Understanding by Design NESD Model for Curriculum Implementation

Understanding by Design NESD Model for Curriculum Implementation Presented by DI Team March, 2009

What is Understanding by Design (Ub. D)? Unit-planning process n Created by Grant Wiggins and Jay Mc. Tighe n Known as “backwards design” n Begins with the end in mind n Beginning stages of Ub. D n

Basic Stages of Ub. D Stage 1: Identify desired results Ø Ø Curriculum Goals and Learner Outcomes Big Ideas Essential Questions/ Enduring Understandings Know/ Understand/ Do Stage 2: Determine acceptable evidence Ø Formative/Summative Assessments Stage 3: Plan learning experiences and instruction Ø Ø Developing the Learning Plan Consider how to differentiate

n Stages of Backward Design

Curriculum Actualization Ub. D requires teachers to examine curriculum to align the learning plan/assessment with provincial expectations n Ub. D leads students and teachers to higher level of thinking and inquiry n Links assessment directly to learning outcomes n

n Establishing Curricular Priorities

Meeting the Learner Needs Invites us to attend to the child n Allows for scaffolding for students n Clarifies outcomes that all children are expected to learn n Clarifies what students need to understand, know, do n

The How-to’s of Ub. D Categories within the process are most important n Many entry points n Ub. D takes time to do well n Units are often revised as teachers reflect on effectiveness n Process may guided by organizer use n

Big Ideas Invite higher levels of thinking n Requires uncovering throughout the unit n Transfers across grades or subject areas n ‘A big idea is a way of usefully seeing connections, not just another piece of knowledge…. . it is more like a theme than the facts of a story. ’ (Grant Wiggins, 2007)

Essential Questions/Enduring Understandings Stimulates thought, provokes inquiry, and generates questions n Interdisciplinary – invites you to transfer and apply learning n Links to curriculum n

‘They require new thought rather than the mere collection of facts, second-hand opinions, or “cutand-paste” thinking…many of us believe that schools should devote more time to essential questions and less time to Trivial Pursuit. ’ (Jamie Mc. Kenzie, 2008)