Reflection on Use of Backward Design for Curriculum Planning

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Lesson planning is an integral part of classroom teaching, but the educator’s perspective and care towards crafting lessons may be the most essential aspect of that planning. Wiggins and McTighe’s framework of Backwards Design provides a comprehensive approach of planning for long-term learning, focusing on the key insights and applicable skills students need to develop. Instead of building units out of individual activities or broad coverage of material, the logic behind using the Understanding by Design (UbD) template guides educators towards supporting ever deepening investigation of topics that lead towards a more holistic understanding: “Successful teachers tend to plan for long term goals. These teachers change the sequencing of benchmarks to give flow to the lessons and are not afraid to spend more time on some learning outcomes and less on others if such works in the classroom. These attributes are not areas of focus or even noted on most templates” (Herrera & Waller, 2023). The framework’s focus on Essential Ideas provides the classroom with flexibility to dive further into areas of need and even areas of greater student engagement. 

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The UbD’s approach is theoretically an “outward-in” approach, starting with the larger goal and working towards the daily, individual, and specific accomplishments. Functionally, on the other hand, the lesson/unit design can begin at any point in the template that is most effective for the educator’s process. Most educator’s have Common Core standards they must include in their lesson plans, others have specific skills or learning benchmarks to highlight. Regardless of the starting point, “The challenge is to focus first on the desired learnings from which appropriate teaching will logically follow”  (G. P. Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). Teachers can use their goal - wherever it lands in the template - and build out questions, individual lesson plans, overarching connections, etc. 

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The UbD template has three distinct sections focused on different elements of lesson planning. Instead of focusing on designing specific lessons that occupy the students’ time, UbD works to take advantage of the distance between the beginning of learning and the finish line. The First Stage centers around the End Goal of the unit; what should the students truly know. Here the educator can focus on developing the purpose and Essential Questions of the lessons, identifying the specific objectives of the course: “The big-idea questions signal that education is not just about learning “the answer” but about learning how to learn” (G. P. Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). The lesson planner must then identify how they know the student has learned the information, acquired the intended skill, or generally made progress towards that Big Goal. Stage Two focuses on assessments - both formative and summative - that are integrated into the planning even before the individual lesson plan. The UbD template allows for flexibility based on the results of the assessments, as the specifics of lessons are not addressed until Stage Three. The third stage still ensures that the Essential Question is being addressed, as guiding acronyms and frameworks within the stage lead the planner towards thorough use of available resources and pedagogy. Ultimately, the process of designing curriculum with Backwards Design focuses on maintaining an ethos of deep learning, guided exploration, and intentional growth. 

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The Backwards Design template and perspective, while intensive and detailed at the beginning, can be used to simplify and enhance unit planning: “many teachers swear by the power of planning out their lessons for a unit to elevate their teaching” (McREL International, 2023). By keeping the Essential Idea present in each individual lesson, the detailed pieces connect to reveal the whole. As Nelson Graff stated in his support for new teachers’ use of UbD:

“I ask them to look for connections among the standards, enduring understandings that inform the standards and that will help students transfer their learning in particular classes into future classes and their lives beyond school. In this way, I am implicitly asking them to move from subject matter knowledge to pedagogical content knowledge and to consider both the horizontal and vertical curricula into which the standards for their grade level fit.” (Graff, 2011)

 

If the goal of educators is to instill within students enduring understanding, transferable skill, and the ability to learn independently, then educators must approach their classes intentionally. Backwards Design provides a framework for long-term learning and large goal accomplishment within the classroom. The template itself can be easily modified and applied to individual lessons, supporting the continued exploration into the Essential Question, and ensuring each lesson is building towards a deeper understanding.