“Understanding by Design”—you may have heard this phrase before. Maybe it was even brought up in your professional development or used by one of your colleagues. But what does it actually mean? And why should it matter to you, as an educator? According to the ASCD, Understanding by Design (abbreviated as UbD) is a “planning process and structure to guide curriculum, assessment, and instruction” which contains two core concepts: In addition to being a common-sense and modern way of structuring curriculum, UbD has a proven track record in improving students’ understanding and achievement. Here are some highlights from recent research: Convinced? Want to learn more about how UbD works? Let’s break down its two main components into greater detail… In order to understand the goals of Understanding by Design, it’s important to understand what is meant by understanding. The ASCD writes that “understanding is revealed when students autonomously make sense of and transfer their learning through authentic performance”—in other words, understanding is demonstrated when students can put course concepts into practice without having to be prompted or otherwise supported by their instructor. This understanding, the ASCD suggests, can be measured in six main ways: in students’ “capacity to explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective, empathize, and self-assess.” In this model, teachers are more than vehicles of content for students to memorize—they are “coaches of understanding” who seek to develop students’ intuitive mastery of course material. Rather than focusing on students’ ability to pass key benchmarks, such as tests or assignments, they work to develop transferable, lifelong skills. UbD teachers know that writing a book report or taking a math test might demonstrate a student’s skill set on a particular day, but the true test of their abilities are the critical reading or logical reasoning skills they will take with them into the rest of their life. What differentiates UbD from other teaching models is the idea of working ‘backwards’ from your goals. For instance, when designing curriculum, you begin with the standards you want instructors to teach, the skills you want students to acquire, and so on. From this point, teachers can structure their units and lessons around these end goals. Essentially, you start with the final destination and build the roadmap to get there. That’s all well and good in theory, but what does UbD look like in practice? Our guide goes into much greater detail, but here are the basics of lesson planning with UbD: What standards will you be teaching? If you’re in the United States, you can input Common Core Standards for your grade level. What (transferable) skills do you want students to gain? What should they be able to demonstrate by the end of the lesson How will students demonstrate their learning? Try to think of a few different exercises. Here’s where you’ll outline all your instruction and assessment activities. They will convey course content to your students for this particular unit or lesson. Think of ways that you’ll adapt course material to different learning styles and individual needs List any additional resources you’ll provide your students to enhance their learning. We hope that this blog post has provided a helpful introduction to the theory and practice of Understanding by Design. Ready to try out UbD for yourself? Check out our free guide to get started!
Why UbD?
1. Teaching and Assessing for Understanding
2. Designing Curriculum ‘Backwards’
Putting UbD into Practice
Begin with standards
Decide on your desired results
Determine your assessment options
Create a learning plan
Differentiation options
Additional resources
Final Thoughts