Learning @ Hawthorn

Understanding by Design, (UbD), is a curriculum design model. Grant Wiggins and jay McTighe, the authors of UbD offer us a framework for teacher planning of curriculum quite different from the one we know all too well. In the UbD model, teachers design lessons for understanding beginning with what we want students to know and be able to do. From there it proceeds to the evidence we will accept that they have learned it. Along the way we must be clear about what we want students to understand, and what we mean by understanding.

Understanding by Design is not a prescriptive program. Rather than offering a step-by-step guide, it provides a conceptual framework, design process and template, and an accompanying set of design standards. UbD offers no specific curriculum but rather a way to design or redesign any curriculum to make student understanding more likely.

Because it does not compete with other programs; its theory of understanding and the backward design process are compatible with our newly developed grade level maps, found in the Hawthorn Curriculum Guide. Using the grade level maps and the UbD framework, all K-8 science teachers are designers during this year’s science pilot.

Our curriculum review process has changed to keep pace with providing experiences for our students to meet specified purposes and to determine whether students are meeting the goals and standards we have set.

We did not begin our science review process by inviting publishers and vendors in with all of the newest and greatest materials and resources. Instead after completing our grade level maps and UbD trainers, teachers met in grade level teams to design units using the backward mapping model. In these units teachers identified up front desired results - what should students know, understand, and be able to do? The second task was to determine acceptable evidence - how will we know if students have achieved the desired results and met the standards? Teachers at this stage are encouraged to think like an assessor before designing specific units and lesson. When planning to collect evidence of understanding, teachers consider a wide range of assessment methods. Finally, the new resources and materials are reviewed and teachers plan learning experiences and instruction. With clearly identified results and appropriate evidence of understanding in mind, teachers can plan instructional activities that will equip students with the needed knowledge and skills, and look for materials and resources that are best suited to accomplish these goals.

Teaching now becomes a means to an end. Having a clear goal helps us focus our planning and guide purposeful action toward the intended results. With on-going help and support being provided by our UbD trainers during half-day release time each month, all teachers will be better equipped to help our students meet the district mission of, “Learning for All; Whatever It Takes.”