Narrowing the Challenge: Revisiting Understanding by Design

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Narrowing the Challenge Revisiting Understanding
by Design

• Cherie McCollough
• VaNTH-PER Professional Development
• June 1, 2004

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Curriculum Frame
Worth being familiar with
Important to know and do
Enduring understanding
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Lets Review 6 Facets of Understanding

• Has Perspective Sees points of view through
  critical eyes and ears sees the big picture
• Can Empathize Finds value in what others might
  find odd, alien, or implausible perceive
  sensitively on the basis of prior direct
  experience
• Has Self-knowledge Perceives the personal style,
  prejudices, projections, and habits of mind that
  both shape and impede ones own understanding.
  One is aware of what one does not understand, of
  why understanding is hard, and of how one comes
  to understand

• Can Explain Provide thorough, supported, and
  justifiable accounts of phenomenon, facts, and
  data
• Can Interpret Tells meaningful stories offers
  apt translations provides a revealing historical
  or personal dimension to ideas and events make
  them personal or accessible through images,
  anecdotes, analogies, and models
• Can Apply Effectively uses and adapts what he or
  she knows in diverse contexts

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Lets Review Four Filters of Understanding

• To what extent does the idea, topic, or process
  represent a big idea having enduring value
  beyond the classroom?
• To what extent does the idea, topic, or process
  lie at the heart of the discipline?
• To what extent does the idea, topic, or process
  require un-coverage?
• To what extent does the idea, topic, or process
  offer potential for engaging students?

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What results am I looking for in determining
understanding?

• What should students know, understand, and be
  able to do?
• What is worthy of understanding?
• What enduring understandings are desired?

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What evidence of understanding will I be looking
for?

• What is the evidence of in-depth understanding as
  opposed to that which is superficial or naive?
• What should teachers look for to determine the
  extent of student understanding?
• What kinds of assessment evidence will anchor a
  curricular unit, guiding instruction?

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Backwards Design
Identify desired results Determine acceptable
evidence Plan learning experiences and instruction
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More Review Overarching vs. Topical Questions

• There are 2 types of understandings Topical
  understandings involve generalizations derived
  from the specific content knowledge skills of
  the unit. Overarching understandings transcend
  the content knowledge of the unit, thus serving
  as bridges to other units courses
• A cycle should focus on a small number of
  transferable big ideas (overarching
  understandings)
• Enduring understandings of both kinds are best
  stated as generalizations or propositions
• Although abstract, the targeted understandings
  must be stated unambiguously as specific
  abstractions
• Overarching understandings typically focus on
  broader conceptual relationships than do topical
  understandings
• See pages 115 117.

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Okayso how do I narrow my topic? Uncoverage vs.
coverage.
Uncoverage Coverage
The text is the resource for independently designed course of study with specific purposes, based on standards. The text is the syllabus no explicit purpose exists beyond marching through the text.
The purposes imply various inquiries that culminate in valid and effective performance assessments of understanding. Assessment involves only tests of knowledge and skill from the content of the textbook.
The text is used t help explore big ideas and overarching essential questions. The students job is to know what is in the text no overarching questions exist.
Sections of the text are read in an order that supports overarching purposes. The text is read in page order/
The textbook is one resource among many it only summarizes important ideas or inferences. Primary-source and other secondary-source materials are not used.
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Coverage is a sad irony.

• Without guiding questions, ideas, and methods
  that are meant to inform learning, students are
  left to guess about what is most important and
  what will be tested.
• I would like to go into greater depth, but I
  have to cover the content.
• Coverage works under the false logic that by
  confusing correlation with causality that
  short-answer test results correlate with
  important performance. Multiple choice answers
  may correlate with more genuine abilities and
  performance, yet mastery of such tests items does
  not cause achievement.
• Complete pages 193 as a group discussion.
• Complete page 195 197 individually.

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Narrowing the Challenge Looking at Design
Standards

• In judging unit designs, McTighe and Wiggins
  suggest looking at three stages
• 1. Identify Desired Standards
• Asks questions regarding targeted understandings.
• 2. Determine Acceptable Evidence
• Asks questions regarding assessments.
• 3. Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
• Asks questions from the students perspective.
• Page 249 Teachers individually answer questions

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Stage 1 Identify Desired Results

• Is the proposed understanding truly enduring a
  big idea or core process at the heart of the
  discipline?
• Key indicators of enduring understanding
• Is the proposed target a specific matter of
  understanding?
• Key indicators that a targeted understanding is
  not specific enough.
• Is the unit focused on important and engaging
  questions?
• Complete pages 250 252 with your Challenge One
  questions. Discuss.

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Stage 2 Determining Acceptable Evidence

• Would the proposed performance task provide a
  valid measure of the targeted understanding?
• Key indicators of valid performance tasks.
• Is the assessment anchored in a performance task
  requiring a meaningful, authentic application of
  understanding?
• Key indicators of an authentic performance
  task.
• Is the proposed assessment evidence sufficient to
  support valid and reliable inferences about
  student understanding?
• Key indicators of insufficient evidence.
• Teachers complete pages 252 255, discuss.

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Stage 3 Planning learning experiences and
instruction

• 1. Do students know what the overall unit goal
  is, what is most important and why, and what the
  performance requirements are, and to what
  criteria or standards will be used to assess
  their work?
• Key Indicators that students are likely or not
  to understand where the unit is headed.

• 2. Are provocative introductory experiences
  provided early in the unit, and is student
  interest like to be held as the unit unfolds?
• Key indicators that the unit has a powerful
  hook, or not, for students and it if holds their
  interests.

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Stage 3 continued

• 3. Are students equipped to demonstrate
  understanding through their culminating
  performances? Are students provided with
  experiences to help them explore key ideas?
• Key Indicators that the unit will adequately,
  or not, equip students.

• 4. Are students provided with opportunities to
  rethink key ideas and revise their work based on
  feedback?
• Key indicators that the unit will require, or
  not, appropriate rethinking, rehearsal, or
  revision.

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Stage 3 continued

• 5. Are students provided with opportunities to
  evaluate their work and consider next steps?
• Key indicators that the unit provides, or not,
  adequate opportunities for self-assessment?

• 6. Is the unit logical and coherent from the
  students perspective?
• Key Indicators that the unit lacks coherence
  from the students perspective.

Teachers complete 257 262. Discuss.