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Narrowing the Challenge: Revisiting Understanding by Design

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Title: Narrowing the Challenge: Revisiting Understanding by Design


1
Narrowing the Challenge Revisiting Understanding
by Design
  • Cherie McCollough
  • VaNTH-PER Professional Development
  • June 1, 2004

2
Curriculum Frame
Worth being familiar with
Important to know and do
Enduring understanding
3
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

4
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?

5
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?

6
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?

7
Backwards Design
Identify desired results Determine acceptable
evidence Plan learning experiences and instruction
8
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.

9
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.
10
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.

11
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

12
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.

13
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.

14
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.

15
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.

16
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.
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