1. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 1 Understanding by Design Units in relation to Program: the big picture of UbD

2. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 2 UbD and the design of the Exchange Units are Building Blocks The entire K - 12 curriculum is ultimately built out of all the units To build and map a curriculum, then, group units into larger entities To share effectively, we need to be able to mix and match units

3. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 3 The unit is the “unit of analysis” in the Exchange What is a “unit”? Unit = a coherent set of lessons, organized around a theme, a performance, an idea, or a text A Unit is big enough to help us avoid -  micro-managing our lessons  overlooking complex performance goals A Unit is small enough to help us avoid -  vague and unhelpful planning, typically ending in “coverage”

4. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 4 The Program The Subject Area The Course Units are the building blocks of a complete curriculum... Unit 1 Unit 2Unit 3...

5. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 5 Program: History & Social Studies Subject: US History Course: US History 1860 - present Here’s an example from History & Social Studies Unit on the 60’s

6. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 6 So, when you create a unit... You are first asked to place the new unit in its larger context Program Title Subject Title Course Title Unit Title

7. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 7 Titles are pre-entered for you You need only select from the menu of program, subject, course titles Your local Exchange administrator has determined the titling system:  A generic list supplied by the Exchange  Local entry of the titles used in your local curriculum  All Titles in either system can be edited or added to by anyone who is an Exchange administrator for your membership

8. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 8 “But I teach 5th grade! We don’t have courses!” There is still an implied hierarchy at work: Think of a “course” as the year-long content-area strand found in almost every day of work  Poetry  The 4 basic operations  Local geography  Civics

9. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 9 “Program”: Language Arts “Subject”: 5th - grade language arts “Course”: 5th - grade writing Here’s an example from a 5th grade unit on writing: “Unit”: The essay

10. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 10 With such a structure, powerful functions are possible 1. A Curriculum map for a whole school or district is automatically built as units are designed by individuals 2. Overarching design elements can be assigned at the program, subject, and course level by local teams - then visible in each relevant unit, for possible attachment to that unit by each individual unit designer

11. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 11 1. What is a map? A map offers a calendar of designs in a school or district, unit by unit, over the course of the year Maps can be as simple or complex as you like: simply select the template fields you wish to see “mapped” over time Maps can be viewed or downloaded as a spreadsheet Maps can be works in progress - e.g. local work only on essential questions done so far: see map of all essential questions, by date, grade level, etc.

12. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 12 Why map? Maps help local educators - Ensure that key state standards are not falling through the cracks Know what the big ideas are in units and courses across the system Find natural ways to link their work with that of other teachers, to make the student’s experience more rich and coherent Identify unhelpful redundancies or gaps in program that happen from isolated design

13. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 13 “Where do Program, Subject, and Course titles come from?” Your Exchange Administrator Selects from 3 options at sign-up: Hand enter all local titles Supply us with a spreadsheet Choose to pre-enter a generic list of common titles, then edit as desired  You should choose the closest title when the dropdown menus appear during your unit creation  If you don’t see a choice that fits local curriculum titles, ask your admins. to enter it. (You can e-mail them from your Home Page.)

14. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 14 2. What are Overarching Elements? The design elements that cut across units, courses, subjects, and/or Programs: Overarching - Essential Questions Enduring Understandings Performance Tasks Rubrics

15. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 15 Whose “story” is it? Who is an American? Who says? Here’s an example for Essential Questions in History Is “all fair” in war (internment)? WW II Who should get Green cards? 80’s 60’s How much does race matter?

16. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 16 Subject: How does an author use irony to make us understand? Here’s an example for English/ Language Arts Course: Who sees? Who doesn’t? Why? Why not? Why doesn’t Oedipus “see”? Oedipus Why can’t they see they aren’t tracking Woozles but seeing their own steps? Winnie the Pooh Plato How does someone ever leave the Cave?

17. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 17 School-wide: What does it mean? Program: What’s the Pattern? Subject: What is the “best fit”? Here is an example in Mathematics Course: What’s the graph? Is this a linear or non-linear relationship? Unit:

18. © 2002 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe UBD 08/2002 18 for further information... Contact us: Grant Wiggins, co-author: gwiggins@ubdexchange.org Jay McTighe, co-author: jmctigh@aol.com Steve Petti, webmaster: @newimagemedia.com