Central Focus

The target for student learning that the standards, outcomes, learning objectives, instructional tasks, and assessments within a learning segment are intended to produce. A central focus can be expressed as an understanding, theme, overarching concept, or essential question. Typically, knowledge or skills outcomes would not be a central focus, but are necessary to achieve the central focus.

Having a clear central focus for learning sequences (lessons, mini-lessons, units, etc.) is important for learning. A good central focus includes:

• A focus on multiple dimensions of learning including a combination of concepts, facts, skills, understanding, habits, and/or interpretations (more than one of these). For example, a multi-dimensional focus in math may be "Students ability to use multiplication and division to solve word problems," this is multi-dimensional because it requires students to engage in and use procedural fluency, conceptual understanding and reasoning skills. By comparison, a one dimensional focus may be "Students will know their multiplication table."
• Learning sequences (whether at the lesson, mini-unit/lesson sequence, unit, or course level) should progress towards the central focus. Progressions may go from simple towards complex, from factual knowledge towards application, from single perspectives towards multiple perspectives, etc.

For more on central focuses, see Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design, 2nd Edition (2nd ed.). Alexandra, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.