Understanding by Design

1. Understanding by Design A Model for Designing Brain-Friendly Curricula and Assessments that Teach for Understanding and Prepare Students for 21st Century Success Cooperstown CSD January, 2012 Teacher87_99@yahoo.com

2. ELA/Literacy Shift 1: Balancing Informational and Literary Text

3. ELA/Literacy Shift 2: 6-12 Knowledge in the Disciplines

4. ELA/Literacy Shift 3: Staircase of Complexity

5. ELA/Literacy Shift 4: Text Based Answers

6. ELA/Literacy Shift 5: Writing from Sources

7. ELA/Literacy Shift 6: Academic Vocabulary

8. Mathematics Shift 1: Focus

9. Priorities in Math 9

10. Mathematics Shift 2: Coherence

11. Mathematics Shift 3: Fluency

12. Key Fluencies 12

13. Mathematics Shift 4: Deep Understanding

14. Mathematics Shift 5: Application

15. Mathematics Shift 6: Dual Intensity

16. Essential Questions • What is understanding? • How can one design coherent, brain-friendly instruction and assessments that bring life to the Standards and 21st Century Skills? • How can I design essential questions to clearly communicate my expectations to students?

17. THE BACKWARD DESIGN PROCESS “Teachers are designers. An essential act of our profession is the design of curriculum and learning experiences to meet specified purposes.” • Wiggins & McTighe

18. Retention and Method of Teaching Planning, Teaching, and Assessing with the Brain in Mind

19. Taken from Wiggins and McTighe

21. Apple Vignette Design Weaknesses • No real depth • Hands-on rather than minds-on • No clear priorities • Students’ role is participation w/o having to demonstrate understanding • Not standards-based

22. Chemistry Vignette Design Weaknesses • Does not prioritize concepts • Does not foster student understanding • Takes the joy out of learning • Evidence that students understand is not present

23. Designing Assessments Around Targeted Goals and Standards(Stages of Backward Design) • STAGE ONE: Identify Desired Results • STAGE TWO: Determine Acceptable Evidence • STAGE THREE: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

24. STAGE ONE: IDENTIFY DESIRED RESULTS • Considerations: • What are the desired understandings you seek? • What knowledge is worth understanding? • Enduring • At the heart of the discipline (standards/blueprint) • Needing uncoverage • Potentially engaging • Communicate desired results through essential questions

25. Uncovering Misconceptions

26. STAGE ONE cont... • Essential Questions--questions that guide our teaching and bring life to the key ideas and/or performance indicators that define our curricula.

27. Student-friendly language Broad and organizational Reflect conceptual priorities Each is distinct and substantial Are not repetitious Realistic given time allocated Logical sequence Posted in classroom Promote student engagement ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS CRITERIA

28. Essential Questions continued • Essential questions tell what students should learn from what they are doing. • Essential questions tell why learning activities are important. • Essential questions take thinking to the level of conceptual understanding which helps students build knowledge for transfer of learning. • Essential questions require more thought and content area understanding on the part of a teacher than writing questions directed to specific facts.

30. STAGE TWO: DETERMINE ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE • What will we accept as evidence of understanding and competency • Consider the various assessments needed to document that desired learning has occurred • Utilize a wide range of assessments • Include formative and summative types • Traditional assessments imperative • Consider self and peer assessments

31. EXPLANATION INTERPRETATION APPLICATION PERSPECTIVE EMPATHY SELF-KNOWLEDGE KNOWLEDGE COMPREHENSION APPLICATION ANALYSIS SYNTHESIS EVALUATION SIX FACETS OFUNDERSTANDING BLOOM’S TAXONOMY

32. FACET ONE: EXPLANATION • Explain, justify, generalize, support, verify, and substantiate • “Show your work” • Ex. Problem-based learning • Ex. Hands-on Science

33. FACET TWO: INTERPRETATION • “Interpretations, narratives, and translations that provide meaning.” • Recognize an event’s significance • Reveal an idea’s importance • Ex. An 11th grader explains how Gulliver’s Travels is not only a fairy tale, but a satire on British intellectual life • Ex. Constructivism

34. FACET THREE: APPLICATION • Use knowledge in new situations • Address real life issues • Demonstrate innovation • Ex. A 7th grade math student uses knowledge of statistics to plan out next year’s costs for the school store

35. FACET FOUR: PERSPECTIVE • Critical, insightful points of view • Recognize that answers to questions reflect points of view • Discipline of asking • Taking and defending a position • Ex. A student explains the arguments for and against the Iraq War

36. FACET FIVE: EMPATHY • Understand someone else’s feelings and opinions • Walk in something else’s shoes • Use imagination to see/feel as others do • Ex. A student writes a paper on what her day would be like were she a hawk

37. FACET SIX: SELF-KNOWLEDGE • Metacognition • Wisdom to know one’s ignorance and one’s thoughts and actions • Ex. Self-reflection • Ex. Self-evaluation

38. Carousel Activity • Consider the facets of understanding and in your group, come up with an example of an assessment that measure understanding at the given facet level.

39. CONTINUUM OF ASSESSMENTS TOOLS • Informal checks for understanding • Observation/dialogue • Quiz/test • Academic prompt • Performance task/project

40. Stage three occurs only after the desired results and assessments are identified Questions to consider: What knowledge and skills will be needed for students to do assessments effectively? What activities will give students the knowledge and skills needed? What materials and resources will be utilized? Is the overall design coherent and effective? STAGE THREE: PLAN LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND INSTRUCTION

41. W--Ask students where is unit going? H--Hook and hold attention E--Equip students, explore issues, experience ideas R--Provide opportunities to rethink and revise E--Students exhibit their understanding and evaluate their work PLANNING INSTRUCTION--”WHERE”