Lesson Planning
What is backward design in lesson planning?
Backward design plans in three steps starting from the end: identify the desired results, decide what evidence shows mastery, then plan the learning that gets students there.
Backward design (from Wiggins and McTighe's Understanding by Design) plans a unit by starting at the destination and working backward, in three stages:
- Identify desired results — what students should understand and be able to do.
- Determine acceptable evidence — the assessment that would prove they got there.
- Plan learning experiences — only now do you design the activities, chosen specifically to prepare students for that evidence.
The reason it works: planning activities first tempts you to teach engaging things that don't add up to the goal. Designing the assessment before the lessons keeps every activity pointed at the outcome, so nothing is "fun but pointless."
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