Understanding by Design (UbD), Stage # 2
Learning Objectives
UbD Stage #2, Overview of Determining Acceptable Evidence
For UbD Stage #2, Determine Acceptable Evidence, you must read and review Modules G, J, and M presented in The Understanding by Design Guides to Creating High-Quality Units and Advanced Concepts in Creating and Reviewing Units.
Module G: Determining Evidence of Understanding and Developing Assessment Tasks discusses how to determine valid evidence of your understanding goals and how to develop assessments based upon the six facets of understanding: Explanation, Interpretation, Application, Perspective, Empathy, and Self-Knowledge (Wiggins & McTighe, 2011).
Module J: Identifying Evaluative Criteria for Assessments discusses identifying the most appropriate criteria for assessments which support the course's Desired Results from Stage #1's development. These criteria must support the overall desired results established previously in Stage #1 (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
Module M: Authentic Assessment and Validity discusses how to refine your Stage #2's acceptable evidence by applying GRASPS elements to frame context for each assessment type:
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Quick Reference: Six-Facets of Understanding
The Six-Facets of Understanding are used by educators to ensure that their students truly understand what is taught within a course. They represent different ways of demonstrating understanding of a subject with an insight to ideas and performances of students manifested in various assessment types (Wiggins & McTighe, 2011).
- Explanation- Explain or justify an assessment response.
- Interpretation- Demonstrates that the student is able to encompass as many salient facts and points of view as possible.
- Application- Key performance objectives are conscious and explicit reflection with appropriate reasoning.
- Perspective- Ensures that the student knows the importance or significance of an idea and grasps the importance.
- Empathy- Ensures that the student develops the ability to see the subject's viewpoint in another person's perspective in order to understand the diversity of the subject's application in real-world environments.
- Self-Knowledge- Ensures that the student is deeply and objectively aware of their personal understanding of the subject (Wiggins & McTighe, 2011).
Quick Reference: GRASPS
When constructing your UbD Stage #2's assessments, use GRASPS task design prompts to refine your evaluation methods to ensure your students experience testing mechanisms that engage real-world applications (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
- Goal- This is the goal of the assessment and what the assessment will achieve through the student's completion. Establish the goal, problem, challenge, or obstacle of the task.
For example: Your task is to... - Role- An established role for the student to apply to the assessment. For example, "You are..."
For example: Your job is... - Audience- This is the target audience for the assessment.
For example: Your clients are... - Situation- Sets the context of the assessment with an explanation.
For example: The challenge you find yourself in... - Products or Performances- Clarifies what and why the student will produce for the assessment.
For example: You will create a... in order to... - Standards- Provides the student with a clear explanation of success, such as a grading Rubric or testing score.
For example: Your work will be assessed by... (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012)
UbD Stage #2, Overview of Determine Acceptable Evidence Template
For UbD Stage #2, you will learn how to determine evidence by creating student achievement assessments based upon the six facets of understanding. When creating assessments for your UbD Stage #2 template, the six facets of understanding are covered in the following development sections:
- Performance Tasks
- Other Evidence
- Rubric Assessment
Important Note on Presentation Images
If it is too difficult to read the content example noted in an image, click the UbD Stage #2 Template Upload towards the end of this presentation to view the entire template example in document form.
If it is too difficult to read the content example noted in an image, click the UbD Stage #2 Template Upload towards the end of this presentation to view the entire template example in document form.
Performance Tasks
Performance Tasks are complex performances demonstrating that students grasp course material by demonstrating their capabilities through broad criteria applications organized according to Stage #1 goals. Because Performance Tasks are broad and open-ended, a correlating grading rubric is used to evaluate performance, therefore displaying student evaluative expectations for completing the task. The rubric is designed to work alongside evaluative criteria to ensure students meet requirements necessary for completing the task (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
Performance Tasks are based on Four Types of Criteria:
- Impact- Impact criteria answers whether or not the student clearly understands the subject. Impact answers whether or not the completion of the task-work by the student demonstrates successful and effective performance.
- Content- Content demonstrates the level of sophistication in understanding the subject by the student through knowledgeable application of necessary skills needed to complete the task.
- Quality- How much effort, overall quality, and craftsmanship is evaluated by the quality of their work. Evaluating the Quality of a task is edified by student creativity, effort of work, and simple effective presentation when meeting the task's objective.
- Process- Process refers to the overall quality and appropriateness of meeting a tasks objectives. Procedures, methods, and approaches used by the student are evaluated to judge their performance when accomplishing the task's objective (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
- Desired Results Code: What Transfer and Meaning goals are met by completing this task.
- Performance Task: This is the task itself, designed by using the Four Types of Criteria for defining the Performance Task. The Performance Task definition should be broad in scope to ensure that the student demonstrates effective understanding of established Desired Results.
- Evaluative Criteria: These are the criteria used for evaluating the student's completion of the Performance Task. Evaluative Criteria are defined in a grading Rubric of hierarchical levels of performance. These criteria may be defined by Skill and Knowledge Codes to correlate objective evaluation of the student's performance in meeting the requirements necessary for completing the Performance Task (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
Other Evidence
The Other Evidence section for Stage #2 defines easier assessments used to determine a student's grasp of course content. Examples such as multiple choice quizzes, or short essays demonstrating course content are easy assessments used to evaluate whether or not a student grasps established Desired Results of the course (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
Traditional tests and quizzes based upon selected and constructed responses are used to encourage Transfer of Knowledge, Understanding, and Skills in a more practical manner versus a broad Performance Task. Such assessments can be used to demonstrate different levels of mastery, culminating in a broader application towards completing a larger Performance-based Task (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
Traditional tests and quizzes based upon selected and constructed responses are used to encourage Transfer of Knowledge, Understanding, and Skills in a more practical manner versus a broad Performance Task. Such assessments can be used to demonstrate different levels of mastery, culminating in a broader application towards completing a larger Performance-based Task (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
- Desired Results Code: Defines what Meaning, Skill, Transfer, Knowledge, and Skill goals are met thru accomplishing the assessment.
- Other Evidence: This is the mechanism for achieving a Desired Results Code set. Granted, they all do not have to be achieved at once and are meant to provide different instruction towards subject mastery. Other Evidence assessments should build onto each other, creating an overall achievement to be applied to a broader Performance Task that encompasses ALL Desired Results.
- Other Evidence Evaluative Criteria: This is the method of evaluation of the assessment and should effectively judge the assessment (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
Grading Rubric for Performance Tasks
A Grading Rubric is used to evaluate a broad Performance Task that demonstrates understanding the Desired Results of the course. It is based upon established Criterion so the student knows what is required to complete the Performance Task effectively. Each Criterion has an associated evaluation mechanism identifying levels for achieving the Performance Task, ranging from expert to naive understanding of the Desired Result for the task (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
- Criterion- Criterion for your rubric should be based on the Four Types of Criteria used to define a Performance Task. It is not necessary to use all four types of criteria, but you should select types which are most appropriate for evaluating the Performance Task.
Criterion are used to assess understanding of your course's Desired Result and should be broad in their application. - Identified evaluation of Criterion- Evaluating the criterion for a Performance Task should begin at the expert level and then hierarchically move down to lower levels of understanding the course's Desired Result (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
UbD Stage #2, Template Upload
Here is an example copy of the UbD Stage #2: Determine Acceptable Evidence template for your use. Feel free to download a copy of the document to use as a personal reference for when you are completing the form.
Understanding by Design (UbD) Template, Version 1.1
Last update, November 9, 2016
Stage #2: Determine Acceptable Evidence
Last update, November 9, 2016
Stage #2: Determine Acceptable Evidence
UbD Template Video
This online instructional video is a walk-thru on how to complete the UbD UbD Stage #2: Determine Acceptable Evidence template. It is available for use on YouTube.
UbD Stage #2, Determine Acceptable Evidence Assessment Quiz
References
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2011). The understanding by design guide to creating high-quality units. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2012). The understanding by design guide to advanced concepts in creating and reviewing units. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2012). The understanding by design guide to advanced concepts in creating and reviewing units. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.