Understanding by Design (UbD), Stage # 3
Learning Objectives
After completing the Stage #3's presentation, you will be able to do the following when creating your UbD course:
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UbD Stage #3, Overview of Plan Learning Experiences
For UbD Stage #3, Plan Learning Experiences, you must read and review Modules K, L, and N presented in The Understanding by Design Guide to Advanced Concepts in Creating and Reviewing Units.
Module K: Refining the Learning Plan in Stage 3 discusses refining your Stage #3 learning plan by using WHERETO elements to reflect the needs of students taking the course. Including WHERETO elements results in a more engaging and effective learning experience for course takers (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
Module L: Sharpening Essential Questions and Understanding discusses how to distinguish between overarching and topical understandings and your essential questions and how to refine your course’s essential questions and understandings. Creating effective essential questions and understanding requires ongoing self-assessment and revision of course material (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
Module N: Differentiating- Tailoring the Learning Plan to the Learners discusses refining your Stage #3 learning plan by using ideas for differentiation to address student needs. An effective course responds to course taker’s needs (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
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UbD Stage #3, Overview of Plan Learning Experiences TemplateFor UbD Stage #3, you will learn how to plan course takers learning experience by refining your course’s plan based upon WHERETO course design elements. When refining your UbD Stage #3 template, WHERETO elements are covered in the following presentation sections:
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Important Note on Presentation Images
If it is too difficult to read the content example noted in an image, click the UbD Stage #3 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 #3 Template Upload towards the end of this presentation to view the entire template example in document form.
"WHERETO" Learning PlanUsing WHERETO design elements ensure that your course’s design targets the desired results established in Stage #1 based upon engaging course takers and ensuring that course content is effective by providing that learning is successful (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
WHERETO is based upon:
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W= WHERE, WHAT
W" refers to WHERE the course is headed in terms of goals and priorities and is often associated with past learning and checks for prior knowledge. Course takers are more likely to focus their efforts when there is a clear learning goal for a course, and when the learning goal is unclear, it is unlikely that course takers will maintain engagement and will not try their best (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
The sooner a course taker understands where a course is headed, relating plans and performance assessments, the more likely the course taker will remain engaged throughout the course’s duration (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
- Goals: State the desired results at the beginning of the course, including essential questions with an associated discussion. Also ask students personal goals for completing the course.
- Relevance: Present the rationale for completing the course, including benefits to the course takers. May also include identifying areas outside of the course where course content is applicable.
- Diagnosis: Prior to starting the course, provide a pretest on content knowledge, and maybe include a diagnostic skills test. Also, create mechanisms to see if there are probably misconceptions regarding the course's content (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
H= HOOK, HOLD
An excellent means to keeping course takers engaged is to use thought-provoking "hooks", such as experiences, problems, issues, and oddities. Such hooks are used to ensure that the course's big idea is interesting, tangible, and important (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
Examples of hooks could be:
Examples of hooks could be:
- Instant immersion questions, problems, challenges, situations, or stories.
- Thought provoking facts, anomalies, or discrepant events.
- Personal or emotional connections.
- Different points of views regarding audience and role-placement of the course taker (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
- HOOK & HOLD: Your hooks to keep course takers must be purposeful and directly related to course material and not merely engage students as an entertainment. The best hooks keep students engaged AND are course focused.
- Technology: What technology is used in class often hooks students interest in a subject, whether it be how course material is presented, or what technology is used by course takers to accomplish course work objectives (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
E= EQUIP, EXPERIENCE, EXPLORE
Equip, experience, and explore is used to develop what learning experiences will engage course takers in making meaning of course big ideas and essential questions. Areas such as learning activities, instruction, and coaching are explored to define what best equips course takers for their assessments and ultimately transfer of course material to real-world environments (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
By using the terms experience and equip, coursework may be planned to underscore the importance of clearly defining meaning based upon Stage #1 and #2 requirements (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
- Experience & Explore- Use this section to create learning activities, guided instruction, and coaching to enable course takers to develop and deepen their understanding of important essential questions and course big ideas. Consider homework and out-of-class experiences that are conducive to this goal (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
R= RETHINK, REVISE
Rethink, revise, and refine defines how course takers are guided to rethink their understanding of a course's big ideas. This section is used for determining how course takers products and performances will improves across the progression of the course and how revision will be reflected in their assessments (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
- Rethink, Revise, and Refine- Use this section to create coursework that promotes rethinking course takers understanding of the course's big idea. Ideas such as shifting perspective, reconsidering key assumptions, drafting and editing presented course content, peer responses to completed course work, and practice sessions should be explored when rethinking, revising, and refining.
- Reflect and Self-Regulate- Use this section to create coursework that encourages course takers to reflect on their learning experience and assessment performance to ensure they they understand the course's big idea. Ideas such as course taker journals on course content, self-assessments, and think aloud discussion are mechanisms to be used when guiding course takers to reflect and self-regulate their work (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012)
E= EVALUATE
The second "E" promotes self-evaluation, as in we need to create coursework that guides course takers towards self-assessment, self-evaluation, and self-adjustment. Ideas to consider are will course takers engage in a final self-evaluation to identify remaining questions and set future goals which point to new learning (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
Formative Feedback- Use this section to create avenues towards self-assessment using formative feedback. Create profiles of course takers, create course-based essays based upon immediate course material, create time-windows for course taker questions during presentation time, or require a self-assessment to be attached to every formal product or performance (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
T= TAILORED
How a course is tailored to reflect individual talents, interests, styles, and needs is addressed by using the "T" element. This element is designed to produce course material that differentiates instruction to accommodate the various developmental needs, learning styles, prior knowledge, and interests of course takers to ensure the learning plan is maximized to engage course takers and is effective for all (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
Content- Use this section to create course content that addresses the diversity of course takers. Differentiation offers a useful framework for tailoring instruction and assessment where appropriate for the individual course taker. This is based upon Readiness, the Learning Profile of each course taker, and their Interests (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
O= ORGANIZED
The "O" element is used to define the level of organization for a course to ensure it is optimally designed to promote deep understanding as opposed to superficial coverage. Organizing a course so that it sequences the learning experience to best develop and deepen course taker understanding in order to promote engagement and effectiveness of teaching (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
- Organized to Develop Habits of Mind- Use this section to promote Habits of Mind to ensure course takers grow as student learners.
- Organized to Develop Technology Skills- Use this section to define what technologies will be used to assist course taker growth as learners.
- Organized to Use Technology to Analyze Data- Use this section to define what technology will be used to create assessments for course takers (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).
UbD Stage #3, Template Upload
Here is an example copy of the UbD Stage #3: Plan Learning Experiences 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 1.2
Last update, November 23, 2016
Stage #3: Plan Learning Experiences
Last update, November 23, 2016
Stage #3: Plan Learning Experiences
UbD Stage #3, Plan Learning Experiences Assessment Quiz
References
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2012). The understanding by design guide to advanced concepts in creating and reviewing units. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.