backward planning process

the three steps in the backward design process, along with key questions to guide your thinking through these steps.

Identify learning goals

• What do you want students to know?

• What do you want students to be able to do?

• Why is this difficult for them to know/do on their own?

Determine acceptable evidence

• How will you know that they got it?

• How will you assess that they got it?

• What counts as understanding in your class? What about in your domain?

Plan learning activities and instruction

• What activities will you use to make sure that they got there?

• How are these activities connected to students’ understanding?

The acronym WHERE can be used as a way to help you plan your specific learning activities.

WHERE:

Where are we headed? -- What are the students’ final performance obligations?

Hook the student -- through engaging and provocative entry points such as challenges, oddities, questions & experiences.

Explore the subject and Enable/Equip the student – Support students’ exploration of big ideas and essential questions that lead them to pursue their own hunches, test ideas and try things out.

Rethink our work and ideas – Guide students in self-assessment and self-adjustment, based on feedback and experiences.

Evaluate results – Reveal what has been understood through final performances and products.