I found the chapter on UbD to be pretty useful: it fits in perfectly with the way I want to teach, and it also fits in with everything else we've learned so far in our SED courses. Backward design is interesting in that it is both useful for teachers, and also useful for those pesky tests that our society loves so much. If you start with an objective in mind, an ending point, and then work out how to get there, you'll always stay on track, and everything in a lesson will point toward your objective. If you don't, you may end up falling back on bad teaching strategies with no way to catch back up.
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| Pictured: What happens if you have no plan (Source: xkcd.com/1106) |
To me, though, this chapter felt somewhat like review. I don't know if this is because we have already been inadvertently taught backward design, or if this just seems to be an intuitive idea. I have to imagine it's the first one; our lesson plan templates are already set up to work like this. With so much focus in SED 406 on sticking to a clear objective, backward design seems like something we've already learned.
The UbD modules are very useful when it comes to a definition of a seemingly simple word: understanding. At first, "understanding" feels like an easy word to define, but try it yourself: we know the word more through context than we do through actual knowledge of the concept. We know that understanding is different than just knowledge, but it's difficult to fully define such an broad concept. I think that when it comes down to it, "understanding" something is knowing it well enough that you could explain it to someone else, or knowing it well enough that you could do it. And I think this is one of the things we don't expect students to do: actually perform their knowledge. We certainly expect them to perform on a test, but we never actually ask them to do anything with their knowledge except regurgitate it back to us on tests.
Hi Nathan!
ReplyDeleteThe image that you included is hilarious, and it perfectly captures a scenario in which there’s no structured plan. I feel like this happens to me way too often in daily life! With that in mind, I need to continually work with this to be an effective educator in the future.
We spent so much time in our 406 class talking about and working with objectives, so it’s very clear to us that we need to set goals in order to reach desired outcomes— a main point of the UbD texts— and that might be why this reading felt a little bit like a review for you. You brought up a really great point in your last paragraph though: we don’t expect students to actually perform their knowledge. I think that most assessments/ evaluations monitor what students learned on a basic level (from the lesson), but what Chapter 1 explains in detail is that assessments need to be evidence that the objectives were met in the process of learning. How do you suggest that we, as teachers, ask students to perform and apply their knowledge? To answer this question, I’m thinking that ideal assessments might do the trick. Rather than limiting our students to true/false, multiple choice, and matching examinations, I think that practical (but creative) activities could serve this purpose. For example, the 5th grade teacher’s lesson was fully developed and virtually foolproof. The students, in my opinion, were able to demonstrate their knowledge with this lesson, and it was meaningful to them due to the relevance of the nutrition topic. His inclusion of traditional quizzes and tests matched with performance tasks and projects created a balance for learning. If you return to Figure 1.5 Curricular Priorities and Assessments, on p. 15 of Chapter 1, you can review the breakdown of assessments against the “worth” of information. What do you think?
Hmm. I've been thinking, and I think one of the ways this blog post is lacking is that I don't actually talk about how we can actually put this into action, and how it can be useful. I think you are absolutely correct that ideal assessments are really useful ways to demonstrate their knowledge, rather than just display it to us. I think that good, useful assessments (in the most traditional sense of the word) is something that I will put a lot of work into as a teacher because I think bad tests are really pointless and boring, both for the teacher and the student. Who wants to read a grade a bunch of pointless tests? But I think, to extend your excellent point even further, we need to realize that assessment is not always just a paper quiz; that we can assess our students in a number of ways. I tend to think that some kinds of projects are very useful ways to assess our students' knowledge of a subject or concept (although I caution against just using the same kinds of pointless projects as well as pointless tests). And while I'm thinking about it, I think that your everyday homework assignments, when at their maximum potential, are really strong ways to assess student knowledge. This, perhaps, seems intuitive and like something we already know, but I find that in a lot of my classes, homework is treated as somewhat of a necessary evil, or as just something that needs to be assigned every day to keep students thinking about something outside of the classroom. I encourage teachers to rethink how we think about homework, and rethink the ways we just give busywork to students with no attempt to test or increase their knowledge. Anyways, after lots of typing, I appreciate your response and you helping me to think about this topic.
DeleteHi again, Nathan.
DeleteThanks for taking the time to respond and work through this UbD assessment component. I agree that while projects are excellent alternatives to traditional tests, we have to ascertain that the assignment is meaningful and relevant. Like you said, we must exercise "caution against just using the same pointless projects as well as pointless tests"- good point! I also appreciate your thoughts on homework. I know that we spent some time last semester in 406 discussing the pros and cons of homework, so it's interesting that you bring this up. I have to agree with you, that teachers (and students I suppose) should "rethink" how we think about homework. Homework assignments, although they require time from students, can be very fun and educational. And, homework doesn't have to be completed on a daily basis. Maybe, just maybe, it's possible to assign homework that should be completed over a few days. The assignment may be a little bit more comprehensive in a way, but I think that students could find more value with exciting, thoughtful tasks. Now, I realize that time is a HUGE factor, but if we can create an assignment that is engaging, intellectual, provokes questions, and requires a minimal amount of time, I think it's worth it! Remember, our goal as educators is to provide educational experiences for our students. We must teach them to take control of their learning by developing into self-regulated learners, and they must practice and demonstrate their knowledge base in order to make connections between disciplines.
Hi Nathan, I like your line about understanding, "we know the word more through context than we do through actual knowledge of the concept." I think this is a fantastic observation, and I may end up borrowing it from you one day. I agree with you that we've covered many of the concepts underlying UbD, but I wouldn't completely agree with you that we've learned it already in SED 406. I know for me at least, UbD presents a challenge of incorporating math topics that are required by common core standards, but I may not be able to easily fit into an essential question. I think we still have to practice working out those balances. Overall, I agree with your general point that there are no new concepts here, and we're applying things we've already learned.
ReplyDeleteNathan,
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that when reading about Ubd it brought me back to SED 406. I remembered how the lesson plan templates were set up to facilitate Ubd. I practice Ubd without really be aware of it, so I enjoyed learning more about it.