Understanding by Design Self

Learning Packet
Understanding by Design, or UBD, is an educational planning approach.
UbD is an example of backward design, the practice of looking at the
outcomes in order to design curriculum units, performance assessments,
and classroom instruction. UbD focuses on teaching to acheice
understanding. It is advocated by Jay Mc Tighe and Grant Wiggins in
their Understanding by Design (1998) published by the Association for
supervision and Curriculum Development.

This Self Learning Packet has been designed to help you support
yourself in planning a unit with three main things in mind:

A) Essential Questions, Enduring Understanding, Knowledge and Skills.

B) Performance Task at the end of the Unit.

C) Calendaring of the Objectives.

On completion of this Self Learning Packet, you will feel successful

if you are able to:

A) Factually articulate the meanings of the different technical terms

in the UBD Framework including EU, EQ, K, S, GRASPS, and Performance
Task.
B). Identify the above aspects of the Framework on a given ISC.
C). Articulate the flow and buildup of content over the weeks to lead to
the Performance Task in each ISC.

On completion of this packet, you WILL be expected to be able to create

a UBD Unit Plan.
 Task 1 (For deepening your understanding)

Read this 4 page document summarizing Understanding by Design.

As you read the 4 page document, constantly refer to this plan to

see what the theory looks like in application.

This task should take you approximately 45 minutes.

Task 2
Here is the link to the ISC’s at Institute 2016.

Depending on whether you are a secondary or elementary fellow, go

through all the plans that pertain to you.

While you go through these plans think of the following things:

a. Can I identify the EU, EQ, K and S in the plan?
b. What is the buildup of content across the 5 weeks that leads to
the performance task?
c. How can I make connections across content in each week?