Understanding by Design
Encyclopedia
Understanding by Design, or UbD, is a tool utilized for educational planning focused on "teaching for understanding". The emphasis of UbD is on "backward design", the practice of looking at the outcomes in order to design curriculum
units, performance assessments, and classroom instruction
. The UbD framework was designed by nationally recognized educators Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, and published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
. Understanding by Design® is a registered trademark of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ("ASCD") and UbD is a trademark owned by ASCD.
According to Wiggins, "The potential of UbD for curricular improvement has struck a chord in American education. Over 250,000 educators own the book. Over 30,000 Handbooks are in use. More than 150 University education classes use the book as a text."
s, according to UbD proponents, traditionally start curriculum planning with activities and textbooks instead of identifying classroom learning goals and planning towards that goal. In backward design, the teacher starts with classroom outcomes and then plans the curriculum, choosing activities and materials that help determine student ability and foster student learning.
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
units, performance assessments, and classroom instruction
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. The UbD framework was designed by nationally recognized educators Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, and published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, or ASCD, is a membership-based nonprofit organization founded in 1943. It has more than 175,000 members from over 100 countries, including superintendents, principals, teachers, professors of education, and other educators...
. Understanding by Design® is a registered trademark of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ("ASCD") and UbD is a trademark owned by ASCD.
According to Wiggins, "The potential of UbD for curricular improvement has struck a chord in American education. Over 250,000 educators own the book. Over 30,000 Handbooks are in use. More than 150 University education classes use the book as a text."
About
Defined by Wiggins and McTighe, Understanding by Design is a "framework for designing curriculum units, performance assessments, and instruction that lead your students to deep understanding of the content you teach," UbD expands on "six facets of understanding", which include students being able to explain, interpret, apply, have perspective, empathize, and have self-knowledge about a given topic.Backward design
Understanding by Design relies on what Wiggins and McTighe call "backward design" (also known as "backwards planning"). TeacherTeacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s, according to UbD proponents, traditionally start curriculum planning with activities and textbooks instead of identifying classroom learning goals and planning towards that goal. In backward design, the teacher starts with classroom outcomes and then plans the curriculum, choosing activities and materials that help determine student ability and foster student learning.
Teaching for understanding
"Teaching for understanding" is another central premise of Understanding by Design. It should be evident in course design, teacher and student attitudes, and the classroom learning environment. There should be coherent curriculum design and clear distinctions between big ideas and essential questions. Teachers should tell students about big ideas and essential questions, performance requirements, and evaluative criteria at the beginning of the unit or course. Students should be able to describe the goals (big ideas and essential questions) and performance requirements of the unit or course. The learning environment should have high expectations and incentives for all students to come to understand the big ideas and answer the essential questions.Caution on what the book on UbD is not about (Wiggins & Tighe, 2005)
Wiggins and McTighe clarify that:- "It is not a prescriptive program."
- "It is not a philosophy of education, nor does it require a belief in any single pedagogical system or approach."
- "It is focused on the design of curricular units (as opposed to individual lesson plans or broader programs)." The authors have discouraged the application of UbD approach to a system of daily lesson planning although it seems to be a natural way to proceed. In the book, they provided examples on why they discourage it.
- "Although teaching for understanding is a vital aim in schooling, it is just one of the many. There are cases when 'understanding' is neither feasible nor desirable. The developmental level of students will determine the extent to which conceptualization is appropriate; at other times, it will make in-depth understanding a lesser or tangential goal."
- The book is "built upon the conditional premise: IF you wish to develop greater in-depth understanding in your students, then the ideas & processes of understanding by Design apply."
External links
- Understanding by Design website.
- Understanding by Design resources.
- Big Ideas online journal from Grant Wiggins