Understanding by Design (UbD) Framework Key Tenets

Understanding by Design (UbD) Framework

• One of the key tenets of the UbD framework is that it is a backward design approach, focusing on understanding and performance.
• Understanding involves the ability to make sense of learning, develop inferences, and make connections between ideas.
• The UbD framework aims to avoid curriculum planning that focuses solely on content coverage and memorization.
• The role of teachers according to the UbD framework is to focus on designing learning experiences that promote understanding and performance.

Three-Stage Design Process

• The three-stage design process in effective curriculum planning according to UbD involves:
  • Stage 1: Identify desired results and understanding goals
  • Stage 2: Determine acceptable evidence of understanding
  • Stage 3: Plan learning experiences and instruction

Learning and Understanding

• Learning is revealed through the ability to transfer knowledge to new situations and apply understanding in different contexts.
• The main focus of the UbD framework is on understanding and performance rather than just content coverage.
• The primary emphasis of Stage 1 in the design process is on identifying desired results and understanding goals.

Curriculum Planning

• The bottom-line goal of education is to develop understanding and the ability to apply knowledge in real-world contexts.
• The UbD framework guides curriculum planning by focusing on understanding and performance rather than just content coverage.
• Stage 1 of backward design focuses on identifying desired results and understanding goals.
• The UbD framework offers a structured approach to curriculum planning that emphasizes understanding and performance.

Alignment and Indicators of Understanding

• Alignment is a critical concept in the UbD framework, ensuring that all components of the curriculum are aligned with desired results.
• The role of essential questions in Stage 1 of backward design is to help identify desired results and understanding goals.
• A summary of the key research that undergirds the UbD framework can be found in the works of Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe.

Stages of Backward Design

• Stage 2 of backward design primarily focuses on determining acceptable evidence of understanding.
• The three stages of backward design help to avoid curriculum planning that focuses solely on content coverage and memorization.

Key Concepts and Roles

• A key concept in the UbD framework is the focus on understanding and performance in curriculum planning.
• A teacher's focus according to the UbD framework is on designing learning experiences that promote understanding and performance.
• Regularly reviewing units and curriculum against design standards helps to ensure alignment and coherence in curriculum planning.

Test your knowledge of the seven key tenets of the UbD framework, which emphasizes purposeful curricular planning, student understanding, and transfer of learning. Explore how understanding is revealed in the context of the UbD framework.