You now have a basic understanding of Backwards Design. Let's look at it specifically at CTE and Business & Marketing Education. Below are explanations of each Stage and Category. Following that section are additional links to the Unit Plan template that we will be using and additional examples.
The following information is adapted from Wiggins, Grant P & McTighe, J. (2011). Understanding by design guide to creating high-quality units. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
(G) Established Goals: These will usually be your identified National and State Standards and/or Tasks.
Goals can be thought of as broader than standards and objectives. They usually aren't measurable or only minimally measurable (Mueller, 2018). Often National and State Education Standards are written as Goals.
(T) Transfer: Students will be able to independently use their learning to… or Students will be able to (SWBAT)...
The Transfer section of the UbD is where you list your written unit or lesson plan Standards and/or Objectives. So, what is the difference between a Standard and an Objective when relating it to a unit or lesson plan? For this class, a Standard is broader than an Objective, and is also measurable. Standards usually are reserved for unit plans, while Objectives are generally used for individual lesson plans. However, it may be appropriate to put both on the unit plan. Here Standards and Objectives are written with action verbs. Click here to read more about writing Standards and Objectives.
(MU) Meaning - Understanding: Students will understand that…
These are the big ideas and specific understandings that students will have when they completed the lesson or unit. They are usually not written with an action verb.
(MEQ) Meaning - Essential Questions: What are the main questions that you will use to foster understanding and inquiry? They are usually framed around the unit or lesson. These are questions you can refer to often to keep focus on the unit or lesson. Students should be able to answer these questions at the end of the unit or lesson. Typically, there are 2 - 5 questions.
(AK) Acquisition - Students will know...
This is a short list of the key knowledge that students will acquire from the lesson or unit. These can be specific facts, ideas, terms, etc.
(AS) Acquisition - Students will be skilled at ...
This is a short list of the key skills that students will acquire from the lesson or unit. This differs from (AK) in that students will be able to "do this" when they are done, not just "know this."
(EC) Evaluative Criteria: This section refers to the type of criteria the students will be evaluated on. Think, "How will performance be evaluated?" This is not the task or assessment itself, but what criteria will be used to determine an acceptable level of understanding. These could be things like: complete, accurate, effective use, insightful, well written, accuracy, clear, quality work, concise, effective, etc.
(AEPT) Assessment Evidence - Performance Task(s): What authentic performance task(s) or assessments will be used for students to demonstrate an understanding of the content or that they have attained the goals and objectives. These are typically large assessments to gauge the student's knowledge, skills, understandings of the various concepts found in Stage 1.
(AEOE) Assessment Evidence - Other Evidence: List here other types of evidence that will show student's achievement of the desired results. This includes specific lesson assessments, quizzes, tests, homework, etc. This is a good place to include formative and self-assessments, including reflections.
(LP) Learning Plan - Summary of Key Learning Events & Instruction: This section includes individual learning activities and instructional strategies that will be used during the unit. Include lectures, discussions, videos, problem-solving sessions, group work, etc. What are the learning activities you plan to include in the lessons you write for this unit?
This Stage is not a repeat of specific lesson plans. What are the key activities that students will participate in to meet the Learning Standards and Objectives and answer the Essential Questions? These will be the activities you use to develop your lesson plans under the 5Es (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate). Follow this link for a brief explanation of the 5E Model.
([Leslie University]. (n.d.). Empowering students: The 5E model explained. Retrieve from https://lesley.edu/article/empowering-students-the-5e-model-explained)
What resources did you use to develop the unit? This is important information for 2 reasons.
You may need to refer back to something for clarification, additional ideas, etc.
You never want to plagarize materials. While teachers are usually very eager to share ideas, you should always give someone credit for their work.
Use APA formatting. Just putting a URLs is not acceptable. Include as much information as possible - Name of author, date, name of lesson/information, where it was retrieved.
Template for CTE and Business & Marketing Ed Unit Plan - Use the Template to develop your Unit Plan
Use this template when designing your own Unit Plan. Remember to delete the Red Descriptions - you can change the font, size of the font, and color to make it easier to read.
Additional Information to check out with Examples
A link to the blank backward design template is provided here, along with other relevant and helpful resources (https://jaymctighe.com/resources/), and it is referred to as UbD Template 2.0. The older version (version 1.0) can also be downloaded at that site as well as other resources relevant to Understanding by Design.
Examples of Unit Plans - https://www.learningpersonalized.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/UbD-Unit-Samples-DG.pdf
References
Mueller, J. (2018). Authentic assessment toolbox [Website]. Retrieved from http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/index.htm
Wiggins, Grant, and McTighe, Jay. (1998). Backward Design. In Understanding by Design (pp. 13-34). ASCD.