Deepening Learning With Understanding by Design

TL;DR

Understanding by Design is a curriculum planning method that promotes purposeful teaching, deeper understanding, and student-centered learning.

Transcript

Student: So for the first one, you can write down 7.5 >>Chuck: Prior to UBD, I didn't have as much cohesiveness, I was teaching content, and I was covering material. I would do some fun, exciting labs, and then test. Understanding by Design allows me to be way more purposeful and deliberate about what I want my students to understand, and how am ... Read More

Key Insights

• 👻 UBD promotes purposeful teaching and deliberate assessment, allowing for a more cohesive and meaningful learning experience.
• 😃 The big ideas and essential questions in UBD help students understand important concepts that extend beyond subject-specific knowledge.
• 🧑‍🎓 UBD encourages student engagement and ownership of learning by focusing on understanding rather than simply covering content.
• 🧑‍🎓 By emphasizing real-world applications, UBD prepares students for life beyond the classroom.
• 🧑‍🎓 The role of the teacher shifts to that of a facilitator and guide in UBD, fostering student-centered learning.
• 💯 UBD encourages teachers to create their own units and courses, prioritizing core ideas over strict adherence to standards.
• 🧑‍🎓 Enduring understandings and essential questions help students stay focused and understand the purpose of their assignments and their lives.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the main difference between teaching with UBD and teaching traditionally?

With UBD, teachers focus on the end goal first and then design lessons and assessments to reach that goal. Traditional teaching often focuses on delivering content without a clear purpose.

Q: How does UBD promote student understanding?

UBD encourages teachers to create essential questions that require students to think critically and construct their own knowledge. This fosters a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Q: How does UBD prepare students for the real world?

UBD emphasizes enduring understandings that go beyond specific content areas, such as the importance of understanding humanity through reading and writing memoirs or the unifying and divisive nature of culture.

Q: How does UBD shift the role of the teacher?

In UBD, teachers become facilitators and guides, allowing students to take ownership of their learning. The focus shifts from the teacher being the center of the room to the students teaching themselves.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Understanding by Design (UBD) allows teachers to be more intentional in what they want students to understand and how it will be assessed.

• UBD helps students prepare for the 21st-century by focusing on big ideas and real-world applications.

• UBD emphasizes enduring understandings and essential questions that go beyond content-specific knowledge.