NORTH COLONIE CENTRAL SCHOOLS

LATHAM, NEW YORK

Study Group Plan: Understanding by Design

Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

Today - Introduction – Overview

Today we will focus on a stage UbD activity to hopefully engage us in

the process.

Think generically in groups of 4 and consider:

• The quotes
• Meaning of understanding
• Exemplary learning design
• Share out
• What are the implications for each of us at our grade levels and
content areas? Where are we currently “hitting the mark?” What
are we missing? What could we be doing differently or better?

Day 2 - Stage 1 Identify Desired Results – Chapters 3 – 6 – Participants will work in

K- 12 content area groups.

Focusing questions:
In your area:
1. What are worthy and appropriate results?
2. What is the key desired learning?
3. What should students come away understanding, knowing and able to
do?
4. What big ideas can frame all these objectives?

Sub questions:
• What are sources of big ideas?
• How will you prioritize content?
• What is the deal with transferability?
• Are the Six Facets of Understanding helpful in planning for deep
understanding? If so, in what ways?
• Can essential question facilitate deeper understanding and inquiry? How
are they different from behavioral objectives?
• How are strong essential questions generated? When would you use
overachieving EQs, topical EQs?
• What is understanding? What does it mean in your content are? Grade
level?

In summary:
• So why should we/shouldn’t we be designing curriculum this way?
• What will be different about the design? Process? Will it be better?
Why?
Day 3 - Stage 2 Assessment Chapters 7 & 8
Stage 3 Planning for Learning Chapters 9 & 10

Key Questions:
1. What is evidence of desired results in your area?

2. In particular, in your area, what is evidence of a desired

understanding?

Sub questions:
• What assessments work best for different tasks?
• How would this impact assessment as it is currently done?

3. As a result of UbD as the design process, how would teaching and

learning be different?

Day 4 - Summary & Next Steps

What common threads have emerged regarding:

1. desired results?
2. assessment evidence?
3. learning experiences and instruction?

What professional development is needed for you and for staff?

What lingering concerns and questions do you still have?

What are the implementation expectations?

10/9/09