Understanding by Design:Gaining Clarity on Our Goals

I thought/ I remember...

“Backwards design is goal directed. We aim for specific results and design backward from them accordingly. ” (page 56) I think the big idea here is not only clarity in our goals as educators and what we are teaching, but the clarity in what we want the students to grab and run with. You can feed them as much information as you want, but you really need to clarify want you want them to take. Feed them the information, but really engage the topics and ideas you wish for them to keep long term. It can be overwhelming to look at the standards and feel like you need it all, but it’s unrealistic to think you can get it all in ALL of their brains. Pick the big stuff (the important stuff) make it exciting and attainable, and really engage the topic.

I believe...

The big idea here is all about BIG IDEAS. It’s about making connections from one area of learning to another. It’s about making connections to everyday things in the kiddos lives. BUT most importantly, it’s about making the right connections. Expose and engaging kids to exactly what you want them to engage themselves in, is the key.

“The big ideas at the core of a subject are arrived at, sometimes surprisingly slowly via teacher-led inquiries and reflective work by students.” (page 67) Make it reflective, kids’ needs to see those connections.

In the field…

In the field this is seen commonly. I think everyone can say they have seen this and it is vital if you are watching a teacher that has any path or focus at all. It’s the idea of clear and clean goals being set, and then working towards these goals. 

I like this chart because it provides a visual on what we should be shooting to address. you've got the big picture at the core, and then the surrounding aspects based on importance and familiarity.