UbD Stage #1

Learning Objectives

The student will:

Identify the different components of the Stage #1 section
Explain the importance of the Transfer section

UbD Stage #1 Overview

Before educators can begin guiding and teaching students, they must first know where they are taking them. Based on the "backwards" design model, Stage #1 of Understanding by Design begins with the desired results (Wiggins & McTighe, 2011). All teachers want students to learn, however are students simply reciting memorized facts, or are they able to apply their learning in new situations beyond the classroom? True learning requires the application of knowledge in different situations.

The term for that application is called Transfer (Wiggins & McTighe, 2011). Only students who truly understand the content can transfer their learning to new and different situations. Those students also understand the Meaning behind the learning, and can answer the questions that ask "why".

As with construction, learning and understanding require a solid foundation of acquired knowledge. The challenge is to avoid rote memorization, but to supply the foundational information and concepts in a way that can be transferred to the essential goals. Even the low level learning of factual knowledge needs to be connected to the Meaning of the learning (Wiggins & McTighe, 2011).

UbD Stage #1 Template Overview

The purpose for Stage #1 in the Understanding by Design template is to establish the goals, or the "finish line" for the students to achieve in the specified unit. These goals must adhere to national and state educational standards in order to maintain consistency with other educational institutions. Referring to the screenshot on the right, the standards in this example are obtained from the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Ohio Board of Education. Most importantly, these standards must be specifically taught within the unit in order to be valid. This can be difficult, since national standards can cover multiple sections, and seem valid for the lesson. However, simply mentioning a standard is not sufficient, it must be specifically taught to the students (Wiggins & McTighe, 2012).

The next logical step after listing the standards to use in the unit is to determine the basic Knowledge and Skills concepts. These statements establish the foundational knowledge that students need to learn before they can develop meaning and understanding. These low level skills help them to answer the "why" questions in the following section (Wiggins & McTighe, 2011). As with all of the following sections in the template, notice in the screenshot that the standards from above are listed beside the corresponding knowledge statement. All of the statements and questions in the next two sections will list the matching standards.

After the basic Knowledge concepts are established, move on to the "Meaning and Understanding" section of the template. This section lists the statements and questions that establish what the students need to understand. Basic knowledge accomplishes little unless students can use it to answer "why". Not only why the content in the unit needs to be learned, but also why it is relevant and important to their lives and to society (Wiggins & McTighe, 2011).

The "Holy Grail" of education and Educators is to witness students successfully applying their learning in new and different situations outside of classrooms. The "Transfer" section of the UbD template lists the statements of how the students should be able to apply their learning after the unit, and without teacher intervention. This is the ultimate "finish line", and in some ways is more important than the initial standards. Knowing how the students are to apply the learning from the unit can be instrumental with developing the content of the unit itself.

UbD Stage #1 Template Form

ubd_stage1.docx

UbD Stage #1 Template Video

References

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2011). The understanding by design guide to creating high-quality units. Alexandria: ASCD.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2012). The understanding by design guide to advanced concepts in creating and reviewing units. Alexandria: ASCD.

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