Understanding by
Design Template
As an educator, I understand that creating a positive learning environment is crucial to my students' success. When students feel safe and motivated, they are more likely to engage and seek meaningful experiences. I use the UbD Template to achieve this, which emphasizes setting clear goals and aligning curriculum and assessment content with those specific objectives.
When using the UbD template, I take a detailed approach. I use a three-column table to consider all relevant aspects, describing desired outcomes, assessments, and planned activities. This comprehensive process takes goals to a more concrete level and allows me to plan activities and assessments that align with those goals. This feeling of achievement when creating a well-structured learning plan enhances the positive impact on my students, fulfilling my role as an educator.
UbD is an educational approach that aims to create enriching learning experiences by integrating three essential categories: construction, practice, and stimulation. This approach challenges students to reflect on their existing knowledge and link it to new concepts to develop a deeper understanding of the topic. Active practice is then used to reinforce learning by allowing students to apply what they have learned in various situations.
Using interesting and relevant material can significantly improve student participation in the educational process. McTighe's (2005) work provides educators with a comprehensive framework for creating impactful learning experiences. This approach emphasizes the importance of aligning curricular content and assessment with clear learning objectives, which helps foster deep understanding among students.
By incorporating exciting and relevant resources, educators can maintain student interest and encourage active participation in learning. This approach helps create meaningful learning experiences that prepare students for success in the real world.
As educators, we encourage our students to develop their critical thinking skills and reach their full potential. This involves creating a learning environment that supports their cognitive and emotional growth. My "Innovation plan proposal" plan focuses on Unit 1, "Knowledge of the alphabet," which is essential for emerging literacy and predicts success in reading and writing.Using Fink's three-column table to align this unit's outcomes, activities, and assessments, I can design instructions based on the following objectives: foundation, human dimension, application, care, and learning to learn (Fink, n.d.). This strategic approach not only helps me address student needs but also promotes meaningful learning that is effective in the long term. This sense of purpose in my teaching methods makes me feel more focused and effective in my role as an educator.
Fink's learning strategies method provides a solid structure for developing an effective teaching plan. Focusing on these goals, I will design activities that challenge students to apply their phonics knowledge to solve practical problems, encourage teamwork, and promote personal self-discovery and human development.
For Wiggins and McTighe (2005), they have identified several common failures in teachers' lesson plans. These shortcomings include a lack of focus on desired learning outcomes, alignment with educational standards, authenticity in assessments, differentiation to address individual student needs, and lack of formative feedback. These deficiencies can limit the effectiveness of lesson plans and impair student learning. It can make it difficult for teachers to evaluate student progress and for students to understand concepts. Therefore, teachers must address these issues when designing and implementing lesson plans. This way, they can ensure that their lesson plans are meaningful, aligned with learning objectives, and tailored to individual student needs.
Through my experience with the three-column model, I have learned to pay close attention to how someone seeks to learn something. After carefully examining the results, I could confidently create the Wiggins & McTighe 2005 UbD template.
Wiggins and McTighe's (2005) primary goal in setting long-term goals for UbD is to provide a clear and consistent direction for instruction and understanding. These objectives guide the design of curricula and learning activities, ensuring that each component aligns with desired achievements.
Using this graphical tools template, which emphasizes depth and coherence in understanding, I can optimally plan curricular content, teaching activities, and assessments. With the specificity of these long-term goals, I can focus on one topic with multiple lessons, allowing students to develop a deeper understanding. Additionally, I can select and create authentic assessments to measure students' progress toward these goals. Overall, incorporating the UbD Understanding by Design template into my teaching ensures that students achieve the learning objectives we set for them.
References
Fink, L. D., PhD. (n.d.). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant
learning.
https://www.bu.edu/sph/files/2014/03/www.deefinkandassociates.com_GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf
Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.