Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe)

I had some pretty amazing professors at Thiel College. One of the theories that has really stuck with me is the idea of "backward design." For those of you who have not been exposed to this concept, it centers on the idea that lesson planning should begin by identifying the desired results of a unit or topic that you are going to teach. You then work backwards to develop the instruction rather than the traditional way of identifying the topics that need to be covered and then teaching them.

Backward design is divided into four stages:
Stage 1: Identify desired outcomes and results- what is it that you want the students to be able to do once the unit is completed?
Stage 2: Determine what type of assessments are appropriate to measure the outcomes- is there a project or a way for the students to demonstrate their understanding?
Stage 3: Plan lessons and learning experiences that will get the students to those competency levels- what types of interactive lessons will get the students to that higher understanding in order to successfully complete the assessments and reach the desired outcome?

If you think about it, this method makes a very good point. What good is teaching a lesson if there is not a larger purpose that has already been determined?  It was very difficult for me to implement this process at first, but as the year progresses I find myself looking at the big picture now rather than just taking the units lesson by lesson. If I have a bigger goal in mind, then I can make sure that each lesson ties into an aspect of my desired outcome.

If you would like to learn more about it, you can check out the link below. It is an overview of Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins, and it includes examples and templates for doing it yourself. Give it a shot. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. It may be more work than you are used to, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.
Overview of Understanding by Design