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.