Chapter 5: Understanding

by Design (UbD)
A Curriculum Model
Discussant: Diana Rose Mendizabal Hamor
 “Understanding
by design is teaching
for understanding”
 Jay McTighe Grant Wiggins

Advocates of
the Curriculum
Model in their
book,
“Understandin
g by Design
(2005)
 The 3 Elements/ Stages of UbD
Stage 1 has something to do with result/
desire outcomes
Result and desired outcomes are what students
should be able to know and do at the end of the
course unit.

Stage 2 is on assessment
Assessment refers to the acceptable evidence
that the desired goal has been attained.

Stage 3
Spells out details of the instructional activities
that students will go through to attain the
 Additional details on the 3 Stages
Stage 1: (Set Targets)
A. Intended result / desired outcomes
1. Content Standards - these refer to what
student should know and be able to do.
2. Performance Standards – these refer to the
level of proficiency with which a student can
demonstrate what he/ she know and what he/ she
can do.
B. Essential Understanding
 big and enduring ideas at the heart of the
discipline which we want children to remember
even long after they leave school.
C. Essential Question
 these are open- ended, provocative questions that spark
thinking and inquiry into the essential meaning and
understanding.
B. Curriculum Objectives
 these are expressed in terms of specific knowledge, skills
and values which are expected to be taught and learned.
Stage 2: (Determine evidence of understanding)
 There are 6 facets of understanding.
1.Explain 6. To reflect how the lesson learned
2. Interpret relates to himself/herself.
3. Apply
4. See what she/he learned from various perspective.
 6 facets of Understanding as
Apply
Explain Instructional Tools  Adapt
 Demonstrate, Interpret Propose
Model, Predict, Prove Create Analogies
Invent
, Synthesize Teach Critique
Describe, Predict, Document
 Solve
Prove, Synthesize Evaluate  Produce
Teach Illustrate  Design
Describe Judge
Design Create Metaphors
Exhibit
Instruct
 Perspecti Empathy
ve Assume
Analyze the role
Argue of
Criticize Be like
Infer Consider
Contrast Imagine
Self – Role -play
Knowledge
Be aware of
Realize
Recognize
Reflect
 6 facets of Understanding are concretely illustrated
with a lesson on nutrition, shown below:
 Topic – Nutrition
1. Explanation
 develop a brochure to help younger students understand
what is meant by a balanced diet.
2. Interpretation
 discuss: What does the popularity of fast foods say
about modern life?
3. Application
 Plan a menu for a class party consisting of healthy yet
tasty snacks
4. Perspective
 Conduct research to find out if the Food
Pyramid Guidelines apply in other regions as
Antarctica, Asia, the Middle East and the Impact
of diverse diets on health and longevity.
5. Empathy
 Imagine: How might it feel to live with
dietary restriction due to medical condition.
6. Self – knowledge
 Reflect : To what extent are you a healthy
eater?
Stage 3: ( Plan Instruction)
 This Stage follows the following steps:

APPLY/
EXPLORE FIRM UP DEEPEN
TRANSFE
R
EXPLORE STAGE
 Find out what your student knows and not know about the lesson
FIRM UP STAGE
Affirm the correct concepts or skills that they know.Correct what is
erroneous. Teach what they do not know.
DEEPEN STAGE
 the following strategies suggested by Wiggins and McTighe
(2005) may be a great help:
 What strategies
can help deepen
student thinking?
Suggestion from McTighe and Wiggins:
 Remember wait time I and II: at least 5 seconds of
thinking time after a question and a
response
 Call on students randomly
 Use probes and follow ups: Can you explain? Why?
How do you know?
Ask to “unpack their thinking.”: Describe how you arrived
at your answer.
 Periodically ask for summaries: Could you please
summarize the key points of the lecture, text , the
speaker, and etc.?
 Play the devil’s advocate
 Survey the Class: How many agree with____?
( this idea author’s point of view, conclusion)
 Pose metacognitive /reflective questioning:
How did you come to understand?
 Encourage student questioning
 Use Think-Pair-Share: Allow individual thinking
time and discussion with a partner
and then open up for class
discussion.
Apply/ Transfer
 is the application of concepts, skills and attitudes
 WHERETO FRAMEWORK (J. MCTighe & G. Wiggins.
2005)
W - How will I help learners know WHAT they will be learning?
WHY is this worth learning? WHAT evidence will show their learning?
H - How will I HOOK the learners?
E - How will I EQUIP students to master identified standards?
What learning EXPERIENCE will help deepen understanding?
R - How will I encourage learners to RETHINK previous learning?
How will I encourage ongoing REVISION and REFINEMENT?
E - How will I promote self – EVALUATION and reflection?
T - How will I TAILOR my learning activities to address the
different readiness levels, learning profiles of students?
O - How will the learning experience be ORGANIZED to maximize
engaging and effective learning?