Reflective Assessments
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. Reflective Journal Entries: How well do you understand this passage? What are the main ideas from this lesson? What did this material mean to you?
2. Think Logs: How would you describe the process of classification? How has your approach to problem-solving changed during this unit?
3. Self-Evaluations: Based upon our evaluation criteria, what grade would you give yourself? Why?
4. Peer Response Group Activities: What can you praise about the work? What questions can you pose? What suggestions can you make for polishing the product?
5. Interviews: Tell me about your perceptions of this project. What do you consider to be your strengths and areas in need of improvement?
Sample Reflective Assessment Activities
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• A structured performance task that elicits the student’s creation of a controlled performance or product.
• These performances and products should align with criteria expressed in a scoring guide or rubric.
• Successful prompts articulate a format, audience, topic/content focus, and purpose.
The Academic Prompt
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Think about a time when you were surprised (topic). Write a letter (format) to a friend
(audience) in which you describe that experience. Use a logical narrative sequence
with concrete sensory details to help your friend understand what this event was like
and how you experienced it (purpose).
A Sample Academic Prompt with a FAT-P
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
A Sample Academic Prompt with a FAT-P
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Prompt: Describe two health problems that could arise as a result of
poor nutrition and explain how these could be avoided.
• G=real-world goals• R=real-world role(s)• A=real-world audience• S=real-world situation• P=real-world products and performances• S=standards for acceptable performance
Elements of an Effective Performance Task and Culminating Project
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
You are a member of a team of scientists investigating deforestation of the Amazon rain forest. You are
responsible for gathering scientific data (including such visual evidence as photographs) and producing a scientific report in which you summarize current conditions, possible future trends, and their implications for both the Amazon itself and its broader influence on our planet. Your report,
which you will present to a United Nations sub-committee, should include detailed and fully-supported
recommendations for an action plan which are clear and complete.
A Sample G.R.A.S.P.S.by Design
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Use the G.R.A.S.P.S. design elements to create a powerful culminating performance task or project for a unit you teach.
Activity
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence
Performance Tasks (summary in GRASPS form) You Are What You Eat- Students create an illustrated brochure to teach younger children about the importance of good nutrition for healthful living. Offer students ideas for breaking bad eating habits.
Chow Down- Students develop a three-day menu for meals and snacks for an upcoming Outdoor Education camp experience. They write a letter to the camp director to explain why their menu should be selected (by showing that it meets the USDA Food Pyramid recommendations, yet is tasty enough for students). Include at least one modification for a specific dietary condition (diabetic or vegetarian) or religious consideration.
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
What evidence will show that students understand?
Other Evidence:
• Quiz- The food groups and the USDA Food Pyramid
• Academic Prompt• Skill Check- Interpret nutritional
information on food labels
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Other Evidence
Informal Observations/discussions During work on the performance tasks and the camp and the camp menu project.
Student Self-Assessment and Reflection:1.Self-assess brochure, You Are What You Eat.2.Self-assess the camp menu, Chow Down.3.Reflect on the extent to which you eat healthy at the
end of the unit (compared to the beginning).
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
How can schools and districts promote instructional practices that
reinforce the engagement, achievement, and understanding of
all learners?
Essential Question Three
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. Identify Desired Results
What is it that I want the students to understand and know and be able to do?
2. Determine Acceptable Evidence
How will I know that they know what I want them to know?
3. Plan Learning Experiences
What do I need to do in the classroom to prepare them for the assessment?
The Three Stages of Backward Design
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Stage 3
Stage 1- Desired ResultsEstablished Goals: GUnderstandings: U Students will understand that…
Essential Questions: Q
Students will know… K Students will be able to… S
Stage 2- Assessment EvidencePerformance Tasks: T Other Evidence: OE
Stage 3- Learning PlanLearning Activities: L
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Designing Instructional Activities (I)
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• W• H• E• R• E• T• O
• W=Where are we going? Why are we going there? In what ways will we be evaluated?
• H=How will you hook and engage my interest?• E=How will you equip me for success?• R=How will you help me revise, rethink, refine, and revisit what
I am learning?• E=How will I self-evaluate and self-express?• T=How will you tailor your instruction to meet my individual
needs and strengths?• O=How will you organize your teaching to maximize
understanding for all students?
Designing Instructional Activities to Promote Understanding (II)
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Articulation of Goals: Where are we going in this unit or course? What are our goals and standards? What resources and learning experiences will help us achieve them?
• Communication of Expectations: What is expected of students? What are the key assignments and assessments? How will students demonstrate understanding? What criteria and performance standards will be used for assessment?
• Establishment of Relevance and Value: Why is this worth learning? How will this benefit students now and in the future?
• Diagnosis: From where are students coming? What prior knowledge, interests, learning styles, and talents do they bring? What misconceptions may exist that must be addressed?
“W” Essential Questions
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Odd facts, anomalies, counterintuitive examples• Provocative entry questions• Mysteries and engaging anecdotes or stories• Challenges• Student-friendly problems and issues• Experiments and predictions of outcomes• Role-plays and simulations activities• Sharing personal experiences• Allowing students choices and options• Establishing emotional connections• Humor
“H” Strategies
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Experiential and Inductive Learning:What experiential or inductive learning will help students to explore the big ideas and essential questions?
• Direct Instruction: What information or skills need to be taught explicitly to equip students for successful achievement of desired results?
• Homework and Other Out-of-Class Experiences: What homework and other out-of-class experiences are needed to equip students to achieve desired results and complete expected performances?
“E” Essential Questions
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Rethink:What big ideas do we want students to rethink? How will your design challenge students to revisit important ideas?
• Revise or Refine: What skills need to be practiced or rehearsed? How might student products and performances be improved?
• Reflect: How will you encourage students to reflect on their learning experiences and growing understanding? How will you help them to become more meta-cognitive?
“R” Essential Questions
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• What do you really understand about …….?• What questions and uncertainties do you still have?• What was most and least effective in ….?• How could you improve …..?• How would you describe your strengths and needs in…?• What would you do differently next time?• What grade or score do you deserve? Why?• How does what you’ve learned connect to other learnings?• How have you changed your thinking?• How does what you’ve learned related to your present and future?• What follow-up work is needed?
Sample “E” Questions
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Content: How will you accommodate different knowledge and skill levels? How will you address a variety of learning modalities and preferences? How will you use a range of resource materials?
• Process: How will you vary individual and group work? How will you accommodate different learning style preferences and readiness levels?
• Product: To what extent will you allow students choices in products for activities and assignments? How will you allow students choices for demonstrating significant understandings?
“T” Essential Questions
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Conceptual Organization Along a Developmental Continuum: How will you help students to move from initial concrete experience toward growing levels of conceptual understanding and independent application?
• Coverage: What aspects of your unit or program are most appropriately and effectively addressed in linear, teacher-directed, or didactic fashion?
• “Uncoverage”: What is most appropriately and effectively “uncovered” in an inductive, inquiry-oriented experiential manner?
“O” Essential Questions
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Learning Experience1. Begin with an entry question (Can the foods you eat cause zits?) to hook students into considering the effects of nutrition on their lives. M H2. Introduce the essential questions and discuss the culminating unit performance tasks (Chow Down and Eating
Action Plan). M W3. Note: Key vocabulary terms are introduced as needed by the various learning activities and performance tasks.
Students read and discuss relevant selections from the Health textbook to support the learning activities and tasks. As an on-going activity students keep a chart of their daily eating and drinking for later review and evaluation. A E
4. Present concept attainment lesson on the food groups. Then, have students practice categorizing pictures of foods accordingly. M E
5. Introduce the Food Pyramid and identify foods in each group. Students work in groups to develop a poster of the Food Pyramid containing cut-out pictures of foods in each group. Display the posters in the classroom or hallway. A E
6. Give quiz on the Food groups and Food Pyramid (matching format). E E7. Review and discuss the nutrition brochure from the USDA. Discussion question: Must everyone follow the
same diet in order to be healthy? A M R8. Working in cooperative groups, students analyze a hypothetical family*s diet (deliberately unbalanced) and
make recommendations for improved nutrition. Teacher observes and coaches students as they work. M T E29. Have groups share their diet analyses and discuss as a class. M E, E2
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
Learning Experience (Continued)10. Each student designs an illustrated nutrition brochure to teach younger children about the importance of good
nutrition for healthy living and the problems associated with poor eating. This activity is completed outside of class. M T E, T
11. Show and discuss the video, Nutrition and You. Discuss the health problems that result from poor nutrition. A R, E-212. Students listen to, and question, a guest speaker (nutritionist from the local hospital) about health problems caused
by poor nutrition. A E13. Students respond to written prompt: Describe two health problems that could arise as a result of poor nutrition and
explain what changes in eating could help to avoid them. (These are collected and graded by teacher.) A E14. Teacher models how to read and interpret food label information on nutritional values. Then, have students practice
using donated boxes, cans and bottles (empty!). A E-215. Students work independently to develop the 3-day camp menu. T E 16. At the conclusion of the unit, students review their completed daily eating chart and self assess the “healthfulness”
of their eating. Have they noticed changes? Improvements? Do they notice changes in how they feel and/or their appearance? M T E-2 , T
17. Students develop a personal “eating action plan” for healthful eating. These are saved and presented at upcoming student-involved parent conferences. T E-2
18. Conclude the unit with student self evaluation regarding their personal eating habits. Have each student develop a personal action plan for their “healthful eating” goal. M T E-2, T
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. How is W.H.E.R.E.T.O. the “blueprint” for Stage Three learning activities?
2. How would you explain each of the W.H.E.R.E.T.O. elements to a colleague with whom you work?
Activity Seventeen
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
…So what can we conclude about schools that promote various dimensions of engaged student learning that result in understanding, not just knowledge-recall learning?
Some Final Thoughts…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
• Changes in our society necessitating the need to emphasize student engagement.
• The need to emphasize student understanding, not just knowledge-recall learning.
• The power of a core and conceptually-organized curriculum built upon high expectations for all students.
• The necessity of differentiating assessment and instruction.• The power of using research-based instructional practices to
promote student engagement.
We’ve Explored…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
“• We all have a few habits that are neither
helpful nor in line with ‘Best Practice’– For example, many of us too often –
• Confuse the textbook with a valid syllabus based on transfer goals
• Confuse fun activities with learning• “Teach” without checking for understanding
early and often enough• Test what is easier to test and grade rather than
what is most in line with our personal and institutional long-term goals
• We all have a few habits that are neither helpful nor in line with ‘Best Practice’– For example, many of us too often –
• Confuse the textbook with a valid syllabus based on transfer goals
• Confuse fun activities with learning• “Teach” without checking for understanding
early and often enough• Test what is easier to test and grade rather than
what is most in line with our personal and institutional long-term goals
Nothing personal, but…”
– Clear goals and explicit performance requirements– Models and modeling provided – A genuine challenge/problem/question frames work that stretches
you - real, meaningful tasks– Lots of focused practice, feedback, and opportunities to use it built in
- not over-planned and taught– Trial and error, reflection and adjustment are expected, encouraged
and ‘designed in’– The teacher is more of a facilitator, coach– There is a safe, supportive environment for risk-taking, trying out
new learning– ‘Designed in’ variety, choice, and attention to difference– A good mix of collaboration/solo work– Immersion, active, hands-on - and earlier than typically done
– Clear goals and explicit performance requirements– Models and modeling provided – A genuine challenge/problem/question frames work that stretches
you - real, meaningful tasks– Lots of focused practice, feedback, and opportunities to use it built in
- not over-planned and taught– Trial and error, reflection and adjustment are expected, encouraged
and ‘designed in’– The teacher is more of a facilitator, coach– There is a safe, supportive environment for risk-taking, trying out
new learning– ‘Designed in’ variety, choice, and attention to difference– A good mix of collaboration/solo work– Immersion, active, hands-on - and earlier than typically done
Nothing personal: “Best design” characteristics (from 8000+ educators)…”
• A commitment to continuous progress
• Involvement of all stakeholders in decision-making and problem-solving
• Built on a community of inquiry and learning
• Ongoing use of collaborative processes, including study groups, inquiry teams, and action research cohorts.
One Last Note About the Learning Organization…
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School
1. As you reflect back on the training, what do you consider to be the “big ideas” of UBD?
2. What are some possible next steps for implementing what you have learned?
Activity
Priscilla Ruiz de Vergara, M.Ed Altamira International School