Lesson Planning
A lesson plan is the instructor’s road map of what you want your students to learn and how you are going to teach them. There are many different types of lesson plans and templates that can be used. One of the most effective frameworks for lesson planning is called ‘backward design”. Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe published a book entitled Understanding by Design or UbD in which instructors are encouraged to consider learning goals first. These learning goals are the knowledge and skills that instructors want their students to learn upon course completion. Additionally, instructors give consideration to how students will be assessed (both formatively and summatively) to show understanding of the knowledge and skills. Backward design is considered a much more intentional approach to lesson planning for the short-term and long-term.
Knowledge Base. (2021, June 16). What is backward design? SLCC.
- Learning is enhanced when teachers think purposefully about curricular planning.
- The framework helps focus curriculum and instruction on student understanding and the transfer of learning.
- Student understanding (the capacity to explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective, empathize, and self-assess) is revealed in the transfer of learning through authentic performance.
- Effective curriculum is planned backwards from long-term course outcomes in a three stage process (Desired Results–Evidence–Learning Plan). The textbook is a resource (not the curriculum) and planned activities have purpose.
- Instructors are not purveyors of knowledge but rather “coaches of understanding”. There is evidence of learning — not merely an assumption that it is taking place.
- Regular review of course objectives and lesson design ensures more effective instruction and student engagement.
- The UbD framework reflects an approach that cultivates a desire for continuous improvement in student achievement and professional capacity.
Adapted from Wiggins & McTighe (2012)
Backwards Design Template
A link to an editable template can be found HERE.
A link to the ASCD white paper Understanding by Design (2012) can be found HERE
Understanding by Design
Wiggins and McTighe’s revised 2nd edition expands on their original work
References
Knowledge Base. (2021, June 16). What is backward design? Salt Lake Community College. https://slcconline.helpdocs.com/course/what-is-backward-design
Mazol, P., Tsimopoulos, N., Anagnostaki, A., Ostlie, K., Cortes, J., Makl, H, Zehrfuchs, K., & Filioglou, M. (2021). Flipped adult education: A guide to implement adult education trainings based on the Flipped Learning 3.0 Framework. Flipped Adult Education.
McTighe, J. (2024). Resources. MAC McTighe & Associates Consulting LLC. https://jaymctighe.com/resources/#1521225059545-3fe59c79-239c
McTighe, J. & Wiggins, G. (2012). Understanding by Design Framework. ASCD. https://files.ascd.org/staticfiles/ascd/pdf/siteASCD/publications/UbD_WhitePaper0312.pdf
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd edition). ASCD