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Backward Design
Backward Design
When I embarked on chapter one of Wiggins and McTighe's (2005) Understanding By Design, I felt that the authors were speaking directly to me. They call to mind a teacher who first chooses a topic, a resource, or an activity and then sets out to cause learning and meet standards from there (p. 15). Every time that I entered a new school, that is exactly what I did. I had the pleasure (and challenge) of working in schools with very little prescribed curriculum; instead, I was handed a list of the books traditionally taught in that course and sent on my way. As a result, I found myself floundering to understand what the students would arrive knowing, what they were expected to learn, and why these books had been chosen. Even when I had the opportunity to choose new books, I often fell into this same trap. Now, with time to study and digest the process, I understand Wiggins and McTighe's call clearly: I must begin with what I expect students to understand and do beyond the book. The book should be properly positioned as "a means to an educational end, not an end unto itself" (p. 15). This student and learning-centered approach has the added benefits of pushing back against the unexamined exclusive use of texts from the Eurocentric literary canon and prompting teachers to make diverse texts and ideas central rather than additive (Sleeter, & Carmona, 2016).
Watson and Devereaux's (2022) article on the actions of critical race womanist pedagogues implies this student-centered (and reality-based) approach by centering curricular and pedagogical choices that allow students "to grapple with meaningful themes, concepts, and questions while cultivating the skills needed to act on such knowledge" (p. 21). Here, what students will understand and be able to do is clear, and, as Sleeter and Carmona (2016) recommend, the teacher can then return to map the curriculum against the standards (p. 60). Further, Watson and Devereaux propose that teachers should learn to question standards for "white supremacy, patriarchy, and multiple forms of oppression while thinking creatively about how to remix and disrupt them through thematic-based units that center marginalized perspectives and analyses of social injustice, applications of their knowledge, and ways to create change" (pp. 23-24). Thus, my curriculum writing follows the principles of Backward Design wherein each text and each activity is aimed toward a culturally relevant or decolonizing learning goal.
"This teaching guide will explain the benefits of incorporating backward design. Then it will elaborate on the three stages that backward design encompasses. Finally, an overview of a backward design template is provided with links to blank template pages for convenience." -- Ryan Bowen (2017)
"When teachers talk to each other about the stuff they’re teaching, they often say things like this: 'What novels do you do in 8th grade?'
'Oh that’ll be perfect. I can use this when I teach the American Revolution!'
'I don’t think I can fit that in; we’re doing moon phases next month.' [...]
Instead of starting with a topic, we’d do better if we start with an end goal, and that’s where backward design comes in." --Jennifer Gonzalez (2020)
Project Based Learning
Project Based Learning
I have long heard "project-based learning" as sort of a buzz word in education, and I actually thought that many of the units I had created would qualify as such. Now, having studied project-based learning more in depth, I see how many of my projects were end-of-unit "desserts" rather than the full "meal" themselves. Through my study of culturally relevant and decolonizing theories that approach curriculum as an opportunity for healing through student-centered, authentic work, I see true Project-Based Learning as a strong framework for challenging inequities and disrupting discourses surrounding adolescents and marginalized youth. The following excerpt from my C&T 4145 paper entitled "A Community of Stories: Challenging Discourses of Adolescence through Youth-Centered PBL" served as the rationale for my PBL proposal (included on the Curriculum Examples page) and is included here as a defense for using PBL in general and advanced literature classrooms.
Stanley Richards, the digital curriculum manager for PBL Works, defines Project-Based Learning (PBL) as a method of teaching where an authentic project drives learning, and the teacher takes on the role of a learner and guide to co-create the curriculum alongside the students (Miletto, 2021), rejecting the view of youth as inferior. Trepper, Boardman, and Garcia (2022) further note that PBL allows students to collaborate with peers, engage in authentic learning experiences, and “[grapple] with meaningful challenges through real-world activities” (p. 471). According to the numerous studies they cite, PBL also positively affects academic outcomes and boosts student motivation, self-efficacy, and positive attitudes about learning (pp. 471-42). Further, Duke, Halvorsen, and Strachan (2016) show that students develop literacy more quickly when they are given choices, have the chance to collaborate, and read and write material that is relevant to their lives beyond school (p. 16). For marginalized youth, equity consultant Dinah Becton-Consuegra (2020) deems PBL a “liberatory pedagogy” that combines a belief in excellence and high expectations with active community engagement. By creating reflective classroom spaces, PBL counters the trauma inflicted by policies and practices that put students in conflict with testing and homework (Becton-Consuegra).
"Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge." --PBL Works
"The PBL Simplified Podcast empowers teachers and school leaders with examples from PBL classrooms, leadership inspiration, and practical PBL resources." --MagnifyLearning
Authentic Assessment
Authentic Assessment
Stepping out of my harried role as a classroom teacher allowed me to reflect on my practice much more deeply than I had before. Watson and Devereux (2022) suggest that teachers take part in such reflection on their positions of power and marginalization on an ongoing basis, using it to inform every aspect of teaching from planning to assessment (p. 23). Reflecting through culturally relevant and decolonizing lenses has allowed me to continuously revisit the power dynamic between me and my students: I am not the bestower of knowledge whose job it is to enlighten my students. This mindset necessitates a reevaluation of the purpose of assessment away from a focus on ranking and labeling students with numerical value. According to Gloria Ladson-Billings (2021), assessment shouldn’t be used punitively to catch students, but as a “diagnostic and developmental tool that will tell teachers and schools how to adjust their curriculum and pedagogy” (p. 74). Not only can assessment be used to guide teachers in adjusting their curriculum, but Wiggins and McTighe’s (2005) template for backward design asks teachers to include opportunities for students to reflect on and assess their own learning (p. 22), an iterative process that is inherent in PBL as well.
The collaborative dynamic between teachers and students changes not only the purpose of assessment but the type and format of assessment as well. Scholars, especially those who advocate for PBL, recommend authentic assessments; in Trepper, Boardman, and Garcia’s (2022) study of ten teachers’ reflections on PBL in their ELA classrooms, all ten teachers noted a positive shift in student outcomes, which they attributed to the authentic assessments that were both more dynamic and more relevant to the students’ lives (pp. 476-477). Similarly, Borsheim-Black et al. (2014) advocate for assessments that “position students as agents of change” and allow students to transfer their critical reading to social action (p. 131). This use of literary analysis for real life purposes engages students and highlights the value of critical thinking and reading beyond the classroom (p. 131). Another example of more purposeful and holistic assessments can be seen in a profile for Oakland International High School for newcomers and emergent bilinguals, where students participate in their communities through PBL and submit a yearly portfolio (Bajaj & Suresh, 2018, p. 92). These authentic and holistic assessments place students in realistic roles that allow them to create for an audience while deconstructing the prioritization of “academic writing,” positioning it as just one of many skills that students can develop. Thus, my assessments aim to challenge students with a wider range of skills as they build multiliteracies, selecting and creating audio, visual, written, and multimodal “texts” with real life applications.
A collection of position statements and resources on assessments.
https://ncte.org/blog/category/assessment/
"This resource list will help teachers enhance their skill in assessment in PBL."
https://www.pblworks.org/blog/resource-list-assessment-pbl
Bajaj, & Suresh, S. (2018). The “Warm Embrace” of a Newcomer School for Immigrant & Refugee Youth. Theory into Practice, 57(2), 91–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2018.1425815
Becton-Consuegra, D. (Jan 2020). High-Quality PBL as an Equity Imperative. (n.d.). PBLWorks. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.pblworks.org/blog/high-quality-pbl-equity-imperative
Borsheim‐Black, Carlin, Macaluso, M., and Petrone, R. "Critical Literature Pedagogy." Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 58, no. 2 (2014): 123-133. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jaal.323
Bowen, R. S. (2017). Understanding by Design. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/understanding-by-design/.
Duke, Halvorsen, A.-L., & Strachan, S. L. (2016). Project-based learning not just for STEM anymore. Phi Delta Kappan, 98(1), 14–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721716666047
Gonzalez, J. (2020, Jun 21). Backward Design: The Basics. Cult of Pedagogy. https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/backward-design-basics/
MagnifyLearning (n.d.) PBL Simplified Podcast. Magnify Learning. https://www.magnifylearningin.org/the-pbl-playbook-podcast
Miletto, Steven (Host). (2021, July 19). Stanley Richards - Digital Curriculum Manager at PBL Works - The Effectiveness of PBL within the AP Environment. (395) [Audio Podcast Episode] In Teaching, Learning, Leading K-12. https://www.stevenmiletto.com/stanley-richards-digital-curriculum-manager-at-pbl-works-the-effectiveness-of-pbl-within-the-ap-environment-395/
PBL Works (n.d.). What is PBL? Buck Institute for Education: PBL Works. https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl
Sleeter, & Carmona, J. F. (2016). Un-Standardizing Curriculum: Multicultural Teaching in the Standards-Based Classroom. Second Edition. Multicultural Education Series. In Teachers College Press. Teachers College Press.
Trepper, Boardman, A., & Garcia, A. (2022). Shifting pedagogy, shifting practice: teachers’ perceptions of project-based learning in English language arts. English Teaching : Practice and Critique, 21(4), 469–482. https://doi.org/10.1108/ETPC-12-2021-0150
Watson, & Devereaux, C. A. (2022). Keeping It Relevant: Student-Centered Reflections, Choices, and Actions of Critical Race Womanist Pedagogues. Urban Education (Beverly Hills, Calif.), 57(4), 571–599. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085920979687
Wiggins, & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (Expanded second edition.). Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
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