Currently, I've been working on backward lesson plan designing in correlation with a disruptive innovation plan that I’ll be using with my learners; it’s the creation and integration of EPortfolios. In building and using EPortfolios, my students will have the license of creative freedom as choice, ownership, voice, and authentic learning opportunities are used.
In the past few days, I've spent a considerable amount of time reading Wiggins' and McTighe's book Understanding by Design (UbD) and have used their backwards design template for the same lesson I've used with Fink's three column table. You'll find my lesson template below; but first I'd like to share my thoughts regarding the two different resources.
I find that both Fink's three column table and Wiggin's and McTighe's UbD template to be equally useful and I don't prefer one over the other as they are each unique and certainly not the same. Fink's strategy to backward design, including his three column table, uses a broad swath; it's a view from miles away that covers overarching goals, activities, and assessment. I find that using Fink's broad planning helps me to get a clear picture of what I want my students to learn, what learning opportunities I'll present for students, and how I'll know if students learn the targeted skills and standards I'm aiming for. As well, Fink helps me to consider my students' current life situation and provides his Taxonomy of Significant Learning which helps me lay the foundation for the work that I've done recently using the UbD template for my EPortfolio creation unit.
The UbD template is divided into three stages: (1) Identify desired results, (2) Determine acceptable evidence, and (3) Plan learning experiences and instruction (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005. p.18). Within the third stage, one uses what the authors call the "WHERETO" elements. This helps teachers to assess how will the design:
W = Inform students about Where the lesson is going, What will be expected and helps
the teacher know Where the students are coming from?
H = Hook all students and Hold their interest?
E = Equip students, help them Experience the key ideas and Explore the issues?
R = Provide opportunities to Rethink and Revise their understanding and work?
E = Allow students to Evaluate their work and its implications?
T = Be Tailored to the different needs, interests, and abilities of learners?
O = Be Organized to maximize initial and sustained engagement as well as active
learning (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005. p.22)?
The UbD template provides a much closer view than Fink's table and has a lot more detail covering: what students will understand, what essential questions I'll use, how I'll hook students and keep them engaged, what skills I'll equip students with allowing them to experience and explore, what opportunities I'll plan for so that students can rethink and revise, giving students time to evaluate their work, tailor the activities for the different needs, interests and abilities of learners and to check organization to maximize student engagement and to ensure effective learning is being used (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005. p.22). One can see how the UbD planning template zooms into my planning to reveal much more detail than one would see in Fink's three column table. The two really can't be compared as an either or decision for me as I feel like Fink's strategy guides me to the next step in my planning which is using Wiggin's and McTighe's UbD planning template. This template allows me to expand on my planning I started using with Fink's design and to continue with UbD which helps me to become more detail oriented in my planning.
The UbD template has been helpful in guiding me through planning a more detailed lesson for the unit . The two parts of the template that I appreciate the most are the Essential Questions and the WHERETO section of the planning. Both of these portions take me much closer in my planning, attending to some details, that I hadn't using Fink's planing process.
Below, you'll find my UbD template for this lesson:
Fink, L. Dee, PhD. (2003). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. [PDF file].1-37. Retrieved from: https://luonline.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3863516-dt-content-rid-59401589_1/xid-59401589_1
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005) Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ASCD
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