Understanding by Design

Author: Grant P. Wiggins
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 1416600353
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 383

Book Description
What is understanding and how does it differ from knowledge? How can we determine the big ideas worth understanding? Why is understanding an important teaching goal, and how do we know when students have attained it? How can we create a rigorous and engaging curriculum that focuses on understanding and leads to improved student performance in today's high-stakes, standards-based environment? Authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe answer these and many other questions in this second edition of Understanding by Design. Drawing on feedback from thousands of educators around the world who have used the UbD framework since its introduction in 1998, the authors have greatly revised and expanded their original work to guide educators across the K-16 spectrum in the design of curriculum, assessment, and instruction. With an improved UbD Template at its core, the book explains the rationale of backward design and explores in greater depth the meaning of such key ideas as essential questions and transfer tasks. Readers will learn why the familiar coverage- and activity-based approaches to curriculum design fall short, and how a focus on the six facets of understanding can enrich student learning. With an expanded array of practical strategies, tools, and examples from all subject areas, the book demonstrates how the research-based principles of Understanding by Design apply to district frameworks as well as to individual units of curriculum. Combining provocative ideas, thoughtful analysis, and tested approaches, this new edition of Understanding by Design offers teacher-designers a clear path to the creation of curriculum that ensures better learning and a more stimulating experience for students and teachers alike.

The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units

Author: Grant Wiggins
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 1416613307
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 139

Book Description
The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units offers instructional modules on the basic concepts and elements of Understanding by Design (UbD), the "backward design" approach used by thousands of educators to create curriculum units and assessments that focus on developing students' understanding of important ideas. The eight modules are organized around the UbD Template Version 2.0 and feature components similar to what is typically provided in a UbD design workshop, including— * Discussion and explanation of key ideas in the module; * Guiding exercises, worksheets, and design tips; * Examples of unit designs; * Review criteria with prompts for self-assessment; and * A list of resources for further information. This guide is intended for K-16 educators—either individuals or groups—who may have received some training in UbD and want to continue their work independently; those who've read Understanding by Design and want to design curriculum units but have no access to formal training; graduate and undergraduate students in university curriculum courses; and school and district administrators, curriculum directors, and others who facilitate UbD work with staff. Users can go through the modules in sequence or skip around, depending on their previous experience with UbD and their preferred curriculum design style or approach. Unit creation, planning, and adaptation are easier than ever with the accompanying downloadable resources, including the UbD template set up as a fillable PDF form, additional worksheets, examples, and FAQs about the module topics that speak to UbD novices and veterans alike.

Using Understanding by Design in the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Classroom

Author: Amy J. Heineke
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 141662614X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
How can today's teachers, whose classrooms are more culturally and linguistically diverse than ever before, ensure that their students achieve at high levels? How can they design units and lessons that support English learners in language development and content learning—simultaneously? Authors Amy Heineke and Jay McTighe provide the answers by adding a lens on language to the widely used Understanding by Design® framework (UbD® framework) for curriculum design, which emphasizes teaching for understanding, not rote memorization. Readers will learn the components of the UbD framework; the fundamentals of language and language development; how to use diversity as a valuable resource for instruction by gathering information about students’ background knowledge from home, community, and school; how to design units and lessons that integrate language development with content learning in the form of essential knowledge and skills; and how to assess in ways that enable language learners to reveal their academic knowledge. Student profiles, real-life classroom scenarios, and sample units and lessons provide compelling examples of how teachers in all grade levels and content areas use the UbD framework in their culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. Combining these practical examples with findings from an extensive research base, the authors deliver a useful and authoritative guide for reaching the overarching goal: ensuring that all students have equitable access to high-quality curriculum and instruction.

Upgrade Your Teaching

Author: Jay McTighe
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 1416627367
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Book Description
How can educators leverage neuroscience research about how the human brain learns? How can we use this information to improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment so our students achieve deep learning and understanding in all subject areas? Upgrade Your Teaching: Understanding by Design Meets Neuroscience answers these questions by merging insights from neuroscience with Understanding by Design (UbD), the framework used by thousands of educators to craft units of instruction and authentic assessments that emphasize understanding rather than recall. Readers will learn - How the brain processes incoming information and determines what is (or is not) retained as long-term memory; - How brain science reveals factors that influence student motivation and willingness to put forth effort; - How to fully engage all students through relevance and achievable challenge; - How key components of UbD, including backward design, essential questions, and transfer tasks, are supported by research in neuroscience; - Why specific kinds of teaching and assessment strategies are effective in helping students gain the knowledge, skills, and deep understanding they need to succeed in school and beyond; and - How to create a brain-friendly classroom climate that supports lasting learning. Authors Jay McTighe and Judy Willis translate research findings into practical information for everyday use in schools, at all grade levels and in all subject areas. With their guidance, educators at all levels can learn how to design and implement units that empower teachers and students alike to capitalize on the brain's tremendous capacity for learning.

Understanding by Design Handbook

Author: Jay McTighe
Publisher: Assn for Supervision & Curriculum
ISBN: 9780871203403
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 287

Book Description
Grade level: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, p, e, i, s, t.

Essential Questions

Author: Jay McTighe
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 1416615709
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 130

Book Description
What are "essential questions," and how do they differ from other kinds of questions? What's so great about them? Why should you design and use essential questions in your classroom? Essential questions (EQs) help target standards as you organize curriculum content into coherent units that yield focused and thoughtful learning. In the classroom, EQs are used to stimulate students' discussions and promote a deeper understanding of the content. Whether you are an Understanding by Design (UbD) devotee or are searching for ways to address standards—local or Common Core State Standards—in an engaging way, Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins provide practical guidance on how to design, initiate, and embed inquiry-based teaching and learning in your classroom. Offering dozens of examples, the authors explore the usefulness of EQs in all K-12 content areas, including skill-based areas such as math, PE, language instruction, and arts education. As an important element of their backward design approach to designing curriculum, instruction, and assessment, the authors *Give a comprehensive explanation of why EQs are so important; *Explore seven defining characteristics of EQs; *Distinguish between topical and overarching questions and their uses; *Outline the rationale for using EQs as the focal point in creating units of study; and *Show how to create effective EQs, working from sources including standards, desired understandings, and student misconceptions. Using essential questions can be challenging—for both teachers and students—and this book provides guidance through practical and proven processes, as well as suggested "response strategies" to encourage student engagement. Finally, you will learn how to create a culture of inquiry so that all members of the educational community—students, teachers, and administrators—benefit from the increased rigor and deepened understanding that emerge when essential questions become a guiding force for learners of all ages.

Schooling by Design

Author: Grant P. Wiggins
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 1416606556
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 297

Book Description
The authors of Understanding by Design share a compelling strategy for creating schools that truly fulfill the central mission of education: to help students become "thoughtful, productive, and accomplished at worthy tasks."

Schooling by Design

Author: Allison Zmuda
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 1416605789
Category : Curriculum planning
Languages : en
Pages : 366

Book Description
Based on: Schooling by design / Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe.

Understanding by Design Professional Development Workbook

Author: Jay McTighe
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781741016949
Category : Comprehension
Languages : en
Pages : 295

Book Description

Making the Most of Understanding by Design

Author: John L. Brown
Publisher: ASCD
ISBN: 1416601392
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 218

Book Description
Thousands of educators worldwide are already using Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe's Understanding by Design (UbD) as a framework for designing curriculum units, performance assessments, and instruction that lead students to deep understanding of content. This book, based on data gathered from surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions, reflects what educators have learned about effective UbD implementation and explores how schools and districts can leverage UbD principles and strategies to improve student achievement, staff performance, and organizational productivity. Educators who have used the UbD framework for several years in various school settings present advice, strategies, and processes for using Understanding by Design to * Design purposeful, coherent curricula * Deliver instruction that promotes understanding for all * Unpack district standards * Expand assessment repertoires * Create meaningful and effective professional development and teacher-induction programs * Sustain a successful process of continuous improvement and strategic planning. Each chapter concludes with organization-focused assessment questionnaires and related resources that can help you--as an individual or as a member of a study group or action research team--develop a clear, strategic sense of how to make the most of Understanding by Design as a catalyst for real learning, increased student achievement, and school and district renewal. Note: This product listing is for the Adobe Acrobat (PDF) version of the book.