UNIVERSIDAD TÉCNICA DE COTOPAXI

FORWARD DESIGN

LEVEL: 6 B
NAMES: Erika Medina, Cecilia Acuña,
TEACHE:Mercedes Abata
Madeley Bajaña,
 WHAT IS FOWARD DESING?

Forward design is based on the assumption that input, process,

and output are related in a linear fashion. In other words, before
decisions about methodology and output are determined, issues
related to the content of instruction need to be resolved.

To understand this concept better :

A forward design option may be preferred in circumstances where:
where a mandated curriculum is in place,
where teachers have little choice over what and how to teach
where teachers rely mainly on textbooks and commercial
materials rather than teacher-designed resources
where class size is large and where tests and assessments are
designed centrally rather than by individual teachers.
where teachers may have limited English language proficiency
and limited opportunities for professional development,

Since advanced design can

be of published materials, since much of the planning and
there will be a wide range development involved can be
of teaching resources and carried out by specialists rather
materials to choose from. than left to individual teachers.
 IMPLEMENTING A FORWARD DESIGN CURRICULUM
The curriculum design process associated with forward design can be
represented as:

Content syllabus Methodology Outcomes assessment

The teacher takes the existing syllabus and first selects the topic or
the chapter to teach. Then the teacher plans out the activities,
explanations, and exercises that would help the student to
understand the content. After the content and the process are
finalized is when the teacher finally moves to planning the output.
The teacher might prepare a test or a quiz to check whether the
students have understood the content.
 METHODOLOGY

Forward design starts with syllabus planning, moves

to methodology, and is followed by assessment of
learning outcomes.

Resolving issues of syllabus content and sequencing

are essential starting points with forward design,

 The teacher takes the existing syllabus and first selects the topic or

the chapter to teach.

Then the teacher plans out the activities, explanations, and

exercises that would help the student to understand the content.

After the content and the process are finalized is when the teacher finally

moves to planning the output (the language the learner produces).

The teacher might prepare a test or a quiz to check whether the students

have understood the content.

 Wiggins and McTighe (2006:15) give an illustration of this process with an example
of a typical forward-design lesson plan:

The teacher chooses a topic for a lesson (e.g. racial prejudice)

• The teacher selects a resource (e.g. To Kill a Mocking-bird)
• The teacher chooses instructional methods based on the resource

and the topic

(e.g. a seminar to discuss the book and cooperative groups to analyze

stereotypical
images in films and on television)
• The teacher chooses essay questions to assess student

understanding of the book.

 TWO EXAMPLES OF FORWARD DESIGN
APPROACHES IN LANGUAGE TEACHING:

Content-based Instruction (CoBI) They aim to develop

language competence
as well as subject matter
Content and Language
mastery, critical thinking
Integrated Learning (CLIL).
 Curriculum typically starts :

-The design of a syllabus that contains both content and

language components.

-choice of suitable instructional materials .

-selection of activities.