1. Understanding by Design Stage 1: Identifying Desired Results Summer UBD Workshop, Day 1 August 12, 2014

2. ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS FOR THE WORKSHOP: Participants will come to understand that… 1.“Education is an itch, not a scratch.” 2.Content and skills are the means while understanding is the end. 3.Understanding by Design (UBD) is a model that enables teachers to create purposeful, relevant, and meaningful learning experiences aimed to develop students’ critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, and resilience.

3. UBD WORKSHOP PREVIEW: 3 Stages in 3 Days

4. UBD WORKSHOP DELIVERABLES: On Thursday I will walk out with… 1.Yearlong Enduring Understandings (EU’s) and Yearlong Essential Questions (EQ’s) for a class of your choosing 2.One fully fleshed out unit that includes topical EU’s and EQ’s, summative/formative assessments, and a detailed learning plan 3.A refined understanding of the UBD process

5. Essential Questions for Day 1 1.What do I want my students to look like at the end of the year? 2.How can I create curricular goals that will develop students’ critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, and resiliency (4CR) throughout my course? 3.How will my course goals be relevant and meaningful for students for students, within and beyond my classroom?

6. Learning Objectives for Day 1 Determine learning priorities for a course by identifying and articulating yearlong Essential Questions, Enduring Understandings, and Essential Skills and Knowledge. Select and begin creating one unit around overarching concepts (EU’s).

7. Let’s talk about our feelings… If someone was a big fan of UBD, what would they identify as its strengths? If someone was critical of the approach, what concerns would they have?

8. Hey Crystal, why do you like UBD? It puts the focus on the kinds of thinking I want kids to do and what I want them to look like at the end of the road (as opposed to the activities that I’m attached to doing) It makes learning goals transparent for kids…which is empowering! Kids are able to describe and direct their own learning.

9. It is anxiety reducing and helps me find the joy of teaching It shifts the focus from Adam’s teaching to how much Adam’s students are learning Provides me with an immense amount of pedagogical flexibility to pursue the goals of my courses Hey Adam, why do you like UBD?

10. Activity: Understanding Understanding 1.Read the section for your assigned facet (p.85-103) 2.Create a poster that includes: – Definition of the facet – Example – Non-example – Why facet is important – Prompt/question you’d ask in your content area that evokes the facet 3.Report Out

12. Understanding Enduring Understandings (p.128-9) 1.EU’s are inferences, drawn from the experience of experts, stated as a specific and useful generalization. NOT a fact. 2.EU’s refer to big ideas having enduring value beyond a specific topic 3.EU’s involve abstract, counterintuitive, easily misunderstood ideas 4.EU’s are best acquired by “uncovering” (not merely covering) and “doing” (not merely talking about) 5.EU’s summarize important strategic principles in skill areas and disciplines

13. Understanding Essential Questions (p.108-9) 1.EQ’s involve open-ended questions that recur throughout our lives 2.EQ’s point toward intra- and inter-disciplinary ideas 3.EQ’s require higher-order thinking (e.g. analysis, inference, evaluation, prediction, yes/no) 4.EQ’s will hook students and engage a diverse set of learners 5.EQ’s will spark further inquiry

14. EU’s & EQ’s: Overarching vs. Topical The EQ’s we pose to our students can differ in terms of scope (p.113-9) from “yearlong broad” to “unit specific” – Overarching EQ: To what extent is DNA destiny? – Topical EQ: Should we require DNA samples from every convicted criminal? The EU’s we impart to our students can differ in terms of scope (p. 130-2) from “yearlong broad” to “unit specific” – Overarching EU: Democracy requires a courageous, not just free, press. – Topical EU: Watergate was a major constitutional crisis, not a mere burglary or shenanigans between parties.

15. EQ’s from Crystal’s AP Lit Over-Arching Essential Questions What good is a novel? Why read it? How many ways can I read a text? How does a writer’s design of a text build its meaning? Topical Essential Questions [Morrison’s Beloved Unit] How do we confront what haunts us? How does memory affect identity? How can style evoke feeling?

16. EU’s from Crystal’s AP Lit Over-Arching Enduring Understandings “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Literature challenges us to think about what we believe, what we care about, and what kind of human beings we want to be. Interpretation of literature runs on a spectrum. Good critical readers can make valid, supported arguments for diverse and creative interpretations based on evidence. There is no one “right answer.” However, convincing interpretations require corroboration of evidence as well as attention to layers of meaning and ambiguity. A writer’s techniques impact the meaning of a text. Examining how smaller elements contribute to whole can allow us to better understand and appreciate the complexity and beauty of a work. Topical Enduring Understandings We must confront our personal demons—past misdeeds, trauma, fears—in order to move forward in life. By facing and making sense of the past, we may gain the ability to forgive, take action, and ultimately find peace and freedom. Morrison’s design of Beloved—from the eponymous Beloved to the fractured narrative style—imitates the psychological trauma faced by victims of systemic oppression, as well as the potential for redemption and reconciliation.

17. EQ’s from Adam’s US History Over-Arching Essential Questions – What is the meaning of America? What does it mean to be a “good” American? – How is America’s history a story of Political Idealism? Realpolitik? Capitalism? – How are “histories” actually arguments being made by historians? What does Siler’s history reveal, conceal, and leave unexplored? Topical Essential Questions – How does the Nolan Chart inform the American political experience past and present? – How do you ideologically self-identify? How do you politically affiliate? – How do the ambiguities and specifics of the US Constitution shape your world and the world of those around you? – How is political power divided, checked, exercised, and transferred amongst elected and appointed officials in the US government?

18. EU’s from Adam’s US History Over-Arching Enduring Understandings – “The powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” – Walt Whitman – “It’s the economy, stupid.” – James Carville – “I know that I know nothing (for certain).” – Socrates Topical Enduring Understandings – Most individuals politically self-identify as conservative, liberal, libertarian or communist depending upon their ideological tolerance of government regulation of economic liberties and personal liberties. – There is no canonical understanding of how “best” to interpret the sometimes vague and sometimes specific US Constitution; generally speaking, conservative judges tend to interpret the document narrowly exercising judicial restraint while liberal judges interpret the document more broadly exercising judicial activism.

19. Developing yearlong EU’s and EQ’s Interview Time: Ask your partner the following questions: – What are you fired up to teach? Why? – What is non-negotiable? What must be included in your course? (e.g. a topic, skill, book, activity, etc.) – Why is this so important? What would happen if you didn’t teach/do this piece? What would be lost? – What is the point of your course? Planning Time: Generate a few yearlong (overarching) EU’s and EQ’s for one course. Report Out: Create a “30 second story” for one yearlong EU that answers what you want students to understand. (If you’re ready, also consider how these understandings relate to the 4CR.)

20. From Course Planning to Unit Planning Pick 4-5: Now that you’ve identified yearlong EU’s, identify 4-5 units of study that BEST support these EU’s. Pick 1: Choose 1 unit to focus on for the remainder of the workshop.

21. UBD Stage 1 Planning Time Directions: Using the revised UBD template, complete Stage 1 (e.g. EU’s, EQ’s, skills, knowledge). Gallery walk begins at 245pm. TIP #1 Remember you may already have pieces of the revised UBD template (p.262) completed. Fill in what you already know. TIP #2 When breaking EU’s into skills and knowledge, feel free to reference established goals like AP Standards, 4CR, common core, etc.

22. Stage 1 Gallery Walk On your laptop screen, please display your unit plan (in progress). Walk around and take a look at your colleagues’ work (try to read over at least 3 other units (stage 1- EU’s, EQ’s, etc.) Notice what you notice.

23. UBD WORKSHOP DAY 1: Recap and Preview Day 1 Recap: Today in Stage 1, we identified the desired results (e.g. EQ’s, EU’s, facts, and skills). Day 2 Preview: Tomorrow in Stage 2, we will think like an assessor and determine the acceptable forms of evidence for the learning goals you identified today. Homework for Day 2: Bring any and all materials for your target unit that you have already developed (e.g. existing assessments, handouts, rubrics, activities, readings)

24. Workshop Day 1 Reflection Exit Ticket Activity: Take a few minutes to answer the following two questions. 1.What is your biggest takeaway from today’s seminar? 2.What’s one question you have about UBD that you feel merits more exploration?