Understanding by Design in action Joanne StewartHope College

How to develop student learning goals and assessments of student learning June 2009

Understanding by Design

Plan learningexperiences

and instruction.

Identifydesiredresults.

Determineacceptable evidence.

(assessment)

Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe (2005). Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall.

What do you want students to know and be able to do? Write learning goals or outcomes first.

• Performance task (a project)• Criterion-referenced

assessment (test or quiz)• Unprompted assessment or

self-assessment (observations, discussion)

There are several well-known taxonomies of learning; Bloom’s is probably the most famous!

There are several well-known taxonomies of learning; Bloom’s is probably the most famous!

This circle is great because it links the learning goal (center of circle) with the assessment activities and products.

This circle is great because it links the learning goal (center of circle) with the assessment activities and products.

Writing learning outcomes: This circle provides useful verbs for writing learning outcomes; e.g. “Students will be able to compare different bonding models.”

Writing learning outcomes: This circle provides useful verbs for writing learning outcomes; e.g. “Students will be able to compare different bonding models.”

Six Facets of UnderstandingThis is the taxonomy of learning provided by the Understanding by Design authors. You

will see many similarities to Bloom’s (the center of the circle in the previous slide).

• explain ― provide thorough and justifiable accounts of phenomena, facts, and data

• interpret — tell meaningful stories, offer apt translations, provide a revealing historical or personal dimension to ideas and events; make subjects personal or accessible through images, anecdotes, analogies, and models

• apply — effectively use and adapt what they know in diverse contexts • have perspective — see and hear points of view through critical eyes

and ears; see the big picture • empathize — find value in what others might find odd, alien, or

implausible; perceive sensitively on the basis of prior indirect experience

• have self-knowledge — perceive the personal style, prejudices, projections, and habits of mind that both shape and impede our own understanding; they are aware of what they do not understand and why understanding is so hard

The Understanding by Design authors provide a rubric that connects their taxonomy to descriptions of student work. The rubric for three of their six categories is provided here. This is incredibly helpful in articulating the different levels of quality, proficiency, or understanding. It can be used to communicate to students what “excellent” work should look like and can be used in grading.

Applying Understanding by Design principles to thedevelopment of a VIPEr learning object

Bonding and Electronic Structure of a 14-electron W(II) bound to 4-electron π donors Hilary Eppley, DePauw University, Literature Discussion

Understanding: Students can•explain the electron count in an organometallic π-complex•explain the molecular orbitals involved in 4 e- π-bonding to alkynes and nitriles•connect electron count to molecular orbital picture

Application to new situations: Students can•apply their knowledge of organometallic chemistry to explain the structure and bonding in 4 e- complexes of imines, ketones, and aldehydes (using bond lengths etc.)

Broader Perspectives of Science: Students can•connect the science in the paper to the larger picture, broader interests•locate additional information about articles' authors•place work within context of a larger body of work

1. WRITE THE LEARNING GOALS FIRST!This is a “literature discussion” learning object, so students are expected to learn chemistry content and develop broader skills for reading and interpreting the literature. Here are Hilary’s student learning goals. Notice how she has written them as “outcomes,” with specific student actions such as “explain” or “apply.”

1. WRITE THE LEARNING GOALS FIRST!This is a “literature discussion” learning object, so students are expected to learn chemistry content and develop broader skills for reading and interpreting the literature. Here are Hilary’s student learning goals. Notice how she has written them as “outcomes,” with specific student actions such as “explain” or “apply.”

2. DETERMINE ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCEWith the learning object, Hilary provides a set of reading questions that allow students to demonstrate that they have achieved each of the learning goals. Hilary chooses to evaluate student understanding through a subsequent class discussion of the paper, but she also states that you could collect and grade the reading questions, if you wished.

2. DETERMINE ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCEWith the learning object, Hilary provides a set of reading questions that allow students to demonstrate that they have achieved each of the learning goals. Hilary chooses to evaluate student understanding through a subsequent class discussion of the paper, but she also states that you could collect and grade the reading questions, if you wished.

3. PLAN LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND INSTRUCTIONThe reading questions provide a means of assessing student learning, but more

importantly, they guide and help the students through some very technical reading. Hilary has carefully “scaffolded” the questions to 1) provide explanations where students need them, 2) ask students to stop and explain a concept or figure (thus making an explicit connection to chemistry content learning goals), or 3) think more broadly or stretch. The students complete the reading questions in preparation for the class discussion.

3. PLAN LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND INSTRUCTIONThe reading questions provide a means of assessing student learning, but more

importantly, they guide and help the students through some very technical reading. Hilary has carefully “scaffolded” the questions to 1) provide explanations where students need them, 2) ask students to stop and explain a concept or figure (thus making an explicit connection to chemistry content learning goals), or 3) think more broadly or stretch. The students complete the reading questions in preparation for the class discussion.

Additional hints on preparing VIPEr learning objects:•Student learning goals are entered in the “Learning Goals” box.•The “acceptable evidence” or assessment methods are entered under “Evaluation Methods.”•VIPEr learning objects also have an “Evaluation Results” section that should include the specific results from testing the learning object with YOUR students. Hilary did not report this, but instead provided some helpful hints that really belong under “Implementation Notes.”