Understanding by Design

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I have been planning with the end in mind for the past couple of years. In my first two years of teaching, I planned the lessons first, then designed the assessments. When we got to the end of a unit, I gave my students the assessment and then heard cries of “I’ve never seen this before!” Some of those cries were the learned response that a test should not be a learning tool but a regurgitation of facts. However, the students were right in some respects. Comparing the assessments and the lessons, and discarding the complaints from students who wanted simple multiple-choice fact regurgitation, I noticed that some of the concepts I felt were important to assess were not brought up during the lessons. It was then that I realized I needed to create my assessment tools first, THEN plan lessons around them.

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I've looked at two approaches to creating our learning environments. Both methods begin the plan with the end goals in mind. Last week I examined the three-column approach from Fink (2003). This week I've examined the method put forth by Wiggins and McTighe in Understanding By Design (UBD) (2005). It is important to examine several planning strategies because they all have pros and cons based on what we need to create our environments. Part of creating a significant learning environment is finding the planning techniques which work best for you and your students and using only what you find valuable.

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Comparing the two planning approaches, I believe the working documents and the 3 column approach from Fink are great for organizing my thoughts and helping me see different dimensions I need to bring into my lessons. It also helps me make my assessments valuable learning tools, not just for content, but for connecting the dots–connecting the prior learning my students bring with them to class to new information. The UBD plan is similar to what I already do to plan for my students. I do find it valuable, but it does not bring much new to my planning process. What I did find helpful was the WHERETO elements in instructional planning. WHERETO is an acronym that stands for: Where and Why, Hook and Hold, Equip, Rethink, Reflect and Revise, Evaluate, Tailored, and Organized. I've included a chart below to explain each part of the acronym and I've coded items in "Stage 3" in the plan below. I feel coding items with the levels in this acronym helps me to assess whether I've addressed everything my learners need when planning out my lessons.

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For a deeper understanding of the difference in the plans, compare and contrast the plan below with my three-column plan based on the same instructional unit. I've included components important to my innovation plan, interactive lessons, and group discourse, in both plan designs.

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