Understanding by Design

Purposeful thinking creates enhanced and deeper learning for students. Teachers act as facilitators and check for successful meaning-making and transfer by the learner. UbD ensures coherence by the alignment between clear learning objectives, assessments and instructional activities. It is a continuous improvement approach where educators can identify areas of improvement, differentiate to meet diverse needs of students, encourage exploration and make adjustments to enhance teaching. 

Strengths of UbD in Teacher Trainings

• Emphasis on Learning Outcomes: UbD places a strong emphasis on clearly defined learning outcomes. 

  • Identifying relevant content standards or competencies and using them as guides to develop transfer goals and understandings about meaning. The unit should not be planned in one sitting. 

  • Knowledge and skills should logically give the student the tools to learn the meaning or understandings in the unit which will then allow them to transfer these understandings outside the curriculum. Transfer goals should lead to specific long-term accomplishments. 

  • Learners will never need to ask why they need to learn something. They will be able to use their knowledge in real-world situtations without guidance and use good judgement. 

Limitations of UbD in Teacher Trainings

• Backward Design: One of the model's key strengths is its backward design process, starting with the end goals and working backwards helps ensure that all aspects of the curriculum, including assessments and learning activities, are closely aligned with the desired results. 

  • Ideally UbD aligns with every teachers' dream of students transfering their understanding to real world situations. However teacher trainings adhere to district goals centered on academic performance. Though higher order thinking is incorporated, it does not always transfer easily into learning and instruction. Teachers are more concerned about students achieving specific scores rather than having thoughtful answers when students ask about the importance of the instructional material. 

Reference

ASCD. (2015, September 29). 7 key tenets of Understanding by Design® Framework infographic. E-Learning Infographics. https://elearninginfographics.com/7-key-tenets-understanding-design-framework-infographic/#google_vignette 

Bowen, R. S. (2017). Understanding by design. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/understanding-by-design/ 

Poston, L. (n.d.). UBD Stage #1: Defining goals. LTP Creative Design, LLC. https://ltpcreativedesignllc.com/2020/02/21/understanding-by-design-stage-1/