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Standard 4: A teacher knows the teacher’s content area and how to teach it (Design of
curriculum and instruction.) Candidates demonstrate their ability to plan and design
instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by
drawing upon knowledge of content areas, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as
well as knowledge of learners and the community context. The Candidate
demonstrates the understanding and use of a variety of instructional strategies to
encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their
connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.

Content Area Instruction and Design

The artifact I have selected for this standard is a multimodal, multidisciplinary

theme-based unit on the northern and southern polar lights called, All About the Auroras. This

artifact demonstrates my knowledge of current academic content and showcases the skills

required for curriculum integration of both the Understanding by Design (UbD) and Universal

Design for Learning (UDL) frameworks. The All About the Auroras Unit utilizes a variety of

sources, media, and instructional techniques throughout several lessons that cover standards in

reading, writing, science, social studies, and art. Evidence of student learning is measured

through various differentiated formative, summative, and performance assessments embedded

throughout the unit.

As described by Wiggins and McTighe (2005), Understanding by Design (UbD) is a

conceptual framework that offers teachers a means “to design or redesign any curriculum to

make student understanding (and desired results generally) more likely” (p. 7) with the guidance

that curriculum “priorities should center on the big ideas and important performance tasks of the

chosen topic” (p. 7). According to Meyer, Rose, and Gordon (2014), the Universal Design for

Learning (UDL) framework for classroom instruction ensures “everybody has the opportunity to

develop into an expert learner” through a design that is “intentional, purposeful, and planned,”

and provides that “all individuals are challenged and supported in meaningful ways to grow
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toward expertise as learners” (p. 89). As outlined by Tomlinson and McTighe (2006) and

Wiggins and McTighe (2005), the three stages in the backwards design are: 1. Identify desired

results; 2. Determine acceptable evidence of learning; 3. Plan learning experiences and

instruction (Tomlinson, 2006, p.p. 27-28; Wiggins, 2005, p.18). Throughout my graduate studies,

I have learned to use these frameworks to effectively design or redesign the curriculum to help

students meet the standards and successfully reach the desired learning outcomes.

As shown in “Stage One” of my artifact, the first step of creating a backwards unit

involves identifying specific learning intentions by selecting the teaching standards, learning

goals/objectives, essential questions and enduring understandings. By outlining these intentions

and goals from the beginning, they stay fresh in my mind as I plan, prepare, and teach each

lesson. In my own classroom, I have experienced how important it is to teach with intention;

Conversely, I have had lessons fall apart where the intention was not set or made clear to the

students from the beginning. According to Sousa and Tomlinson’s (2011) discussion of research

on how the brain processes information and executes tasks, specific learning intentions or goals

are important, because students “are more likely to accept and perform better on those formative

and summative assessments that are aligned with goals that are clearly defined throughout the

learning experience” (p.80). Therefore, careful and intentional planning of the learning goals is

imperative for student success.

As shown in “Stage Two” of my artifact, the next step involves creating various sources

of learning-goal oriented formative and summative assessments. According to Tomlinson and

McTighe (2006), “we consider in advance the assessment evidence needed to document and

validate that the targeted learning has been achieved. Doing so sharpens and focuses teaching”

(p.30). Additionally, the All About the Auroras Unit concludes with a cumulative performance
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task in which students have the opportunity to work independently or with a partner to create an

“exhibit” for a local “Learning Expo.” Performance tasks include “tasks and activities designed

to simulate or replicate important real-world challenges” (Wiggins, 2005, p.337). I taught this

unit during my student teaching experience and found that students took their academic

performance more seriously when they were given a rubric explaining the expectations for

desired achievement levels, and were given a choice of a hands-on-tasks (such as creating a

mini-museum exhibit) to prove their own level of learning and understanding.

As shown in “Stage Three” of my artifact, the third and final step of the UbD/UDL

frameworks requires educators to plan and prepare engaging, effective, and differentiated

learning opportunities based on the desired results and evidence, as determined in the previous

steps. In this stage, several elements of content area knowledge, instruction and design are

addressed, such as (1) clearly stating where the unit is going so that students understand what

they are learning and why, (2) delivering positive and engaging hooks at the beginning of and

throughout each lesson, (3) providing students with essential experiences, prerequisite

knowledge, adequate scaffolding, and required know-how to meet performance goals, (4)

offering several opportunities for students to rethink the unit’s big ideas, reflect, and revise their

work as needed, (5) providing built-in opportunities for students to self-assess and self-evaluate

their progress, (6) offering and allowing multiple means of differentiation for students to

showcase their own talents, interests, and needs, and (7) making sure the lessons in general and

the unit as a whole is well organized to optimize deep understanding (Wiggins and McTighe,

2005, p. 197-198). As I created this unit, I learned that this stage involves a deep understanding

of the content in addition to a thorough explanation of what I want to teach and how I intend to

teach it.
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Curriculum integration using the Understanding by Design (UbD) and Universal Design

for Learning (UDL) frameworks allows teachers, like myself, a professional avenue to create or

recreate a curriculum that is effectively designed to help students meet the standards through

intentional, meaningful, and differentiated opportunities for learning and growing.

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References

Meyer, A., Rose, D. H., & Gordon, D. (2014). Universal design for learning: Theory and

practice. Wakefield, Massachusetts: CAST, Inc.

Sousa, D. & Tomlinson, C.A. (2011). Differentiation and the brain: How neuroscience supports

the learner-friendly classroom. Bloomington, Indiana: Solution Tree Press.

Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction & understanding

by design: connecting content and kids. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision

and Curriculum Development.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson

Merrill Prentice Hall.