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Curriculum Comparative Analysis

Darshay Rogers

EDUU 609: Seminar in Curriculum Design

Department of Education, Brandman University

Dr. Francine Baffa

June 25, 2021

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Introduction

What is curriculum? At the beginning of this course, students were assigned to define the

term and to provide an image that supports their definition. I defined curriculum as “a blueprint

or sometimes a roadmap of what to teach and what students should learn throughout the school

year”. I followed that definition with a cartoon image of a roadmap with a starting and an

endpoint of goals. According to the text by Wiggins and McTighe, there is a blueprint involved,

but the term curriculum is much more in depth. Curriculum is the “specific blueprint for learning

that is derived from desired results- that is, content and performance standards…..” (Wiggins &

McTighe, 2005, pg. 5-6). When creating curriculum, it is important to have specific design

components that will help students really understand what they are being asked to learn. This

paper will compare two sample units/lessons and determine whether or not those important

design components are included or missing in both of them.

One of the sample lessons being analyzed is one created by myself and the other is a fifth

grade social studies unit. I have created a Ubd or universal backwards design lesson based on

The Declaration of Independence for an eleventh and twelfth grade US History class. I will be

going into my fourth year of teaching United States history and government. By the end of the

lesson, students would have a better understanding of the structure of the The Declaration of

Independence, how it contains ideas of what a government should look like, who is the document

initially applied to in its inception, what it means to be an American citizen, and how the

document influenced the current system of government. The sample lesson being compared
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focuses on the elements of freedom through early historical events in American history. Those

events include the Boston Tea Party, the American Revolution, The Constitution, and the Bill of

Rights. Even though each lesson/unit is at a different grade level, the similarities in content, big

ideas, and connection are present.

Explanation

The two curriculum design components being compared in each unit/lesson are the six

facets of understanding and the A, B, C’s of curriculum design. Based on the title, the six facets

of understanding are manifestations of transfer ability (Wiggins & McTighe, 20015). The

different facets are used for judging understanding just as teachers use a varied criteria for

judging a complex performance (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). The six facets include explanation,

interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge (The 6 Facets of

Understanding, 2021).

Explanation focuses on the why and provides knowledgeable and justified accounts of

events, actions, and ideas (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Interpretation provides meanings and

translation to what students are learning (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). The next facet is

application which is the ability to use that knowledge effectively in new situations and diverse

and realistic contexts (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Perspective is based on the POV or point of

view that is being presented or discussed (The 6 Facets of Understanding, 2021). The second to

last facet is empathy, which deals with the ability to get inside another person’s feelings and

worldview (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Facet number six is all about self-knowledge. This deals

with the wisdom to know one’s own ignorance and patterns of thought and action (Wiggins &
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McTighe, 2005). These six facets are important to have when designing curriculum because it

will help teachers assess appropriately and also ensure the desired intended learning has taken

place (K Greene, 2017).

The A, B, C’s of curriculum design focus on the whole student and not just the content.

As humans, we are made up of affective, behavioral, and cognitive domains (K Greene, 2017).

Affective is our emotions, values, feelings, likes, and desires (K Greene, 2017). The affective

domain can also integrate with a few of the six facets of understanding. Those include

interpretation, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge (K Greene, 2017). Also known as the

psychomotor, the behavioral domain deals with anything that is active, physical, or tangible (The

6 Facets of Understanding, 2021). The application facet of the six facets of understanding can be

related to the behavioral domain of the A, B, C’s of curriculum (K Greene, 2017). It is also

important to know that in order for it to be considered behavioral the action needs a verb that is

active, not passive (The 6 Facets of Understanding, 2021). C stands for the cognitive domain

which focuses on thoughts, understanding, and conceptual knowledge (The 6 Facets of

Understanding, 2021). It is the closest domain that deals with the concept of learning in the head

(K Greene, 2017). All of the six facets can apply to this domain but application and explanation

are the most direct (K Greene, 2017). When designing curriculum, it is important that educators

are looking at the whole learner to ensure meaningfulness and transferability (K Greene, 2017).

Application & Interpretation

The first unit/lesson being analyzed for both curriculum design components is the lesson

designed by myself. As mentioned earlier, the lesson was based on the structure and analysis of
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The Declaration of Independence. During the lesson, there were three main performance tasks

that were completed. The first performance task is to have students divided into five groups and

each group was given a specific section of The Declaration of Independence. Within their groups

they will highlight or underline words they are not familiar with or sentences and phrases that

stand out to them. As for annotations, they will research and define the words they did not now

and also translate the meaning of their section.

The following performance task is to have all of the five groups come back together as a

whole class and discuss their section translations and annotations. Also, as the teacher, I will

facilitate the discussions and go over any misunderstandings to ensure the students' translations

of each section are on the right track. The third performance task is for the students to take what

they have learned about the specific structure of The Declaration of Independence and create a

break up letter in the same format as the historical document. Towards the end of class, if some

students feel comfortable, they will share their letters aloud and will answer discussion questions

as an exit ticket. Some of the exit ticket questions will include: What are some ideas about

government that are implied in The Declaration of Independence? Do you see any connections in

The Declaration of Independence in our current government system?

In all three main performance tasks, all of the six facets of understanding are included. In

the first performance task, the facets include application, interpretation, and perspective. As for

the A, B, C’s of curriculum, the behavioral and cognitive domain can be seen because of the

students having to physically move in groups and the translation of each section of a document

they most likely have never seen before. In performance task two, the six facets that are seen are

explanation, interpretation, perspective, and empathy. This performance task is important

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because the discussion of what the framers actually meant takes place. In regards to the A, B,

C’s, affective and cognitive can be seen in the discussion portion of the lesson. In the creativity

portion of the lesson, or performance task three, students will be using application, explanation,

perspective, and self-knowledge from the six facets of understanding. Similar to performance

tasks two, the affective and cognitive domains are present. In all of the performance tasks, the A,

B, C’s are used and will benefit the different types of learners. Out of all of the six facets of

understanding, the most that are used exclusively are interpretation, perspective, and application.

The second unit/lesson that is being compared to the previous lesson is a high ability fifth

grade social studies unit. I chose this unit because it was similar in the content that was being

taught and also some of the performance tasks. There is a creative portion of the unit that is

similar to how there is one in the previous lesson. In this fifth grade plan, the essential

understandings are based on the big idea of freedom. These include understanding that freedom

is not free, revolutions are not always political or violent, the minority not the majority want to

initiate change, and freedom of expression can bring revolution (Curriculum Plan, 2021).

There are two in depth performance tasks that include all of the six facets of

understanding along with the A, B, C’s of curriculum design. The first performance task had

students recreate a journal based on the historical fictitious novel Johnny Tremain. The novel is

set in Boston pre American Revolution and the growing tension between Patriots and Loyalists.

Students were writing from the perspective of the main character (Tremain) and they were to

create journal entries based on events in the novel (Curriculum Plan, 2021). Students also must

save all journal entries because they will be discussed at the end of the unit (Curriculum Plan,

2021). The next performance task is an opportunity for students to reflect on their journal entries
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and respond to essay prompts (Curriculum Plan, 2021). There were other forms of evidence of

learning such as vocabulary worksheets, class discussions, a Letter to the Editor assignment, and

more primary source worksheets.

Beginning with explanation for the six facets of understanding, this facet can be seen in

an activity where students are placed in groups and are putting events leading up to the American

Revolution in chronological order and explain that event’s role in spurring the revolution

(Curriculum Plan, 2021). The behavior domain could be seen in that specific activity since

students will physically have to move to be placed into groups. The vocabulary worksheets could

be used as the interpretation facet of understanding. The vocabulary sheets were used to help

students communicate effectively in their journal entries. Since application is all about using skill

or knowledge, that could be seen in the final essay prompts in performance task two. The

cognitive domain from the A, B, C’s of curriculum were seen in this performance task as well.

Perspective is seen throughout this unit but specifically in the journal entries as the students were

writing as Johnny Tremain and also the Letter to the Editor assignment about the Boston Tea

Party (Curriculum Plan, 2021). As for self-knowledge, students at the beginning of the unit are

asked to brainstorm the definition of revolution and the types of revolutions (Curriculum Plan,

2021). Students could have their own beliefs and ideas about what a revolution is. The last facet,

empathy, could be seen through the journal entries in performance task one. Students were

viewing the main character in not only Tremain’s point of view but also from themselves as the

reader (Curriculum Plan, 2021). The affective domain is seen when the facet of empathy is in

use.
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Perspective

As mentioned earlier, the two key curriculum components being analyzed are the six

facets of understanding along with the A, B, C’s of curriculum design. Both curriculum

components are seen throughout each of the units/lessons being compared in this paper. Even

though all six facets are seen in the first lesson, empathy and self-knowledge are used the least

compared to the others. The most prominents facets are interpretation, perspective, and

application. This can be seen in all three of the main performance tasks and even the discussion

used as the exit ticket. In the second unit/lesson, perspective and empathy are notably used,

especially with both performance tasks. In comparison to the two facets mostly used, self-

knowledge was used the least. It was mainly used in performance task number one. Being that all

six facets and the A, B, C’s of curriculum were used in the creation of both units/lessons, it will

meet the specific needs of diverse learners. Both units/lessons allow students to be creative and

also use the logistical side of their brain. Also, both units/lessons give students the opportunity to

work collaboratively with their peers and independently as well.

Empathy

Both units/lessons are well designed and can be helpful to the different types of learners

in the classroom. They both contain the two key curriculum components with the six facets of

understanding and the A, B, C’s of curriculum design while keeping the whole student in mind.

As to which unit/lesson serves the broadest population the best, I would say the fifth grade social

studies unit. It contains more variety of activities than the lesson I created (the fifth grade lesson

is a unit plan). All of the activities in the unit are differentiated from one another and contain the
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two key curriculum components There are vocabulary worksheets, class discussions, oral and

written responses to the essential questions, primary source worksheets, creative journal entry

writing and final essay prompts as an authentic assessment. With the variety of assignments and

activities, it will serve a group of diverse learners the best. There is at least one activity a student

or more would like and find interesting.

Self-Knowledge and Conclusion

In both units/lessons, affective change is seen through interpretation, perspective,

empathy, and self-knowledge. Interpretation, perspective, and empathy is used mostly in both the

lesson I created and the high ability fifth grade unit. When designing curriculum, it is imperative

to have not only affectiveness in mind but also the cognitive domain as well. This domain deals

with the explanation and the application aspect of understanding and is when students can apply

what they learned. As for a behavioral change that I will embed into my design practice, I want

to include more hands-on projects that allow students to construct or design. I would like for my

students to be original in their creations but also will find it useful in their lives. Constructionism

or learning that happens through doing is going to be my goal for the following school year.
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References

Curriculum Plan. (2021). Lengel.net. http://www.lengel.net/hebron/5ssunit1.html

K Greene. (2017). Week 3 - 609- 6 Facets and A, B, Cs [YouTube Video]. In YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQHcy3Rb-jw

The 6 Facets of Understanding,. (2021). Prezi.com. https://prezi.com/view/

uV2unkS6bTYBqkSfOKln/

Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design (2nd ed.). Association

For Supervision And Curriculum Development.

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Appendix

Darshay UBD template 20201

Title: ____Declaration of Subject/Course: ____US

Independence________________________ History____________
Topic: ___Revolutionary War_________ Grade: _______11-12th____________
Designer: ____Ms.
Rogers________________________

Stage 1 – Desired Results

Established Transfer
Goal(s)

What standard(s) will the Students will be able to independently use their learning to …
unit focus on?
● Analyze five sections of the Declaration of Independence
History/Social Science ● Translate the language of the Declaration of Independence into common language
Standards ● Create their own version of a break up letter in the same structure of the Declaration of
8.1 Students understand Independence
the major events
preceding the founding
of the nation and relate Meaning
their

their
significance to the
development of
American Constitutional
democracy.
8.1.2 Analyze the
philosophy of
government expressed in
the Declaration of
Independence, with
an emphasis on
government as a means
of securing individual
rights.
Reading Comprehension
2.4 Compare the original
text to a summary to
determine whether
summary accurately
captures
the main ideas, includes
critical details, and
conveys underlying
meaning.
Evaluative Criteria
Task 1 & 2: Both tasks
are perspective based.
There are no right or
wrong answers for their
annotations
Task 3: A rubric will be
used to make sure the
student’s break up letters
are written in the same
structure as the
Declaration of
Independence. Students
can write a fictional
letter from either a fun,
light hearted, serious, etc
perspective.
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ENDURING ESSENTIAL QUESTION(s)
UNDERSTANDINGS Students will keep considering…..
Students will understand that…
● How does the Declaration of Independence
influence our current system of American
● The structure of the DOI is the
government?
same as the fake break up letter
● What does it mean to be an American
read to them at the beginning of
citizen?
class
● The DOI contains ideas about
what government should be
● The phrase “all men are created
equal” did not apply to everyone
● The strength of democracy is
equal to the strength of its
citizens
Acquisition of Knowledge & Skill
Students will know… Students will be skilled at…
● How to identify five sections of ● Breaking down language that is unfamiliar
the Declaration of to them
Independence ● Searching definition for terms they don’t
● What each section of the DOI know
means and its importance ● Describing what was included in the
● How to write their own break up Declaration of Independence and its
letter using the same structure as purpose
the DOI
Stage 2 –Evidence
Assessment Evidence
PERFORMANCE TASK(s)
Performance Task #1: The students will be divided into five groups and each group will have a
section of the Declaration of Independence. They will be given a large piece of paper with their
assigned section printed on it. They will be underlining/highlighting words or phrases that stand
out to them or don’t understand. Next, students in their groups will be making annotations on
translating their section in common language or language that is easy for them to understand. They
will also define words in their annotation that they underlined or highlighted. Application,
Interpretation, Perspective, Behavioral, Cognitive
Performance Task #2: Once each group’s highlighting and translating is complete, they will share
their responses with the rest of the class. We will go over what each class annotated as a class and
dive deeper into each section of the Declaration of Independence. We will also go over the
definitions of words they did not know. Explanation, Interpretation, Perspective, Empathy
Affective, Cognitive
Performance Task #3: After we have gone through each section as a class, I will bring up the fake
break up letter that was used as a hook at the beginning of class. Students will make connections
on the structure of the break up letter and the structure of the DOI. Students will individually
create their own break up letter in the same format as the Declaration of Independence (Preamble,
Statement of Beliefs, List of complaints, Declaration). Application, Explanation, Perspective, Self-
knowledge, Affective, Cognitive
Once the letters are written, students can read out their own letters if they choose to. Then we will
have an informal discussion about what they have learned about the Declaration of Independence
as an exit ticket. Some of the questions include: What ideas did the framers of the DOI express in
the document? What are some ideas about government that are implied in the DOI? Do you see
any connections in the DOI to our current system of American government?
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OTHER EVIDENCE:
Observations will be made on a consistent basis to make sure students are understanding the
content and making connections. Also, I will be available to answer questions if needed.

Stage 3 – Learning Plan

Pre-assessment
This will be done after the students fill out their warm up sheets at the beginning of class. I will ask students what
they know about the Declaration of Independence and based on it’s name, what they think it’s about.
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LEARNING EVENTS Progress Monitoring

● After students enter the room and fill out their warm up
sheets, I will notify them of a letter I found in the back ● I will be monitoring each group
of the classroom. They do not know the letter is fake during the annotating and translating
and is connected to the lesson for the day. performance task of the lesson.
● As a hook, I will read them the letter and the students Behavioral, Cognitive
quickly figure out it is a break up letter. I ask the ● I will be available to answer
students if I should reveal who wrote the letter and the questions and provide help to make
majority of the students in the room will most likely sure their translations of the DOI are
want to know who it is. As a grand finale, I tell them on the right track. Behavioral,
that it was written by the 13 colonies as a break up letter Cognitive
to Great Britain. I also tell them that they will be ● During discussions, I will be able to
analyzing sections of the DOI. Interpretation, Self- answer questions and guide the
knowledge, Empathy conversation about each group's
● Before this lesson, students have already learned about annotations and translations.
taxation without representation, the Boston Massacre Application, Explanation,
and other events that have led to the growing tension Interpretation, Perspective
between the Colonies and Great Britain. Application, ● I will ask some students who have
Affective finished their letters to read it
● Once the letter has been read to them, students will be outloud to make sure students
divided into five groups (depending on the class number, followed the right format of the
groups will vary). Each group will be given a specific Declaration of Independence.
section from the Declaration of Independence Affective, Application, Perspective
(Preamble, Statement of Beliefs, List of Complaints ● At the end of class, I will ask the exit
divided in 2, and the Declaration). Behavior ticket questions to make sure
● Next, I will give students directions for performance students are connecting the
task #1 and give them about 20-25 minutes to complete importance of the DOI and the
reading and annotating each section. Application, current government. Explanation,
Interpretation, Explanation, Cognitive Interpretation, Perspective, Self-
● After all of the groups are done annotating and knowledge, Cognitive, Affective
translating their own section, we will go over each
group's highlighting and annotations and begin
performance task #2. Going over each group’s
translation is the most important part of the lesson
because we discuss as class what the framers actually
meant. Application, Explanation, Interpretation,
Perspective, Empathy
● Once all of the group's annotations and translations have
been discussed along with all of the sections, I will bring
back the break up letter so we can discuss the structure
as a class. Application, Self-knowledge
● Once students finally make connections between the
structure of the break up letter and the structure of the
DOI, the students can begin to create their own break up
letter. Application, Behavior, Perspective, Self-
knowledge
● Students will be given up until the last ten minutes of
class to work on their break up letter. If it is not finished
in class, they will have to complete the letter for
homework. Before class ends, students can share their
letters if they please. Affective, Behavior
● As an exit ticket, I will ask my last discussion questions
about the Declaration of Independence. Application,
Explanation, Interpretation, Cognitive
● The questions include: What ideas did the framers of the
Declaration of Independence express in the document?
What ideas about government are implied in the
Declaration of Independence? Do you see any
connections in the Declaration of Independence to our
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