Heather Sanderson
Thoughts on My Understanding by Design Curriculum
Eastern Connecticut State University
May 4, 2019
I have just finished the implementation of my Understanding by Design plate tectonics curriculum in my 7th grade science class. The understanding by design curriculum is designed to first “identify desired results”, then “determine acceptable evidence”, and finally “plan learning experiences and instruction” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005p. 18). Before I even heard of Understanding by Design I would always start a unit by reviewing the standards and deciding what I wanted my students to learn, I would create the unit assessment, then plan the activities. Learning about Understanding by Design and completing the template helped me expand upon what I was already doing and helped me organize the learning activities with specific, purposeful learning goals to ensure the student’s understanding of plate tectonics was complete. By complete understanding I mean that my students were able to take what they learned and “use it creatively, flexibly, fluently, in different settings or problems…” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 40).
The way my students were able to show their understanding was by completing two different projects I assignment. The first was to create a 3-D model of a landform made through plate tectonics that also showed the process that formed it. This project was done independently and entirely built at home. The second project was building an earthquake resistant structure and this project was done at school in small groups of 2-3 students. The students responded very positively to both of these projects and I was proud of their level of understanding and creativity on both. I would categorize both of these projects as an experiential learning activity because they involved an “inquiry-based, hands-on approach” (Djonko-Moore, Lenard, Holifield, Bailey, Almughyirah, 2018). In a study done on experiential learning in a 7th grade middle school where students were given a 3 hour block each day for work on a problem based project a student in the study stated “You learn a lot more because you get to learn from your mistakes that you make, unlike in other class where they’re walking you step-by-step through what you have to do” (Scogin, Kruger, Jekkals, & Steinfeldt, 2017). I feel my students also appreciated the freedom to learn from their mistakes on their projects I implemented in my curriculum.
The reaction of my students to the assessments in my curriculum was also positive. I started with a pretest a few days into the unit that was open note so I could determine where the students were and for them to see where they were starting from. The open note part makes the students more at ease, even though they did very poorly on it; they did not complain because I made it clear to them this is just the starting point. I then gave many formative assessments through iPad game apps such as Quizlet, Kahoot, and Quizizz throughout the unit which they love and do not realize that they were being assessed. I ended the unit with a summative assessment that the students felt fully prepared for.
While this Understanding by Design Unit was a success there are still many revisions I would like to make.
1. While I let my students explore PhET’s plate tectonics simulation, I did not design a formal activity worksheet to go along with this activity. I have designed other worksheets to go with simulations on PhET’s site before and have found that the students really enjoy and learned from having a guided activity to accompany the simulation.
2. In my earth’s geologic timeline activity the 59 events was just too many. Next year I would like to shorten the number to around 35 events and have the students gain a deeper understanding of each event.
3. In my earthquake house building project the students have a budget of $10,000. I stress to the students that the money will go fast, but many still overspend the first few days and run out of money. The groups that run out of money before finishing their build have very unsteady top stories on their building. I would like to make a place in their engineering journals where they write what they spend at the end of each day and take a minute at the end of class for them to calculate how much money they have left.
4. I would like to make my own videos explaining content instead of just using Khan Academy’s to better personalize the instruction to my class.
5. I would like to find and post more videos to supplement my lessons so that my students have “the ability to review parts that are misunderstood, which need further reinforcement, and/or those parts that are of particular interest” (User Generated Education, N.D.). There is so much content available and I would like to make use of it by providing links to my students on Google Classroom.
6. I would like to include a verbal presentation to the 3-D Plate Tectonics Model project. An important part of experiential learning is to “allow one’s unique learning experiences to be communicated with others” (Kuk, & Holst, 2018). While the students had all of their projects displayed and we did a gallery walk to make constructive comments, they did not have the opportunity to explain their creations. The students were so proud of their projects I think a verbal presentation would have been a great addition to make this experience more memorable.
7. This unit was incredibly vocabulary heavy. I could have used the data from my formative app games to provide the students who did poorly with more practice games on Google Classroom. Google Classroom lets me pick which students I would like to send certain assignments to and I need to use this feature more.
8. I found a scavenger hunt on PBS’s Making North America Teacher Resource site that I would like to try with my students next year.
9. I intend to do more exit surveys the next time I teach plate tectonics to improve my curriculum even further.
10. I recently read an article titled Blended 2.0 Shifts Learning that really opened my eyes to what the future of 1:1 devices could look like in my classroom. In the article it describes teachers designing web based “playlists” that are “an online menu of different digital resources and assignments” that students “can choose from to meet specific learning objectives” (Daddona, 2016). I would like to move towards personalized instruction where students can have more choice and move at their own pace until all content is mastered. My plate tectonics unit has such an amazing amount of online resources available that it would be a perfect pilot unit for me to test a personalized curriculum.
References
Daddona, P. Blended 2.0 Shifts Learning. Retrieved from https://nlg- consulting.net/2016/08/22/blended-2-0-shifts-learning-in-schools/
Djonko-Moore, C. M., Leonard, J., Holifield, Q., Bailey, E. B., & Almughyirah, S. M. (2018). Using Culturally Relevant Experiential Education to Enhance Urban Children’s Knowledge and Engagement in Science. Journal of Experiential Education, 41(2), 137– 153. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053825917742164
Kuk, H.-S., & Holst, J. D. (2018). A Dissection of Experiential Learning Theory: Alternative Approaches to Reflection. Adult Learning, 29(4), 150–157. https://doi- org.ecsu.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/1045159518779138
Scogin, S. C., Kruger, C. J., Jekkals, R. E., & Steinfeldt, C. (2017). Learning by Experience in a Standardized Testing Culture: Investigation of a Middle School Experiential Learning Program. Journal of Experiential Education, 40(1), 39–57. https://doi- org.ecsu.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/1053825916685737
User Generated Education. (N.D.) The Flipped Classroom Model: A Full Picture. Retrieved from https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/the-flipped-classroom-model- a-full-picture/
Wiggins, & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development