Understanding by Design®

Dysart Unified School District

February 2 and 13, 2018

presented by

Jay McTighe
Author and Educational Consultant
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.jaymctighe.com
Twitter: @jaymctighe
Understanding by Design

Principles of Curriculum for Understanding*

Noted educational researcher, Dr. Robert Marzano, concluded that “a guaranteed and
viable curriculum” is the most significant school level factor impacting student achievement.

Students presented with vast amounts of content knowledge that is not organized into meaningful
patterns are likely to forget what they have learned and to be unable to apply the knowledge to new
problems or unfamiliar contexts (Haidar, 1997). Curriculum for understanding provides ample
opportunity for students to apply their knowledge in a variety of contexts and conditions. This helps
them transfer their learning to new situations and better prepares them for future learning (Bransford
and Schwartz, 2000). Providing students with frequent opportunities to apply what they learn in
multiple contexts requires a reallocation of instructional time. Allowing time for in-depth learning
means decisions must be made about what knowledge is of most worth. For this reason, the curricu-
lum needs to specify clearly the appropriate balance between breadth and depth of coverage in terms
of student learning outcomes.

A mathematics or science curriculum for advanced study that promotes learning with understand-
ing:

1. Structures the concepts, factual content, and procedures that constitute the
knowledge base of the discipline around the organizing principles (big ideas) of the
domain.
2. Links new knowledge to what is already known by presenting concepts in a
conceptually and logically sequenced order that builds upon previous learning within
and across grade levels.
3. Focuses on depth of understanding rather than breadth of content coverage by
providing students with multiple opportunities to practice and demonstrate what they
learn in a variety of contexts.
4. Includes structured learning activities that, in a real or simulated fashion, allow
students to experience problem solving and inquiry in situations that are drawn from
their personal experiences and real-world applications.
5. Develops students’ abilities to make meaningful applications and generalization to
new problems and contexts.
6. Incorporates language, procedures, and models of inquiry and truth verification
that are consistent with the accepted practice of experts in the domain.
7. Emphasizes interdisciplinary connections and integration and helps students
connect learning in school with the issues, problems, and experiences that figure
prominently in their lives outside of the classroom.
*Source: Committee on Programs for Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in American High Schools

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 3

Understanding by Design

Key Understandings about...

-- Understanding --
• A primary goal of education is the development and deepening of student
understanding of important ideas and processes within, and across, disciplines so
that they can transfer their earning to new situations. Rote learning will not prepare
students for transfer.

• Content and Standards need to be “unpacked” to identify the big ideas worth
understanding and the essential questions worth exploring.

• Evidence of student understanding is revealed when students can apply (transfer)

their learning to new situations within authentic contexts.

• Six facets of understanding – the capacity to explain, interpret, apply, shift

perspective, empathize, and self-assess – serve as indicators that students understand.

Understanding must be “earned” by the learner. Teaching for understanding

facilitates meaning making by students.

-- Design --
• Effective curriculum development reflects a three-stage design process called
“backward design.” This process helps to insure that curriculum plans are well
aligned and focused on desired results. Backward design of curriculum helps avoid
the twin problems of “textbook coverage” and “activity-oriented” teaching.

• The backward design process can be productively applied to planning a single unit,
a year-long course, and an entire K-12 curriculum.

• Regular reviews of curriculum and assessment designs, based on design standards,

are needed for quality control to avoid the most common design mistakes and
disappointing results.

• Educators can “work smarter” in curriculum design by working collaboratively

and sharing ideas via electronic networks (e.g., using the Eduplanet21 UbD Planner).

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 4

 UbD in a Nutshell
Guiding Principles of Understanding by Design Key Questions of Backward Design
1. UbD is a way of thinking purposefully about curricular plan- Stage 1: Desired Results
ning and school reform. It offers a 3-stage design process, a
set of helpful design tools, and design standards – not a rigid • What long-term transfer goals are sought?
program or prescriptive recipe.
• What meanings should students make in order to arrive
2. The primary goal of UbD is student understanding: the ability at important understandings?
to make meaning of “big ideas” and transfer learning. • What essential questions will students explore?
Understanding by Design

• What knowledge & skill will students acquire?

3. UbD “unpacks” and transforms Content Standards into the
relevant Stage 1 elements and appropriate assessments in • What established goals/Standards are targeted?
Stage 2.
Stage 2: Evidence
4. Understanding is revealed when students autonomously
• What performances and products will reveal evidence of
transfer their learning through authentic performance. Six

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins

meaning-making and transfer?
facets of understanding – the capacity to explain, interpret,
apply, shift perspective, empathize, and self assess – serve
• By what criteria will performance be assessed, in light of
as indicators of understanding.
Stage 1 desired results?
5. Teachers are coaches of understanding, not mere purveyors
• What additional evidence will be collected for all Stage 1
of content or activity. They design for and support “meaning Desired Results?
making” and “transfer” by the learner; and adjust to achieve
intended results. Stage 3: Learning Plan

6. Planning is best done ”backward” from the desired results • What activities, experiences, and lessons will lead to
and the transfer tasks that embody the goals. The 3 Stages achievement of the desired results and success at
(Desired Results, Evidence, Learning Plan) must align for the the assessments?
unit to be most effective.
• How will the learning plan help students Acquire basic
7. Regular reviews of curriculum against design standards knowledge and skills, Make Meaning of “big ideas,”
enhance curricular quality and effectiveness. and Transfer their learning?

8. UbD reflects a “continuous improvement” approach. The • How will the unit be sequenced and differentiated to
impact of curriculum design -- student performance -- informs optimize achievement for all learners?
needed adjustments.

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Understanding by Design

A Summary of Key Research Findings Supporting

Understanding by Design
• Views of how effective learning proceeds have shifted from the benefits of diligent drill
and practice to focus on students’ understanding and application of knowledge.

• Experts’ knowledge is organized... Their knowledge is not simply a list of facts and
formulas that are relevant to the domain; instead, their knowledge is organized around core
concepts or ‘big ideas’ that guide their thinking about the domain (e.g., Newton’s second law
of motion); it is “conditionalized” to specify the contexts in which it is applicable; it supports
understanding and transfer (to other contexts) rather than only the ability to remember. Novices’
knowledge is much less likely to be organized around big ideas; they are more likely to approach
problems by searching for correct formulas and pat answers that fit their everyday intuitions.
 
  • Learning must be guided by generalized principles in order to be widely applicable.
Knowledge learned at the level of rote memory rarely transfers; transfer most likely occurs when
the learner knows and understands underlying principles that can be applied to problems in new
contexts. Learning with understanding is more likely to promote transfer than simply memoriz-
ing information from a text or a lecture.

• Skills and knowledge must be extended beyond the narrow contexts in which they are
initially learned. For example, knowing how to solve a math problem in school may not trans-
fer to solving math problems in other contexts. It is essential for a learner to develop a sense of
when what has been learned can be used -- the conditions of application. Failure to transfer is
often due to learners’ lack of this type of conditional knowledge.

• Curricula that are a “mile wide and an inch deep” run the risk of developing
disconnected rather than connected knowledge. Research on expertise suggest that a superficial
coverage of many topics in the domain may be a poor way to help students develop the
competencies that will prepare them for future learning and work.”

• Feedback is fundamental to learning, but feedback opportunities are often scarce in

classrooms. Students may receive grades on tests and essays, but these are summative assess-
ments that occur at the end of projects. What are needed are formative assessments, which pro-
vide students with opportunities to revise and improve the quality of their thinking and
understanding.

• Assessments must reflect the learning goals that define various environments. If the goal
is to enhance understanding and applicability of knowledge, it is not sufficient to provide assess-
ments that focus primarily on memory for facts and formulas. Many assessments measure only
propositional (factual) knowledge and never ask whether students know when, where, and why
to use that knowledge. Given the goal of learning with understanding, assessments and feedback
must focus on understanding, and not only on memory for procedures or facts.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 6

Understanding by Design

What is Understanding?
Part 1 – How would you define “understanding”? What does it mean to really understand or
“get it”?

Someone who understands...

Part 2 - What are concrete indicators of really understanding something (as apposed to merely
knowing important facts about it)? What can the person with understanding do that the person with
only knowledge—even lots of knowledge—cannot do?

Indicators of Knowledge
Indicators of Understanding
without Understanding

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 7

Understanding by Design

The Three Stages of Backward Design

1. Identify
desired
results.
2. Determine
acceptable
evidence.
3. Plan learning
experiences
and instruction.

The backward design approach consists of three general stages:

Stage 1. Identify Desired Results – In stage one we consider the goals. What should
students know, understand, and be able to do? What big ideas are worthy of understanding
and implied in the established goals (e.g., Standards, curriculum objectives, etc.)? What “en-
during” understandings are desired? What essential questions are worth
pursuing to guide student inquiry and meaning making? What specific knowledge and skills
are targeted and needed for effective performance?

Stage 2. Determine Acceptable Evidence – In the second stage we consider evidence

of learning. How will we know if students have achieved the desired results and met the
Standards? How will we know that students really understand the identified big ideas?
What will we accept as evidence of proficiency? The backward design orientation suggests
that we think about our design in terms of the collected assessment evidence needed to
document and validate that the desired results of Stage 1 have been achieved.

Stage 3. Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction – With identified results and
appropriate evidence of understanding in mind, it is now time to develop the learning plan.
What will need to be taught and coached in light of the performance goals? What resources
will be emplyed? How should the learning experiences be sequenced? What on-going as-
sessments are neede dfor feedback? In planning learning activities, consider the AMT ele-
ments: How will we help learners acquire needed knowledge and skills? How will we en-
gage learners in making meaning of important ideas? How will we equip students to transfer
their learning?

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 8

 Understanding by Design

UbD and Standards-based Curriculum Planning

What Standard(s) will focus this unit? Given
your reasons for teaching the unit, which
Standard(s) are most relevant?

What big ideas and transfer What should students eventually be

goals are embedded in the able to do on their own to meet the
targeted Standard(s)? Standard(s)?

Stage 1 – Desired Results

What important questions
What should students are raised by this content?
come to understand to What essential questions
really learn this content will guide inquiry?
well?

What factual knowledge What specific skills are

must students acquire to stated or implied in the
meet the Standard(s)? Standard(s)?
What proficiencies
Stage 2 – Assessment Evidence
must students attain to
meet the Standard(s)?
What evidence of
learning is called for What “authentic”
by the Standard(s)? performance tasks will
What assessments are reveal students’ under-
needed? standing and ability to
transfer their learning?
Stage 3 – Learning Plan

What instruction is needed to equip students to meet the Standard(s)?

What learning experiences will help learners acquire targeted knowl-
edge and skills, make meaning of the important ideas and equip them to
transfer their learning? What on-going assessments will provide feed-
back to teachers and students?

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 9

 UbD Template 2.0

Stage 1 – Desired Results

Established Goals Transfer
National Driver Students will be able to independently use their learning to...
Development Standards T1 drive responsibly, defensively and courteously.
G1 Demonstrate a working
T2 adapt driving to various traffic, road and weather conditions.
knowledge of rules, regu-
lations and procedures of
operating an automobile
Meaning
G2 Use visual search skills to UNDERSTANDINGS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

© 2011 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe

obtain correct information Students will understand that... Students will keep considering...
and make reduced-risk de- U1 A motor vehicle can become a lethal weapon,
cisions for effective speed and driving one demands constant attention. Q1 What is a responsible driver?
U2 Defensive driving assumes that other
and position adjustments
drivers are not attentive and that they might
Q2 What makes a defensive driver?
make sudden or ill-advised moves.
G3 Interact with other us- U3 Effective drivers constantly adapt to
ers within the Highway various traffic, road, & weather conditions. Q3 How and when should I adapt my diving?
Transportation System by U4 Proper car maintenance is a safety measure
adjusting speed, space, and that can help save money in the long run.
communications to avoid
conflicts and reduce risk Acquisition
G4 Demonstrate balanced Students will know... Students will be skilled at...
vehicle movement through
steering, braking, and ac- K1 the driving rules and regulations S1 adjusting seats and mirrors
celerating in a precise and K2 meaning of traffic signs and signals S2 coordinating accelerator and brake
timely manner throughout K3 basic car features and functions S3 signalling/communicating intentions
a variety of adverse condi- K4 what to do in case of an accident S4 merging into traffic
tions
S5 parallel parking
Source: American Driver &
Traffic Safety Association

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 UbD Template 2.0
Stage 2 – Evidence
Evaluative
Coding Criteria
Assessment Evidence
PERFORMANCE TASK(S)

1.Transfer
goals
1. Task: drive from home to school and back, with parental and teacher
• skillful supervision. The goal is to demonstrate skillful, responsive, and defensive
• defensive driving under real-world conditions.
• anticipates
2.Transfer
goals
• responsive
2. Task: Same task as #1 but with rainy conditions.

© 2011 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe

• courteous

3.Transfer
goals 3. Task: Same task as #1 but with rush hour traffic.

4. Mean-
• accurate 4. Prepare a tutoring booklet to help other young drivers come to
ing Goals • clear understand the big ideas of safe and courteous driving.
•complete

SUPPLEMENTARY EVIDENCE

5. Mean- • accurate 5. Self-assess your driving and parking in Tasks 1 - 3 in terms of

ing Goals
• perceptive courteous & defensive. Discuss adjustments made.
6. Skill &
Transfer
Goals • skilled 6. Observation of student driver in a driving simultor or car off road.
7. Knowl-
edge Goals • knows the law 7. Written test required for getting a license.
• drives well
8. Skill
Goals enough to pass 8. Road test required for getting a license.
driving test

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 UbD Template 2.0

Stage 3 – Learning Plan

Coding Code Key: T = transfer, M = Meaning-making, A = Acquisition

Pre-assessment

Pre-assessment of driving knowledge, skill, understandings, and attitudes using surveys and simulators. Formative
Assessments

KEY LEARNING EVENTS

Note: this is an overview of a drivers’ ed. plan. A typical unit summarizes all learning events in more detail.
On-going assessment

© 2011 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe

Expert driving is modeled via video and the driving instructor. The requirement of the driver’s test are and feedback by the
reviewed.
instructor as students
All instruction is carried out and formatively assessed under a 4-step system for developing autonomy: practice new driving
• the driving skill is explicitly taught and modeled skills in the simula-
• the skill is practiced and performed with guidance in a simple/controlled situation tor and on the road.
• the skill practiced and performed independently in a simple/controlled situation
Look for such common
• the skill is performed independently in more complex, authentic situations
misconceptions and skill
Students practice the following driving skills in a simulator and in controlled driving situations with an deficits as -
instructor:
• failure to check mir
Car Check Circles Anticipation & Planning Ahead rors and peripheral
Safety Checks Pedestrian Crossings Use of Speed vision
Controls & Instruments Highways Other Traffic • not adjusting in
Starting up, Moving and Stopping Turns Intersections response to changes in
Safe Positioning Reversing Darkness road, traffiic or weaher
Mirrors Parking Weather Conditions conditions
Signals Emergency Stopping Rules & Laws • not perceiving speed
Security of oncoming cars dur
ing merges and turns
Guided instruction is provided in terms of how to handle a variety of driving conditions, including: dry
roads, wet roads, daylight, darkness, highway, city, country, during rush hour and off-peak hours.

The essential questions are used to focus attention during practice and guide reflection and self-assess-
ment following each simulated or actual driving experience.

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 UbD Template 2.0

Stage 1 – Desired Results

Established Goals Transfer
Students will be able to independently use their learning to...

What long-term, independent accomplishments are desired?

Meaning
UNDERSTANDINGS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

© 2011 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe

Students will understand that... Students will keep considering...
What Standards, Outcomes,
Program and/or Mission
related goal(s) will this unit What specifically do you want What thought-provoking questions
address? students to come to understand? will foster inquiry, meaning making,
and transfer?

Acquisition
Students will know... Students will be skilled at...

What facts and basic concepts should What discrete skills and processes
students know? should students be able to use?

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 UbD Template 2.0
Stage 2 – Evidence
Evaluative
Coding Criteria
Assessment Evidence
PERFORMANCE TASK(S)

How will students demonstrate their understanding (meaning-

making and transfer) through authentic performance?

© 2011 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe

Are all
What criteria
of the will be used in
Desired each
Results assessment Consider the six facets when developing assessments of understanding.
being to evaluate Use the G.R.A.S.P.S. elements to frame an authentic context for the
ap- task(s).
propri-
attainment
ately as- of the
sessed? Desired
Results?

SUPPLEMENTARY EVIDENCE

What other evidence will you collect to determine

whether Stage 1 goals were achieved?

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 UbD Template 2.0

Stage 3 – Learning Plan

Coding

Pre-assessment
What pre-assessments will you use to check students’ prior
knowledge, skill levels and potential misconceptions? Formative
Assessments

KEY LEARNING EVENTS

How will you
monitor students’
progress towards

© 2011 Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe

Align to Are all three types of goals (acquisition, meaning making,
Stage 1 and transfer) addressed in the learning plan? acquisition, mean-
goals or ing-making, and
A-M-T Does the learning plan reflect principles of learning transfer during the
and best practices? unit?

Is there tight alignment across all three stages? What are potential
trouble spots and
student misunder-
standings?

While detailed lesson plans are not expected here, you should include How will students
sufficient information so that another teacher who is familiar with the get the feedback
unit’s content could understand and follow the basic learning plan. That they need and
means not just stating WHAT learners will do but WHY ; i.e., the purpose of
opportunities to
the learning the activity.
make use of it?
Optional: Use the column on the left to code your learning activities; e.g.,
their alignment with Stage 1 elements, T-M-A, or W.H.E.R.E.T.O.

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Understanding by Design

Three Types of Learning Goals

We have found it useful to consider three types of learning goals: 1) acquisition of new
information and skill, 2) making meaning of that content (i.e., coming to understand), and
3) transfer of one’s knowledge (i.e., applying one’s learning to new situations). These goals
are interrelated, yet distinct. The distinctions are important since each type of goal requires
different approaches to both instruction and assessment.
These three categories link directly to elements identified in Understanding by Design.
In Stage 1 teachers specify the knowledge and skill that they intend students to acquire.
They also decide upon the “big ideas” they want students to come to understand and
develop essential questions to help students make meaning of those ideas. Ideally, units are
framed with long-term transfer goals in mind.

Make
Acquire Meaning
important
of “big ideas”
knowledge
(key principles
and skills
and processes)

Transfer
learning to new
situations

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 16

 Understanding by Design

UbD Unit Design Standards 2.0

Key: 3 = meets the standard 2 = partially meets the standard 1 = does not yet meet the standard

Stage 1 3 2 1 Feedback & Guidance

1. The listed Transfer Goals specify desired long-term, genuine
accomplishment.
2. The identified Understandings reflect important, transferable
ideas.
3. The identified Understandings are stated as full-sentence gener-
alizations – Students will understand that...
4. Essential Questions are open-ended and thought provoking.
5. Relevant Standards, Mission, and/or Program Goals are
addressed explicitly in all 3 Stages.
6. The identified knowledge and skills are needed to address the
established goals, achieve the targeted understanding(s), and
support transfer.
7. All the elements are aligned so that Stage 1 is focused and
coherent.
Stage 2
8. The specified assessments provide valid evidence of all desired
results; i.e., Stage 2 aligns with Stage 1.
9. The specified assessments include authentic transfer tasks
based on one or more facets of understanding.
10. The specified assessments provide sufficient opportunities for
students to reveal their attainment of the Stage 1 goals.
11. Evaluative criteria for each assessment are aligned to the
Desired Results in Stage 1.
Stage 3
12. Appropriate learning events and instruction will help learners:
a. Acquire targeted knowledge and skills.
b. Make meaning of important ideas.
c. Transfer their learning to new situations.
13. The W.H.E.R.E.T.O. elements are included so that the unit is
likely to be engaging and effective for all learners.
Overall
14. All 3 stages are coherent and in alignment.
15. The unit design is feasible and appropriate in the time
available.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 17

Understanding by Design

TRANSFER GOALS
Definition
Transfer Goals highlight the effective uses of understanding, knowledge, and
skill that we seek in the long run; i.e., what we want students to be able to do with their
learning when they confront new challenges – both in and outside of school. There are
a small number of overarching, long-term transfer goals in each subject area. For
example, a long-term aim in mathematics is for students to be able to tackle “messy,
real world” problems on their own. A long-term transfer goal in history is for students
to apply the lessons of history when considering contemporary issues.
In every case, the ability to transfer learning manifests itself in not just one
setting but in varied situations. Transfer is about independent performance in context.
You can only be said to have fully understood if you can apply your learning without
someone telling you what to do and when to do it. In the world beyond the classroom,
no teacher is there to direct and remind you about which lesson to plug in here or there.
Transfer is about intelligently and effectively drawing from your repertoire to handle
new situations on your own. Thus, the goal of transfer requires that the assessments
(Stage 2) need to include performance tasks that require transfer, and that the learning
plan (Stage 3) be designed to help the student to become increasingly autonomous.

Transfer goals have several distinguishing characteristics:

• They are long-term in nature; i.e., they develop and deepen over time.
• They are performance based; i.e., require application (not simply recall).
• The application occurs in new situations, not ones previously taught or
encountered; i.e., the task cannot be accomplished as a result of rote learning.
• The learners must apply their learning autonomously on their own, without
coaching or excessive hand-holding by a teacher.
• Transfer calls for the use of habits of mind; i.e., good judgment, self regulation,
persistence along with academic understanding, knowledge and skill.

Rather than having each teacher identify their own tranfer goals for every unit,
we recommend that district or school teams identify a few long-term transfer goals as
exit outcomes for each discipline. Interdisciplinary transfer goals (e.g., critical think-
ing, collaboration) are typcially found in distrct and school Mission statements.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 18

Understanding by Design

Long Term Transfer Goals

examples
Students will be able to independently use their learning to:

History
• Use knowledge of patterns of history to better understand the present and prepare for the future.
• Critically appraise historical claims and analyze contemporary issues.
• Participate as an active and civil citizen in a democratic society.

Health and Physical Education

• Make healthful choices and decisions regarding diet, exercise, stress management, alcohol/drug use
throughout one’s life.
• Play a chosen game skillfully and with good sportsmanship.

Mathematics
• Make sense of never-before-seen, “messy”problems and persevere in solving them.
• Construct viable arguments involving mathematics and statistics and critique the reasoning of others.

Performing & Fine Arts

• Find at least one arts discipline in which they develop sufficient competence to continue active
involvement in creating, performing, and responding to art as an adult.
• Respond by analyzing and interpreting the artistic communications of others.

Reading
• Read and respond to text in various genres (literature, non-fiction, technical) for various purposes
(entertainment, to be informed, to perform a task).
• Comprehend text by inferring and tracing the main idea, interpreting (“between the lines”), critically
appraising, and making personal connections.

Research
• Locate pertinent information from varied sources (print, on-line; primary, secondary).
• Critically evaluate sources and information (e.g., for accuracy, completeness, timeliness, lack of bias,
properly referenced).

Science
• Evaluate scientific claims and analyze current issues involving science or technology.
• Conduct a sound investigation to answer an empirical question.

World Language
• Effectively communicate with varied audiences and for varied purposes while displaying appropriate
cultural understanding.

Writing
• Write in various genres for various audiences in order to explain (expository), entertain (narrative/
poem), argue (persuasive), guide (technical), and challenge (satirical).
• Carefully draft, write, edit, and polish one’s own and others’ writing to make it publishable.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 19

Understanding by Design

Transfer Goals
examples from schools and districts

Science Transfer Goals Source: North Slope Borough School District, Barrow, Alaska (July 2012)
Students will be able to independently use their learning to:
• Apply knowledge of science and engineering to engage in public discussions on relevant issues
in a changing world.
• Conduct investigations, individually and collaboratively, to answer questions.
• Evaluate scientific claims for validity.
• Think systemically.

Visual Arts Transfer Goals Source: Sheridan School, Washington, DC (June 2011)
Students will be able to independently use their learning to:
• Create engaging and purposeful artistic expressions in forms that vary in terms of media and
style.
• Communicate ideas, experiences, and stories through art.
• Respond to the artistic expression of others through global understanding, critical stance,
personal connection, and interpretation.
• Respond to technical and conceptual challenges of his/her own.
• Develop an independent artistic vision.

World Languages Transfer Goals Source: The Dalton School, New York, NY (March 2012)
Students will be able to independently use their learning to:
• Communicate effectively in the target language(s) in realistic situations while displaying a
sensitivity to culture and context.
• Emulate native speakers.
• Willingly taking risks with language, both within and outside of the classroom.

Examples of Transdisciplnary and 21st Century Skills

Critical Thinking
• Think critically about information and claims encountered at school and beyond by seeking
clarity, accuracy, sound evidence, good reasons, and fairness.
Communication
• Effectively communicate for different purposes and varied audiences using appropriate media.
Collaboration
• Work effectively with, and learn from, others in a variety of situations, in school and beyond.
Research
• Locate pertinent information from varied sources (print, on-line; primary, secondary).
• Critically evaluate sources and information (e.g., for accuracy, completeness, timeliness, lack of
bias, properly referenced).

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 20

Understanding by Design

Four Types of Big Ideas

concepts themes

• adaptation • good & evil

• equivalence • heores & sheroes

• rhythm • the Gilded Age

• migration • freedom & responsibility

• diversity • the nature of truth

• perspective • the pursuit of happiness

Big Ideas
processes principles

• Critical Thinking • Force equals mass times

acceleration (F=MA).
• Problem Solving
• Price is a function of supply
• Scientific Investigation and demand.

• Writing Process • Water seeks its own level.

• Historical Inquiry • In the absence of forces, an

object at rest will remain at rest.
• Creativity

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 21

Understanding by Design

Concepts (transferrable “big ideas”)

examples

❒ abundance/scarcity ❒ fairness
❒ acceptance/rejection ❒ friendship
❒ adaptation ❒ harmony
❒ aging/maturity ❒ honor
❒ balance ❒ interdependence
❒ change/continuity ❒ interactions
❒ challenge ❒ invention
❒ character ❒ justice
❒ community (ies) ❒ liberty
❒ connections ❒ loyalty
❒ conflict ❒ migration
❒ cooperation ❒ mood
❒ correlation ❒ order
❒ courage ❒ patterns
❒ creativity ❒ perspective
❒ culture ❒ production/consumption
❒ cycles ❒ proof
❒ defense/protection ❒ survival
❒ democracy ❒ repetition
❒ discovery ❒ rhythm
❒ diversity ❒ symbol
❒ environments ❒ systems
❒ equilibrium ❒ technology
❒ evolution ❒ tyranny
❒ exploration ❒ wealth
❒ other: __________________________________

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 22

Understanding by Design

Big Ideas, Understandings and Essential Questions

The following visual represents the interrelationship among big ideas, understandings and essential
questions. Understanding is needed for transfer.

Big Idea – an abstract and transferable

concept, theme, or process at the heart
of a subject or topic.
(e.g., adaptation, survival)

big idea

Topic or
Standard
(e.g., The student will understand
biological adaptation.)

understanding essential question

Understanding – a full-sentence
U Essential Question – a provocative, Q
open-ended question, designed to guide
generalization, specifying what we want
inquiry into the big idea(s). By actively
students to come to understand about the
exploring the essential question(s),
big idea(s).
students make meaning and deepen their
e.g., Students will understand that...
understanding.
Living organisms (populations) adapt
e.g., How do living organisms survive in
in order to survive harsh or changing
harsh or changing environments?
environments.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 23

Understanding by Design

UNDERSTANDINGS
Definition
Understandings refer to the important, transferrable ideas and processes that students
should come to understand. Understandings differ in scope and breadth. Overarching
understandings point beyond the specifics of a unit to the larger, transferrable ideas
that spiral throughout the curriculum. Topical understandings target the particular
insights we want students to attain within a unit of study. Topical understandings are
less likely to transfer to other topics. Effective understandings…
• Reflect important, transferrable ideas
• Are stated as full-sentence generalizations in response to the stem:
Students will understand that…

Desired understandings are identified in Stage 1 for the purpose of:

1. focusing curriculum around enduring, transferable learning to avoid fixation
on simply covering and testing discrete learning objectives;
2. encouraging active meaning making by students; and
3. preparing students to be able to transfer their learning to new situations.

Overarching Understandings Topical Understandings

English/Language Arts Unit on Poetry
Audience and purpose influence Poets use rhyme schemes, meter (regular
a writer’s choice of organizational rhythms) and word sounds (e.g., allitera-
patterns, language, and literary techniques tion) to engage their readers.
to elicit an intended response from readers.
Unit on Cells
Science Special structures within cells are respon-
The way in which an object or living thing sible for particular functions, and the cell
is shaped and its substructure determine membrane forms the boundary that controls
many of its properties and functions. what enters and leaves the cell.

Physical Education Unit on Golf

A muscle that contracts through its full A full stroke with follow-through will
range of motion will generate greater force. increase your distance on a drive.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 24

Understanding by Design

Understandings
examples
Students will understand that....
Arithmetic (numeration)
• Numbers are concepts that enable people to represent quantities, sequences, and rates.
• Different number systems can represent the same quantities (e.g., bases).

Art
• The greatest artists often break with established traditions and techniques to better express
what they see and feel.
• Available tools, techniques and resources influence artistic expression.
• Great art addresses universal themes of human existence.

Dance
• Dance is a language of shape, space, timing and energy.
• Movement can communicate ideas and feelings.

Economics
• In a free-market economy, price is a function of supply and demand.
• Relative scarcity may lead to trade and economic interdependence or to conflict.

Foreign/World Language
• Studying other languages and cultures offers insights into our own.
• Meaning is conveyed through phrasing, intonation, and syntax. (Just because you can translate
all the words doesn’t mean you understand the speaker.)

Geography
• The topography, climate, and natural resources of a region influence the culture, economy, and
life-style of its inhabitants.
• All maps distort the earth’s representation of area, shape, distance, and/or direction.

Government
• Democratic governments must balance the rights of individuals with the common good.
• A written constitution sets forth the terms and limits of a government’s power.
• Different political systems vary in their tolerance and encouragement of innovation.

History
• History involves interpretation; historians can and do disagree.
• Historical interpretation is influenced by one’s perspective (e.g., freedom fighters vs. terrorists).

Media/Technology
• Technological progress presents new possibilities and problems.
• Just because it is on the Internet or in a book, doesn’t make it true.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 25

Understanding by Design

Understandings
examples
Literature
• Novelists often provide insights about human experience through fictional means.
• An effective story engages the reader by setting up questions – tensions, mystery, dilemmas, or
uncertainty - about what will happen next.
• Everybody is entitled to an opinion about what a text means, but some interpretations are more
insightful and supportable than others.

Mathematics
• Sometimes the “correct” mathematical answer is not the best solution to “real-world” problems.
• Heuristics are strategies that can aid problem solving (e.g., breaking a complex problem into
chunks, creating a visual representation, working backward from the desired result, guess and check).
• Statistical analysis and data display often reveal patterns that may not be obvious.

Music
• The silence is as important as the notes.
• Popular music has shifted from emphasizing melody and lyrics to emphasizing multi-layered
rhythms.

Physical Education/Athletics
• Creating “space” away from the ball/puck spreads the defense and increases scoring opportunities
(e.g., in basketball, soccer, football, hockey, water polo, and lacrosse).
• The most efficient and effective swimming strokes involve pulling and pushing the water directly
backward.
• Proper follow through increases accuracy when throwing (e.g., baseball, foul shot) and swinging
(e.g., golf, tennis).

Reading/Language Arts
• Effective readers use specific strategies to help them better understand the text (e.g., using context
clues, questioning the author, predicting what will come next, re-reading, summarizing, etc.
• Different types of texts (e.g., narrative, mystery, biography, expository, persuasive, etc.) have
different structures. Understanding a text’s structure helps a reader better understand its meaning.

Science
• Scientific claims must be verified by independent investigations.
• Standardized measures allow people to more accurately describe the physical world.
• Correlation does not insure causality.

Writing
• Audience and purpose (e.g., to inform, persuade, entertain) influence the use of literary techniques
(e.g., style, tone, word choice).
• Punctuation marks and grammar rules are like highway signs and traffic signals – they guide
readers through the text to help avoid confusion.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 26

 Clarifying Content Priorities
(example – nutrition – elementary/middle)

familiar with:
• general eating patterns and menus from
Understanding by Design

the past
worth being • different conditions requiring dietary
restrictions; e.g., high blood pressure,
familiar with diabetes, stomach ulcers

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins

important to know and do:
important to • types of food in each of the food groups
and their nutritional values
know & do • the USDA Food Plate guidelines
• Interpret nutritional information on food
labels

“big ideas”
and enduring big ideas:
– balanced diet – nutritional needs
understanding(s) understandings:
•  “You are what you eat.” Your diet affects
your health, appearance, and performance.
• People have different dietary needs based
on age, activity level, weight, and various
health considerations.

27
 Clarifying Content Priorities
(example – statistics – secondary)

familiar with:
•  key figures who contributed to the devel-
Understanding by Design

opment of modern statistics; e.g. Blaise

worth being Pascal and Lewis Terman.
• the history of the “bell curve” (normal
familiar with distribution)

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins

important to know and do:
important to • measures of central tendency - mean,
median, mode, range, standard deviation
know & do • statistical terminology
• data displays - bar graph, line plot, stem
and leaf plot
• various statistical formulas
“big ideas”
and enduring big ideas:
– sampling – patterns – prediction
understanding(s) – correlation – degrees of confidence
understandings:
• Statistical analysis and data display often
reveal patterns. Patterns enable prediction.
• Sometimes sampling is better than counting.
• Correlation does not insure causality.
• Statistics can mislead as well as reveal.

28
 Clarifying Content Priorities

familiar with:
Understanding by Design

worth being
familiar with

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins

important to know and do:
important to
know & do

“big ideas”
and enduring big ideas:

understanding(s)
understandings:

29
Understanding by Design

Combining Concepts to Form Understandings

Dr. Lynn Erickson suggests the following practical process for developing a desired
understanding:
Combine two or more concepts to form a full-sentence generalization.

Here are examples:

• Scientific claims must be verified by independent investigations that attempt to

replicate reported findings.

• Correlation does not insure causality.

• The topography, climate, and natural resources of a region influence the culture,
economy, and life-style of its inhabitants.

• Proper follow through increases accuracy when throwing (e.g., baseball, foul shot)
and swinging (e.g., golf, tennis).

• Audience and purpose influence the use of rhetorical and literary techniques in
speaking and writing.

• Linear functions display relationships that exhibit a constant rate of change.

• True friendship is revealed more during hard times than happy ones.

Now, try your hand at this process:

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Source: Erickson, L., Lanning, L., and French, R. (2017) Concept-Based Curriculm and Instruction
(2nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 30

Understanding by Design

Tips on Framing Understandings

Desired understandings should identify transferable concepts, principles and

processes.

o Consider: If your unit topic is a “story,” then what is (are) the moral(s) of your story? By
stating the understanding as a “moral of the story,” designers move beyond topics to clarify the
complete understanding they seek. For example, in a unit on animal adaptation, one of the
“morals” can be stated as, Living organisms have developed adaptive mechanisms to enable them
to survive harsh or changing environments.

o To insure a conceptual focus, Dr. Harvey Silver advises titling a unit as A Study In or Of...
For example, a unit on The Rainforest = A Study in A COMPLEX ECOSYSTEM; a unit on
Decimals, Fractions, Percentages = A Study in EQUIVALENCE; a unit on the story, Frog and
Toad and Friends = A Study in TRUE FRIENDSHIP.

o Avoid truisms – statements that are true by definition (e.g., Triangles have 3 sides) or state the
obvious (e.g., Musicians work with sounds to create music). Likewise, vague generalities (e.g.,
America is a complex country. or Writing involves many different elements.) are too global to
provide useful and transferable insights into important ideas. A practical tip: Check to see that
your stated understandings do not end in an adjective (e.g., Fractions are important).

Frame the desired understanding as a full-sentence generalization in response to

the phrase, “Students will understand that...”

o State specifically what it is about the topic that students are expected to grasp. Many curricular
frameworks, content standards documents, and teacher objectives make the mistake of framing
“understandings” as a topic (e.g., Students will understand the water cycle.) or skill (e.g., Students
will understand how to multiply.).

o We recommend that you summarize the particular understanding(s) you are after, being as
specific as possible about the insights that should result from exploring the topic (e.g., Data
analysis and graphic displays often reveal helpful patterns and enable prediction.).

o A practical way to accomplish this is to frame the understanding(s) in response to the stem:
“the students will understand that...” (e.g., The Civil War was fought initially over states rights
issues and regional economic politics, not just the morality of slavery.). This approach helps to
clarify the desired generalizations that we want students to come to understand, while avoiding
the problems of stating the understanding in terms of a topic or skill.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 31

Understanding by Design

Revising Understandings

Original Draft Commentary Revision Commentary

Students will understand
that...
Our founders be- The revised under-
Not an understanding – lieved in limited and standing is both a
the three branches of just states the topic, divided government transferable generaliza-
government not the desired under in order to curb the tion and the result of
standing about that topic. threat of absolute the history of monar-
power and govern- chies.
mental overreach.
A more focused under-
This understanding is a standing that should
they should eat right truism. on its face. It is encourage discussion
and live healthy lives. fairly obvious and does We are what we eat. and further inquiry in
not require in-depth order to uncover the
thinking to grasp it. insights in the state-
ment.
The revised under-
While this is an under Cultures develop standing provides
standing that may not unique traditions greater focus about the
different countries be obvious to younger and norms around inquiry and learning in
have different cul- students, the claim is so universal human the unit, and hints at
tures. vague that it isn’t clear needs such as food, an important paradoxi-
where this leads in terms clothing and shelter. cal insight: cultures
of specific inquiry and develop differently
insight. around universal hu-
man needs.
A superficial and Newton’s 2nd Law is
force makes things imprecise a statement of F = ma a profound, concise
move. the desired understanding. and more focused
understanding.
If you find a rela- The revised under-
As stated, it is more of a tionship in which 2 standing, describes the
many linear relation fact than a useful insight variables are related general class of rela-
ships can be found in drawn from inference. to each other in a tionships called ‘linear’
the world. constant ratio, the and how to find them.
relationship can be (Note that this is not
represented graphi- true by definition: it
cally by a straight must be inferred from
line. the experience with
such relationships)

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 32

Understanding by Design

ESSENTIAL
QUESTIONS
Definition
Open-ended questions designed to promote sustained inquiry and meaning making.
Essential questions differ in scope and breadth. We distinguish between overarching
and topical questions. Overarching essential questions point beyond the particulars
of a unit to the larger, transferable ideas and enduring understandings that cut across
topics. They recur fruitfully across the grades, spiraling throughout the curriculum to
provide conceptual through lines. Effective overarching essential questions:
• are broad and general in nature; and
• lead to overarching understandings

Topical essential questions are more specific. They guide the exploration of ideas and
processes within particular topics within a unit of study.

Essential questions are identified in Stage 1 for the purpose of:

1. Provoking deep thought, lively discussion, sustained inquiry, and additional
questions leading to new and/or deeper insight(s).
2. Asking students to consider alternatives, weigh evidence, support their ideas
and rethink key ideas.
3. Support connections within and across content and context.

Examples

Overarching Essential Questions Topical Essential Questions

Visual Art unit on masks
• In what ways does art reflect culture as • What do masks and their use reveal about
well as shape it? the culture? What tools, techniques, and
• How do artists choose tools, techniques, materials are used in creating masks from
and materials to express their ideas? different cultures?
English/Language Arts unit on mysteries
• What makes a great story? • What is unique about the mystery genre?
• How do effective writers hook and hold • How do great mystery writers hook and
their readers? hold their readers?

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 33

Understanding by Design

Concept Attainment – Essential Questions

Part 1 - Examine the following examples and non-examples to determine the common characteristics
of Essential Questions. List these in the box below.

Essential Questions Not Essential Questions

1. How are “form” and “function” 7. How many legs does a spider have?
related in biology? How does an elephant use its trunk?

2. How do effective writers hook and 8. What is “foreshadowing”? Can you

hold their readers? find an example of “foreshadowing’”
in the story?
3. Who “wins” and who “loses” when
9. What is the original meaning of the
technologies change?
term, technology (from its Greek
4. Should it be an axiom if it is not root, “techne”)?
obvious? 10. By what axioms are we able to prove
5. What distinguishes fluent foreign- the Pythagorean theorem?
ers from native speakers? 11. What are some French colloquialisms?
6. How would life be different if we 12. How many minutes are in an hour?
couldn’t measure time? How many hours are in a day?

List common characteristics of the Essential Questions:

Part 2 - Use your list of characteristics as criteria to determine which of the following are Essential
Questions. Check “yes” or “no” after each example.
YES NO
13. What is the relationship between popularity and greatness in literature? ___ ___
14. When was the Magna Carta signed? ___ ___

15. Crustaceans – what’s up with that? ___ ___

16. To what extent are common sense and science related? ___ ___

17. Which modern U.S. president will have the most disappointing legacy? ___ ___

18. What’s the pattern? ___ ___

Refine your list of key characteristics of Essential Questions:

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 34

Understanding by Design

Essential Questions
examples

Arithmetic (numeration)
• What is a number?
• Why do we have numbers? What if we didn’t have numbers?
• Can everything be quantified?

Arts (visual and performing)

• Where do artists get their ideas?
• How does art reflect, as well as shape, culture?
• Do you like that (artwork)?

Culinary Arts
• When is it o.k. to deviate from the recipe?
• What makes a “safe” kitchen?

Dance
• How and what can we communicate through the “language” of dance?
• In what ways can motion evoke emotion?

Economics
• What determines value?
• Can macro-economics inform micro-economics (and vice-versa)?

Foreign/World Language
• What distinguishes a fluent foreigner from a native speaker?
• What can we learn about our own language and culture from studying another?

Geography
• What makes places unique and different?
• How does where we live influence how we live?

Government
• Who should decide?
• How should we balance the rights of individuals with the common good?

Health
• What is “healthful” living?
• How can a diet be healthy for one person and not another?

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 35

Understanding by Design

Essential Questions
examples

History
• Whose “story” is it?
• How do we know what to believe about historical claims?
• What can we learn from the past?

Literature
• What makes a “great” book/story?
• What “truths” can fiction reveal? Should a story teach you something?

Mathematics
• When is the “correct” answer not the best solution?
• What are the limits of mathematical representation/modeling?

Music
• How are sounds and silence organized in various musical forms?
• If practice makes perfect, what makes “perfect” practice?

Physical Education/Athletics
• Who is a “winner?”
• Is pain necessary for progress in athletics? (“No pain, no gain” – agree?)

Reading/Language Arts
• How does what you read influence how you should read it?
• How do you read “between the lines?”
• Why do we punctuate? What if we didn’t have punctuation marks?

Science
• To what extent are science and common sense related?
• How are “form” and “function” related in biology?

Technology
• In what ways can technology enhance research and communication? In what ways might
technology hinder them?
• What are the pros and cons of technological progress?

Writing
• How do effective writers hook and hold their readers?
• How does audience and purpose influence writing style?
• What is a “complete” thought?

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 36

Understanding by Design

What Makes an Essential Question?

Questions that meet all or most of the following criteria qualify as “essential.” An essential question:

1) is open-ended; i.e., it typically will not have a single, final, and correct answer.
Essential questions yield inquiry and argument -- a variety of plausible (and arguable) responses, not
straightforward facts that end the matter. They should uncover rather than cover (up) the subject’s con-
troversies, puzzles, and perspectives.

2) is thought-provoking and intellectually engaging, often sparking discussion and debate.

Essential Questions work best when they are designed and edited to be thought-provoking to students,
engaging them in sustained, focused inquiries. Such questions often involve the counter-intuitive, the
visceral, the whimsical, the controversial, the provocative. Is the Internet dangerous for kids? Are
censorship and democracy compatible? Does food that is good for you have to taste bad?

3) calls for high-order thinking, such as analysis, inference, evaluation, prediction. It

cannot be effectively answered by recall alone (or via a Google search).
Their aim is to stimulate thought, to provoke inquiry, and to spark more questions, including thought-
ful student questions, not just pat answers. They serve as doorways into focused yet lively inquiry and
research. They are intended to result in conclusions drawn by the learner, not recited facts.

4) points toward important, transferable ideas within (and sometimes across) disciplines.
Essential questions reflect the most historically important issues, problems and debates in a field of
study. Is history inevitably biased? What is a proof? Nature or nurture? By examining such questions,
students are engaged in thinking like an expert (i.e., “doing” the subject).

5) raises additional questions and sparks further inquiry.

Thought-provoking essential questions are naturally generative. They lead to other important questions
within, and sometimes across, subject boundaries. For example: In nature, do only the strong survive?
leads to other questions and inquiries into human biology and the physics of physiology. What do we
mean by “strong?” Are insects strong (since they are survivors)?

6) requires support and justification, not just an answer.

Essential questions are intended to elicit a variety of plausible (and arguable) responses. Students are ex-
pected to provide reasons and evidence. Thus, teachers pose follow-up prompts; e.g., Why?, What’s your
reasoning? Who agrees? Who disagrees? What’s another way of viewing this?

7) recurs over time; i.e., the question can and should be re-visited again and again.
These are questions that are not answerable with finality in a single lesson or brief sentence – and that’s
the can
point.beThe
overarching or topical,
same important questionsconvergent
get asked andor divergent.
re-asked throughout one’s learning and in the
history of the field. For example: What makes a great book great? Are the Harry Potter novels great
books? can be productively examined and re-examined by first graders as well as college students.
Over time, student responses become more sophisticated, nuanced, and well-reasoned.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 37

Understanding by Design

Essential Questions in Two Strands

Every discipline is made up of two strands: a content strand containing facts, concepts and
principles and a procedural strand that harbors key skills and processes. Accordingly, there are
essential questions for both strands. Here are examples for various disciplines:

Content (Concepts) Processes

Social Studies
• How should we balance individual rights • How do we know what to believe about
with the common good? historical claims?
• Does capitalism insure economic • Whose “story” is this?
inequality?

English/Language Arts – Reading

• What “truths” can we learn from • How does what I read influence how
fiction? I should read it?
• Can anyone be a hero? • How do you read “between the lines”?
Mathematics
• What do numbers show? • What do good problem solvers do?
• What are the limits of this model (e.g., a • What makes an answer reasonable?
linear equation)?

Science
• How has the earth changed over time? • How do scientific theories change??
• How are structure and function related • How can we know what to believe about
in nature? a scientific claim?

Visual & Media Arts

• How do the arts reflect and shape • How do tools and materials influence
culture? artistic expression?
• How and why do artists break with • How can/should we “read” a work of
tradition? art?

Physical Education & Athletics

• When and why should we change the • No pain, no gain – agree?
rules? • If practice makes perfect, what makes
• Why and how do we “create space” “perfect” practice?
when on offense?

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 38

Understanding by Design

Essential Questions in Skill Areas

There is a common misunderstanding among many educators that teaching for understanding of “big
ideas” are not really central to the teaching of skill-focused areas, such as beginning literacy, physi-
cal education, and mathematics. On the contrary: everything we know about learning tells us that that
teaching for conceptual understanding is essential to more accurate and efficient skill performance.
Essential questions in skill areas may be considered in terms of the following categories:
• key concept(s) – What are the “big ideas” underlying effective skill performance?
• purpose, value – Why is the skill important?
• strategy, tactics– What strategies do skilled performers employ? How can skill performance
become more efficient and effective?
• context – When should you use the skill?

Use the space below to brainstorm possible essential questions for important skills.

underlying concepts purpose, value

• Why would we want to sample instead
• What makes an appropriate sample?
of counting everything?
• How do you know that you comprehend
• Why should readers regularly monitor
what you are reading?
their comprehension?
• How is torque applied in sports?
• How does torque affect power?

examples from:
- mathematics
- reading
- physical education

strategy, tactics context

• When and how should we sample? • When is sampling sometimes better than
• What do good readers do when they counting?
don’t understand the text? • When should you use the various
• How can you hit with greatest power “fix-up” reading strategies?
without losing control? • Why does follow-through matter?

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 39

Understanding by Design

Revising Essential Questions

Original Draft Commentary Revision Commentary

Are there any benefits The question calls for The revised question
from the deforestation some information gather- Do the benefits out- broadens the inquiry
of the rain forests? ing and analysis, but ends weigh the costs of and calls for a more
in a list. deforestation? sophisticated analysis;
far more likely to spark
debate and deeper
inquiry into any list of
pros and cons.
How does this diet The question requires A much more open
match up with the some analysis and evalu- What should we version with lots of
USDA Guidelines? ation, but there is a “cor- eat? inquiry and debate
rect” answer. potential.
What is non-fiction? A definitional question This version of the
with an unambiguous How much license question explores an
answer. does a writer of interesting “grey” area
non-fiction have to having both histori-
make a point? cal and contemporary
relevance.
Who speaks Spanish in A straightforward ques- How well can you A more provocative
our community? tion asking for a list. thrive speaking only version calling for
English? greater analysis and a
shift of perspective.
What is an axiom? A straight-forward A much more open
question calling for a Why should we question that gets at
“definitional” answer. assume that? why some things are
“given” even if they do
not seem obvious or
necessary.
What distinguishes A “leading” question with These questions re-
Impressionist art? an expected set of charac- Why and how do quire an examination
teristics. artists break with of artistic trends and
tradition? call for a generaliza-
tion by learners.
What types of exercises This question involves A more provoca-
will improve fitness? research but is leading- “No pain, no gain” tive question, likely
toward expected answers. – agree? to spark discussion,
debate – and further
inquiry.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 40

Unpacking Standards Worksheets

Unpacking Standards - “Inside Out” Method

STANDARD
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive
topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient
evidence. Source: Common Core – College and Career Readiness Standards – Writing

Stated/implied “big ideas” in NOUNS: Stated/implied performances in VERBS:

• arguments • claims • write • support (claims)
• topics or texts • analyze (topics/texts)
• evidence • reasoning • reasoning

ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS:

• valid
• relevant
• sufficient

Understandings Transfer Goal(s)

• The effectiveness of an argument produce clear and coherent
is dependent upon the quality of the writing to persuade a target
supporting evidence used (validity, audience
appropriateness) and how it is con-
veyed.
Performance Task(s)
Based on your reading of informational
texts on a local or national issue, prepare
Essential Questions a (report, letter to editor, essay) for a
specific audience to convince them of your
• What makes an argument convincing? position. Your argument should follow a
• What is the best evidence I can use logical sequence with supporting evidence
to support my argument? for your position (claim).
• How do I best organize and present
my argument? Criteria • relevant evidence
• sufficient evidence
• valid reasoning

© Wiggins & McTighe 2012 page 41

Unpacking Standards Worksheets

Unpacking Standards - “Inside Out” Method

STANDARD
Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their
development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
Source: Common Core – College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards – Reading

Stated/implied “big ideas” in NOUNS: Stated/implied performances in VERBS:

• ideas • development • determine
• themes • details • analyze
• text • summarize

ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS:

• central
• key
• supporting

Understandings Transfer Goal(s)

• Authors do not always state the Determine central ideas or themes of
central idea or theme overtly; readers a text and analyze their develop-
have to infer it “between the lines.” ment. Summarize the key supporting
• Effective readers use specific strate- details
gies to help them infer the implied
main ideas of a text.
Performance Task(s)
• Prepare a “study guide” for students
by summarizing the central ideas or
Essential Questions key themes of a text.
• Use the “Adding up the Facts” orga-
• How can I to determine the central
nizer to show how supporting details
idea or theme of what I read?
lead to an inference about main
• How can I read “between the lines”
ideas.
to determine the author’s meaning?
• What strategies do effective read-
ers use to make meaning from a text? Criteria • appropriate inference
• effective summary
• supported by key details

© Wiggins & McTighe 2012 page 42

Unpacking Standards Worksheets

Unpacking Standards - “Inside Out” Method

STANDARD
Model with Mathematics
Mathematically proficient students can apply the mathematics they know to solve problems
arising in everyday life, society, and the workplace....routinely interpret their mathemati-
cal results in the context of the situation and reflect on whether the results make sense,
possibly improving the model if it has not served its purpose.
Source: Common Core State Standards – Mathematics

Stated/implied “big ideas” in NOUNS: Stated/implied performances in VERBS:

• mathematical model(s) • model • interpret
• “real life” problems • apply • reflect on
• disciplines and life • solve • improve

ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS:

• makes sense
• serves its purpose

Understandings Transfer Goal(s)

• Mathematical models simplify and Apply the mathematics they know
connect phenomena to assist in under-
standing and problem solving.
to develop mathematical models
• Mathematical models must be viewed for solving real world problems
critically so that they do not mislead.
•Effective problem solvers always check
for the reasonableness of solutions. Performance Task(s)
• Create a mathematical model for a
selected “real-world” situation (e.g.,
Essential Questions seasonal temperatures).
• How can I best model this phenomena • Critically review and improve a
in this situation? mathematical model for its appropri-
• Do these results make sense? ateness to a given situation.
• What are the limits of this
mathematical model in this context?
• What do effective problem solvers do? Criteria • appropriate modeling
• accurate
• reasonableness of solution

© Wiggins & McTighe 2012 page 43

Unpacking Standards Worksheets

Unpacking Standards - “Inside Out” Method

STANDARD

Stated/implied “big ideas” in NOUNS: Stated/implied performances in VERBS:

ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS:

Understandings Transfer Goal(s)

Performance Task(s)

Essential Questions

Criteria

© Wiggins & McTighe 2012 page 44

Understanding by Design

Sources of Assessment Evidence: Self Assessment

Directions: Use the following scale to rate your “level of use” of each of the following assessment
tools (at the classroom, school or district level). What do the survey results suggest? What patterns do
you notice? Are you collecting appropriate evidence for all the desired results, or only those that are
easiest to test and grade? Is an important learning goal “falling through the cracks” because it is not
being assessed?

4 = Frequent Use

3 = Use Sometimes
2 = Occasional Use
1 = Do Not Use

______1. selected-response format (e.g., multiple-choice, true-false) quizzes and tests

______2. written/oral responses to academic prompts (short-answer format)
______3. performance assessment tasks, yielding:
____ extended written products (e.g., essays, lab reports)
____ visual products (e.g., Power Point show, mural)
____ oral performances (e.g., oral report, foreign language dialogues)
____ demonstrations (e.g., skill performance in physical education)
______4. long-term, “authentic” projects (e.g., senior exhibition)
______5. portfolios - collections of student work over time
______6. reflective journals or learning logs
______7. informal, on-going observations of students
______8. formal observations of students using observable indicators or criterion list
______9. student self-assessments
______10. peer reviews and peer response groups
______11. other: _____________________________________________________

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 45

Understanding by Design

A Collection of Assessment Evidence

(example - 4 week unit on Nutrition for grade 6)

Performance Tasks:

You Are What You Eat – Create a picture book to

teach 1st graders about “healthful” eating and show
at least 2 health problems that may result from poor
nutrition.
Camp Menu – Design a “balanced” 3-day menu for
meals and snacks for a weekend camping trip. Explain
why your menu plan is both healthy and tasty.
Note: Both performance tasks will be evaluated with rubrics.

Other Evidence:
(e.g., tests, quizzes, prompts, work samples, observations, etc.)

Quiz on the food groups and their nutritional

benefits
Skill Check on reading and interpreting nutrition
information on food labels.
Unit Test on health problems caused by poor eating.
Student Reflection on Daily “eating” Journal -
• To what extent are you a “healthy” eater?
• What could you do to become more of one?

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 46

Understanding by Design

Performance Tasks

Performance tasks ask students to apply knowledge and skills to a new situation, and
typically yield tangible products and performances that serve as evidence of learning. These tasks
can be used as rich learning activities or as assessments. Performance tasks (as distinct from long-
term projects) can usually be completed within a relatively short time frame, generally between one
and four class periods. Here are general characteristics of performance tasks; they:
• demand thoughtful application of knowledge and skills, not just recall;
• yield tangible products and performances that serve as evidence of learning;
• establish authentic contexts for performance;
• can integrate two or more subjects as well as 21st century skills (e.g., critical thinking,
technology use, teamwork);
• do not have a “single, best” answer or one, “right way” to accomplish the task;
• evaluate performance with established criteria and rubrics; and
• may be used as rich learning activities and/or assessments.

Performance tasks may be content‑specific (e.g., mathematics, science, social studies) or

integrated (i.e., involving two or more subjects). One natural interdisciplinary connection is to
include a reading, research and/or communication (writing, graphics, presentation) component to
tasks in content areas. Such tasks encourage students to see meaningful learning as integrated,
rather than something which occurs in isolated segments.
Two examples of performance tasks are provided below.

Fairy Tales [grades 3‑4]

You have just finished reading three fairy tales that all have the same general pattern –
characters overcoming a confrontation with an animal when the animal’s intent is to harm
the character(s). Your task is to write a story that includes all the characteristics of a fairy tale
and also uses this same general pattern. You will then read your story to your kindergarten
reading buddy and teach him/her about the characteristics and general pattern of a fairy tale.
Source: Assessing Outcomes: Performance Assessment Using Dimensions of Learning

City Park [high school physics]

Your design team has been asked by the City Park Department to construct a model
for a new playground near the elementary school. The playground will have swing sets and
see‑saws. For the safety of the children who will be using the playground equipment, you
must design your swings so that they don’t swing too fast or “loop‑the‑loop “ over the top of
the swing set.
Design and conduct an experiment to determine how the variables ‑ length, mass,
height of release ‑ affect the rate of back‑and‑forth movement of a swing. Be prepared to
present your findings, recommendations, and a demonstration to the City Park officials.
Source: A Tool Kit for Professional Developers: Alternative Assessment

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 47

Understanding by Design

Performance Task Review Criteria

KEY TO RATINGS: 3 = extensively 2 = somewhat 1 = not yet

CRITERIA

1. The task aligns with targeted standard(s)/outcome(s) and one

or more of the 4C’s – critical thinking, creativity, communication, 3 2 1
collaboration.

2. The task calls for understanding and transfer, not simply recall 3 2 1
or a formulaic response.

3. The task requires extended thinking and habits of mind – not just 3 2 1
an answer.

4. The task is set in an “authentic” context; i.e., includes a realistic 3 2 1

purpose, a target audience, and genuine constraints.

5. The task includes criteria/rubric(s) targeting distinct traits of 3 2 1

understanding and successful performance; i.e., criteria do not
simply focus on surface features of a product or performance.

6. The task directions for students are clear. 3 2 1

7. The task will be feasible to implement. 3 2 1

Optional:
8. The task allows students to demonstrate their understanding/ 3 2 1
proficiency with some appropriate choice/variety (e.g., of products
or performances).

9. The task effectively integrates two or more subject areas 3 2 1

10. The task incorporates appropriate use of technology. 3 2 1

Other: _________________________________________________ 3 2 1

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 48
 Understanding by Design

The Facets of Understanding

The facets of understanding provide indicators of understanding and thus can be used
to select or develop assessments.

If someone really understands something, they can...

Explanation
• Explain it in their own words.
n
tio

•Represent it in a different form.

•Teach it to someone else.
a
ret

Ap
•Make and support an
erp

inference.

pl
ica
Int

tio
n
• Make meaning from a text or • Use their learning effectively
data set. in a new situation.
• See and describe patterns. • Transfer.
• Make new connections.

Facets of
Understanding

• Get “inside” another • Recognize different points

person’s feelings and world of view.
view. • See the “big picture.”
• Recognize merit in the odd, • Take a critical stance.
unorthodox, or unfamiliar. e
tiv
Em

pec

• Realize their strengths and

pa

rs

weaknesses.
thy

Pe

• Recognize the limits of their

own understanding.
• Reflect on their learning and actions.

Self-Knowledge

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 49

 Understanding by Design

Brainstorming Assessment Ideas Using the Facets

Use the six facets of understanding to generate possible ways in which students
might reveal understanding.

Explanation
n
tio

Ap
• Explain how a
a
ret

battery causes a

p
lica
light bulb to glow.
erp

tio
Int

n
• Interpret a schematic • Design an electrical circuit
diagram and predict to accomplish a specific task.
the outcome. • Troubleshoot a faulty
electrical circuit.
electric
circuits
• Why does the United
• Describe an electron’s
States use AC instead of
experience as it passes
DC current? (historical
through a simple current.
perspective)
ve
cti

• Reflect on your
Em

deepening understanding
rsp
pa

of electricity (e.g., I used

thy

Pe

to think that..... but now

I understand that....).

Self-Knowledge

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 50

Understanding by Design

Questioning for Understanding using the Facets

Explanation
What is the key idea in ____________________________?
What are examples of ____________________________?
What are the characteristics/parts of _______________?
How did this come about? Why is this so?
What caused ______? What are the effects of _________?
How might we prove/confirm/justify _________________?
How is ____________ connected to _________________?
What might happen if _____________________________?
What are common misconceptions about _____________?

Interpretation
What is the meaning of ____________________________?
What are the implications of ________________________?
What does ___________ reveal about ________________?
How is __________ like ____________ (analogy/metaphor)?
How does __________________________ relate to me/us?
So what? Why does it matter?

Application
How and when can we use this (knowledge/process)?
How is ____________________ applied in the larger world?
How might ___________ help us to __________________?
How could we use _______ to overcome _______________?

Perspective
What are different points of view about ______________?
How might this look from _______________’s perspective?
How is _________ similar to/different from ____________?
What are other possible reactions to _________________?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of ___________?
What are the limits of _____________________________?
What is the evidence for ___________________________?
Is the evidence reliable? sufficient?

Empathy
What would it be like to walk in ________________’s shoes?
How might ________ feel about _____________________?
How might we reach an understanding about ___________?
What was _________________ trying to make us feel/see?

Self-Knowledge
How do I know ___________________________________?
What are the limits of my knowledge about ____________?
What are my “blind spots” about _____________________?
How can I best show ______________________________?
How are my views about _______ shaped by ______
(experiences, habits, prejudices, style)?
What are my strengths and weaknesses in ____________?

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 51

 Performance Verbs
based on the Six Facets of Understanding
Consider the following “performance verbs” when planning possible ways in which students may demonstrate their understanding.
(See the design tool on the next page.)
Understanding by Design

explain interpret apply perspective empathy self-knowledge

demonstrate
create analogies adapt be like be aware of
analyze

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins

derive critique build be open to realize
argue
describe document create believe recognize
compare
design evaluate decide consider reflect
contrast
exhibit illustrate de-bug imagine self-assess
criticize
express judge design relate
infer
induce make sense of exhibit role-play
instruct make meaning of invent
justify provide metaphors perform
model read between the produce
predict lines propose
prove represent solve
show tell a story of test
synthesize translate troubleshoot
teach use

52
Understanding by Design

Depth of Knowledge
Dr. Norman Webb developed the Depth of Knowledge (DOK) framework to
distinguish four levels of rigor and cognitive complexity. The DOK framework
provides a common language and a frame of reference to help educators understand
“rigor,” or cognitive demand, in assessments, as well as curricular units, lessons, and
tasks. Many State Departments of Education have used the DOK Framework in devel-
oping state assessments. Here is a summary of the four levels of the DOK Framework.

Level 1
• Require students to recite or recall information including facts, formulae, or simple
procedures.
• May require students to demonstrate a rote response, use a well-known formula,
follow a set procedure (like a recipe), or perform a clearly defined series of steps.
• Typically focus on a “correct” answer.

Level 2
• Focus on application of basic skills and concepts.
• Involve some reasoning beyond recall.
• Require students to perform two or more steps and make some decisions on how to
approach the task or problem.

Level 3
• Require strategic thinking and reasoning applied to situations that generally do not
have a single “right” answer.
• Require students to go beyond the information given to generalize, connect ideas,
evaluate, and problem solve.
• Expect students to support their interpretations and conclusions with evidence
and to “explain their thinking.”

Level 4
• Require extended thinking and complex reasoning over an extended period of time.
• Expects students to transfer their learning to novel, complex and “messy” situations.
• Requires students to devise an approach among many alternatives for how to
approach the task or problem.
• May require students to develop a hypothesis and perform complex analysis.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 53

Understanding by Design

Webb’s Depth of Knowledge for

Reading and Mathematics
DOK Reading Tasks require: Mathematics Tasks require:
Level
• verbatim recall of a text • recalling information (e.g., a math fact or
• only basic, literal comprehension definition)
• basic paraphrasing of specific details • performing a one-step, well-defined
1 from the text procedure (e.g., an algorithm or formula)
• support for ideas by reference to • “plug in” numbers into a given algorithm
details from the text • follow a set procedure with a clearly
• use of a dictionary to find the defined series of steps
meanings of words
• some inference/interpretation of • applying some mathematical reasoning to:
textual information - multi-step, yet routine, problems
• summary of main idea(s) - one-step, simple word problems
2 • prediction of an outcome based on text • collecting, classifying, organizing, and
information comparing simple data
• use of context cues to identify the • organizing and displaying simple data in
meaning of unfamiliar words tables, graphs, and charts
• interpreting non-complex numerical
information

• comprehension and interpretation of • application of sound mathematical

abstract ideas (e.g., metaphor, reasoning to multi-step, non-routine
analogies) problems
• going beyond the literal text by • analysis of problem situations (e.g.,
summarizing, generalizing and determining what information is needed)
connecting ideas from multiple sources
3 • support for inference/interpretation
• explanation of one’s thinking and
reasoning
with textual evidence and reasoning • interpreting complex numerical or
• critical analysis; for example, statistical information
- author’s style in literature
• making and supporting mathematical
- distinguishing fact and opinion
- recognizing bias or flawed conjectures
reasoning • perseverance

• transfer – applying ideas/information • application of sound mathematical

from a given text to a new task reasoning to confront complex, ill-
• developing hypotheses and performing structured problem situations
complex analyses across texts • complex analytical and creative thinking
• analyzing and synthesizing • strategic planning
information from multiple sources
4 • evaluating alternative perspectives
• transferring mathematical concepts and
process to new contexts (e.g., in science)
across multiple sources • interpreting complex numerical or
• extracting common ideas/themes statistical information from multiple sources
across texts from different times and
• lots of perseverance!
cultures

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 54

 
 Matrix Method -- Mathematics Common Core Standards

Practice Standards 1 Make 2 Reason 3 Construct 4 Model 5 Use appro- 6 Attend to 7 Look for 8 Look for
sense of abstractly viable argu- with math- priate tools precision. and make and express
MATH GR 3 problems and quanti- ments and ematics. strategi- use of struc- regularity
and perse- tatively. critique the cally. ture. in repeated
vere in solv- reasoning of reasoning.
Content Standards ing them. others.
Understanding by Design

Represent and solve problems in-

volving multiplication and division.
Understand properties of multipli-
cation and the relationship be-
tween multiplication and division.
Multiply and divide within 100.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins

Solve problems involving the four
operations, and identify and ex-
plain patterns in arithmetic.
Use place value understanding and
properties of operations to per-
form multi-digit arithmetic.
Develop understanding of fractions
as numbers.
Solve problems involving measure-
ment and estimation of intervals of
time, liquid volumes, and masses
of objects.
Represent and interpret data.
Geometric measurement: under-
stand concepts of area and relate
area to multiplication and to addi-
tion.
Geometric measurement: recog-
nize perimeter as an attribute
of plane figures and distinguish
between linear and area measures.
Reason with shapes and their

55
attributes.
Understanding by Design

Performance Task Examples

Examine the performance task vignettes on the following pages. What distinguishes these
tasks from typical test “items”? What common features or characteristics do these share?

Painting a Schoolroom – Mathematics, grades 7-9

When contractors give us an estimate on repairs, how can we know if the cost is
reasonable? You have been asked by the Principal to review a painting contractor’s
proposal to determine whether s/he is being overcharged. (Students are given room
dimensions and cost figures for materials, labor, and a 20% profit. )
Examine the proposal and write a letter to the Principal providing your evaluation
of the proposal. Be sure to show your calculations so that s/he will understand how
you arrived at your conclusion.

Mail-Order Friend – Language Arts, grades K-2

Imagine that you have an opportunity to “order” a friend by telephone from a mail-
order catalog. Think about the qualities that you want in a friend. Before you “order”
your friend over the telephone, practice asking for three characteristics that you want
in a friend and give an example of each characteristic. Remember to speak clearly and
loud enough so that the sales person will know exactly what to send.

From the Mountains to the Seashore – History, Geography, Math, grades 5-8
A group of nine foreign students is visiting your school for one month as part of an
international exchange program. (Don’t worry, they speak English!) The principal has
asked your class to plan and budget a four-day tour of [your state or province] to help
the visitors understand the state’s impact on the history and development of our na-
tion. Plan your tour so that the visitors are shown sites that best capture the ways that
[your state or province] has influenced thenation’s development.
You should prepare a written tour itinerary, including an explanation of why each
site was selected. Include a map tracing the route for the four-day tour and a budget
for the trip.

Spot Remover – Science, Middle School

Chris wants to decide which of two spot removers is best. First, he tried Spot
Remover A on a T-shirt that had fruit stains and chocolate stains. Next, he he tried
Spot Remover B on jeans that had grass stains and rust stains. Then he compared the
results.
Explain what did Chris do wrong that will make it hard for him to know which spot
remover is best. Redesign the experiment to help him determine the best spot remover.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 56

Understanding by Design

Performance Task Examples

Find the Best Deal – Mathematics, High School

Your friend has told you that he has just upgraded his cell phone plan with BS&S.
The plan offers unlimited calls and texts for a fixed monthly fee. Your current plan is
based on a price per call (in minutes) and text (mbs). He insists that his new plan is the
best plan available and you should choose this same plan. Is he correct in his assump-
tion that this is the best plan for you? Why or why not? Explain your position, cite
your mathematical reasons, and show table(s)/graph(s) and equation(s) to support your
recommendation.

Pulse Rate – Science, grade 6-9

Design and conduct an investigation to answer the question, How does exercise
affect the pulse rate? Compare normal pulse rate to changes caused by two selected
physical activities (e.g., jogging, push-ups, squats, swimming) for designated inter-
vals. Prepare a report to explain the results to other students in a news article, graphic,
e-mail or other appropriate media.

Active Citizen – Social Studies, Language Arts, grade 4-9

You have an idea that you believe will make your school/community better, and
you want to convince school/community leaders that they should act on your idea.
Identify your audience (e.g., principal, PTSA Board, students, city counmcil, citizens)
and:
• Describe your idea.
• Explain why & how it will improve the school/community.
• Develop a plan for acting on your idea.
Your idea and plan can be communicated to your target audience in a letter, e-
mail, public service announcement or presentation.

Pooper Scooper – Science, grade 4-6

The Pooper Scooper Kitty Litter Company claims that their litter is 40% more
absorbent than other brands. You are a Consumer Advocates researcher who has been
asked to evaluate their claim. Develop a plan for conducting the investigation. Your
plan should be specific enough so that the lab investigators could follow it to evaluate
the claim.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 57

Understanding by Design

Performance Task Examples

Hall of Recognition – Social Studies, Language Arts, grade 4-5
The state has announced the establishment of a Hall of Recognition to honor the
contributions of local citizens to their community, the state or the nation. Since you
are learning about famous individuals from _____, you have been asked to nominate
a candidate who you believe would be worthy of admission to the Hall.
Your task is to select and research the life of your chosen individual. Submit a
nomination letter to the Hall’s selection committee explaining the reasons why your
candidate should be included Hall of Recognition. Be sure to describe his/her accom-
plishments and the contributions they he/she has made.

How-To Guide – E/LA; may include other content areas

Since you are an accomplished user of ________ software (e.g., iMovie, Google
Docs), you have been asked to develop a User’s Guide or Tutorial to help ________
(e.g., fellow students, adults) learn to use it. Provide clear step-by-step directions for
using specific features and include a Trouble-Shooting Guide for common problems
that beginning users may encounter.

Chemical Equilibrium – Chemistry, grades 11 - 12

You are a researcher hired by a group of expert mountain climbers. Hypoxia is the
set of symptoms (headache, fatigue, nausea) that comes from a lack of oxygen in body
tissues. It is often felt by mountain climbers as they ascend altitude quickly. Sherpas,
long-time residents of high altitudes, seem to feel no hypoxic discomfort. Why might
that be? Your group wants to know, and to benefit from the knowledge.
Design a series of experiments that would test the difference in hypoxic symptoms
between mountain climbers and sherpas. Explain, using chemical equilibrium, why
high altitude causes hypoxia in the climbers. How can sherpas avoid these symptoms?
How can you test for these possibilities? What would a positive test look like? What
inherent errors would you have to be aware of?

Tour Director – World Languages - Level 1

You serve on a Welcome Committee to provide tours for new students. Plan a trip to
three places (e.g., school, town, mall) in the new student’s target language. Incorporate
the following vocabulary: directions (left, right, near, far, next to, etc.), places (e.g.,
classrooms, cafeteria, gym, library, labs, churches, police and fire stations, schools,
restaurants, stores) and transportation (e.g., bus, bike, stairs, escalators, taxi, train,
car). Remember to include a variety of locations, directions, and forms of transporta-
tion on your “trips.” Keep sentences simple and narrate in the target language.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 58

Understanding by Design

The Literacy Design Collaborative Task Templates

Funded through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC)
has developed a set of Modules designed to support the integration of the Common Core Standards
(6-12) in English/ Language Arts with core content in Science, Social Studies and Technical areas.
Each Module consists of a task and associated instructional procedures intended to provide a rigor-
ous, authentic classroom experience for students at the secondary level.

The Tasks require students to read, analyze, and comprehend written materials and then write cogent
arguments, explanations, or narratives in the subjects they are studying. A key feature of the LDC’s
work is a set of generic Task Templates -- fill-in-the-blank “shells” that allow teachers to design their
own tasks.

Here are several samples:

Argumentation Task Template

After researching ________ (informational texts) on ________ (content topic or issue), write a/an
________ (essay or substitute) that argues your position on ________ (topic, issue, essential ques-
tion). Support your position with evidence from research. Be sure to acknowledge competing views.
Give examples from from past or current events issues to illustrate and clarify your position.

Social Studies Example:

After researching academic articles on censorship, write a/an blog or editorial that argues your
position on the use of Internet filters by schools. Support your position with evidence from
research. Be sure to acknowledge competing views.

ELA Example:
What makes something something funny? After reading selections from Mark Twain and Dave
Barry, write a review that compares their their humor and argues which type of humor works
for a contemporary audience and why. Be sure to support your position with evidence from the
texts.. Be sure to support your position with evidence from the texts.

Informational or Explanatory Task Template

[Insert question] After reading ________ (literature or informational texts), write a/an __________
(essay, report, article, or substitute) that defines and explains (term or concept). Support your discus-
sion with evidence from the text(s). What ________ (conclusions or implications) can you draw?

Social Studies Example:

What did the authors of the American Constitution mean by “rights”? After reading the Bill
of Rights, write an essay that defines “rights” and explains “rights” as the authors use it in this
foundational document. Support your discussion with evidence from the text. What implications
can you draw?

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 59

Understanding by Design

Constructing a Performance Task Scenario

using G.R.A.S.P.S.
Consider the following set of stem statements as you construct a scenario for a performance task.
Refer to the previous idea sheets to help you brainstorm possible scenarios. (Note: These are idea
starters. Resist the urge to fill in all of the blanks.)

Goal :
• Your task is ________________________________________________________________________
•  The goal is to _______________________________________________________________________
• The problem/challenge is______________________________________________________________
• The obstacle(s) to overcome is (are) _____________________________________________________

Role:
• You are ___________________________________________________________________________
• You have been asked to _______________________________________________________________
• Your job is ________________________________________________________________________

Audience:
• Your client(s) is (are) ________________________________________________________________
• The target audience is _______________________________________________________________
• You need to convince ________________________________________________________________

Situation:
• The context you find yourself in is ______________________________________________________
• The challenge involves dealing with ____________________________________________________

Product/Performance and Purpose:

• You will create a ____________________________________________________________________
in order to _________________________________________________________________________
• You need to develop _________________________________________________________________
so that ____________________________________________________________________________

Success Criteria:
• Your performance needs to ____________________________________________________________
• Your work will be judged by __________________________________________________________
• Your product must meet the following standards ___________________________________________
• A successful result will _______________________________________________________________

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 60

Understanding by Design

Constructing a Performance Task Scenario

G.R.A.S.P.S. example

Goal:
•  Your goal is to help a group of foreign visitors understand the key
historic, geographic and economic features of our region.

Role:
• You are an intern at the Regional Office of Tourism.

Audience:
• The audience is a group of nine foreign visitors (who speak
English).

Situation:
•  You have been asked to develop a plan, including a budget, for a
four-day tour of the region. Plan your tour so that the visitors are
shown sites that best illustrate the key historical, geographic and
economic features of our region.

Product/Performance and Purpose:

• You need to prepare a written tour itinerary and a budget for
the trip. You should include an explanation of why each site was
selected and how it will help the visitors understand the key
historic, geographic and economic features of our region. Include
a map tracing the route for the tour.
[Optional: Provide a budget for the trip.]*

Success Criteria:
• Your proposed tour plan needs to include...
- an itinerary and route map
- the key historical, geographic and economic features
of the region
- a clear rationale for the selected sites
* accurate and complete budget figures

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 61

Understanding by Design

Constructing a Performance Task Scenario

G.R.A.S.P.S. example

Goal:
•  The goal (within the scenario) is to minimize costs for shipping
bulk quantities of M&Ms.

Role:
• You are an engineer in the packaging department of the M&M
Candy Company.

Audience:
• The target audience is non-engineer company executives.

Situation:
•  You need to convince penny-pinching company officers that your
container design will provide cost-effective use of the given
materials, maximize shipping volume of bulk quantities of M&Ms,
and be safe to transport.

Product/Performance and Purpose:

• You need to design a shipping container from given materials for
the safe and cost-effective shipping of the M&Ms. Then you will
prepare a written proposal in which you include a diagram and show
mathematically how your container design provides effective use
of the given materials and maximizes the shipping volume of the
M&Ms.

Success Criteria:
• Your container proposal should...
- provide cost-effective use of the given materials
- maximize shipping volume of bulk quantities of M&Ms
- be safe to transport
• Your models must make the mathematical case.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 62

Understanding by Design

Possible STUDENT ROLES and AUDIENCES

KEY: ROLES = R and AUDIENCES = A

___ actor ___ family member ___ pilot

___ advertiser ___ farmer ___ playwright
___ artist/illustrator ___ filmmaker ___ poet
___ author ___ firefighter ___ policeman/woman
___ biographer ___ forest ranger ___ pollster
___ board member ___ friend ___ radio listener
___ boss ___ geologist ___ reader
___ boy/girl scout ___ government official ___ reporter
___ businessperson ___ historian ___ researcher
___ candidate ___ historical figure ___ reviewer
___ carpenter ___ illustrator ___ sailor
___ cartoon character ___ intern ___ school official
___ cartoonist ___ interviewer ___ scientist
___ caterer ___ inventor ___ ship’s captain
___ celebrity ___ judge ___ social scientist
___ chairperson ___ jury ___ social worker
___ chef/cook ___ lawyer ___ statistician
___ choreographer ___ library patron ___ storyteller
___ CEO ___ literary critic ___ student
___ coach ___ lobbyist ___ taxi driver
___ community members ___ meteorologist ___ teacher
___ composer ___ museum director/ ___ t.v. viewer
___ clients/customer curator ___ tour guide
___ construction worker ___ museum goer ___ trainer
___ dancer ___ neighbor ___ travel agent
___ designer ___ newscaster ___ traveler
___ detective ___ novelist ___ t.v./movie
___ editor  ___ nutritionist character
___ elected official ___ panelist ___ tutor
___ embassy staff ___ parent ___ viewer
___ engineer ___ park ranger ___ visitor
___ expert (in ________) ___ pen pal ___ website designer
___ eye witness ___ photographer ___ zoo keeper

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Understanding by Design

Possible Products and Performances

What student product(s) and/or performance(s) will provide appropriate evidence of understanding
and/or proficiency? The following lists offer possibilities. (Remember that student products and
performances should be framed by an explicit purpose or goal and an identified audience.)

Written Oral Visual

❍ advertisement ❍ audiotape ❍ advertisement
❍ biography ❍ conversation ❍ banner
❍ blog ❍ debate ❍ book/CD cover
❍ book report/review ❍ discussion ❍ cartoon
❍ brochure
❍ dramatization ❍ collage
❍ crossword puzzle
❍ dramatic reading ❍ computer graphic
❍ editorial
❍ infomercial ❍ data display
❍ essay
❍ interview ❍ design
❍ field guide
❍ radio script ❍ diagram
❍ historical fiction
❍ oral presentation ❍ display
❍ journal
❍ oral report ❍ drawing
❍ lab report
❍ letter ❍ poetry reading ❍ exhibit
❍ log ❍ podcast ❍ Face Book page
❍ magazine article ❍ puppet show ❍ flowchart
❍ memo ❍ rap ❍ flyer
❍ newscast ❍ skit ❍ game
❍ newspaper article ❍ speech ❍ graph
❍ play ❍ song ❍ map
❍ poem ❍ teach a lesson ❍ model
❍ position paper/ ❍ movie
policy brief ❍ Power Point/Prezi
❍ proposal ❍ photograph(s)
❍ questionnaire ❍ painting
❍ research report ❍ poster
❍ screen play ❍ scrapbook
❍ script ❍ sculpture
❍ other: _______________ ❍ storyboard
❍ story
❍ other ❍ vodcast
❍ test
❍ web site
❍ Tweet
© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 64
 Understanding by Design

Considering Student Interests

Primary Grades (pre-K – 2)
• animals/pets • plants
• cartoons • seasons
• characters (in books, on t.v., etc.) • sharks
• community helpers • weather/snow
• dinosaurs • zoo
• five senses Other:
• holidays • _______________________
• planets/outer space

Intermediate Grades (3 – 5)
• archaeology • movies
• books/literature • mysteries
• computers - games • outer space
• disasters • sports
• famous people • television/t.v. shows
• friends • video games
• games Other:
• geography • _______________________

Middle School (6 – 8)
• amusement parks • music/musical groups
• cell phones • movies
• clothing/fashion • shopping
• computers – games, e-mail, IM • social media
• disasters • sports
• friends • television/t.v. shows
• games • video games
• jobs/earning money Other: __________________

High School (9 – 12)

• automobiles/driving • music/musical groups
• careers • jobs/earning money
• cell phones • shopping
• clothing/fashion • social media
• colleges • sports
• computers – games, e-mail, IM • travel /vacations
• dating/romance • video games
• friends Other: __________________

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 65
Understanding by Design

Task Variables
The following variables could be considered when designing learning and performance
tasks. The desired results, nature and needs of the students, the teacher’s style, available
resources (time, supplies, equipment, funds) and classroom feasibility.

Discipline-specific or Interdisciplinary
❍ single discipline ❍ two disciplines ❍ three or more disciplines

Student Choice – To what extent will students have choices regarding the following?
❍ task topic ❍ task activities ❍ process for completing task
❍ product(s)/performance(s) ❍ audience(s)

Access to Resources – Will all resources needed (information, supplies, equipment) be

provided? To what extent will students be expected to gather information, provide their
own supplies/equipment, etc.?
❍ all necessary information/ resources provided ❍ other: ______________

Performance Mode ­– How will students work?

❍ individually ❍ pair/group (optional) ❍ pair/group (required)

Audience(s) for Student Product(s)/Performance(s) – To whom will students present

their products and performances?
❍ teacher ❍ other school staff ❍ expert(s) ❍ parents/community
❍ peers (in class) ❍ other students ❍ other: ________________

Time Frame – How long will students be involved in this task? Include time for pre-
sentations and evaluations.
❍ 1 – 2 class periods ❍ 3 – 5 periods ❍ other: _______________

Degree of Scaffolding – To what degree will students be provided with instructional

support (scaffolding) as they work on the task?
❍ no support ❍ some support, as needed ❍ extensive support

Evaluation of Student Product(s)/Performance(s) – Who will be involved in the

evaluation of student products and performances?
❍ teacher ❍ other staff ❍ expert judge(s) ❍ external scorers
❍ student (self evaluation) ❍ peers ❍ other: ________________

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 66

Understanding by Design

Options for Criterion-Based Evaluation Tools

KEY QUESTIONS

• What is the purpose of this performance task or assignment (diagnostic, formative,

summative)?

• What evaluation tool is most appropriate given the assessment purpose?

❍ performance list ❍ holistic rubric ❍ analytic rubric

❍ generic ❍ task specific

• What is the range of the scale?

• Who will use the evaluation tool (teachers, external scorers, students, others)?
If students are involved, the tool should be written in understandable ‘kid language’.

TYPES OF CRITERION-BASED EVALUATION TOOLS

SCORING RUBRIC PERFORMANCE LIST

Holistic Analytic Analytic

Generic

Task-
Specific

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 67

Understanding by Design

Performance List for Writing Fiction

Primary Level

Needs
Terrific O.K.
Work

1. I have an interesting setting

and characters for my story.

2. The problem in my story will

be clear to my readers.

3. My story events are in order.

4. The solution will be clear to

my readers.
5. I used many describing words
to tell what is happening.

6. My words “paint a picture.”

7. I have a title that goes with

my story.

What will you try to do better the next time you write a story?

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 68

Understanding by Design

Four Categories of Criteria

Content – refers to the appropriateness and relative sophistication of the understanding,
knowledge and skill employed.

Quality – refers to the overall quality, craftsmanship and rigor of the work.

Process – refers to the quality and appropriateness of the procedures, methods, and
approaches used, prior to and during performance.

Result – refers to the impact, success or effectiveness of performance, given the purpose(s)
and audience.
Example – Cooking a Meal

Here is an example in which all four types of criteria might be used to evaluate a meal in
nine different ways:
Content
1. meal reflects knowledge of food, cooking, situation, and diners’
needs and tastes
2. meal contains the appropriate, fresh ingredients
3. meal reflects sophisticated flavors and pairings

Quality
4. meal is presented in aesthetically appealing manner
5. all dishes are cooked to taste

Process
6. meal is efficiently prepared, using appropriate techniques
7. the two cooks collaborated effectively

Result
8. meal is nutritious
9. meal is pleasing to all guests

NOTE: While these four categories reflect common types of criteria, we do not mean to
suggest that you must use all four types for each and every performance task. Rather, you
should select the criterion types that are appropriate for the goals being assessed through
the task and for which you want to provide feedback to learners.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 69

Understanding by Design

Four Types of Performance Criteria

By what criteria should understanding performances be assessed? The challenge in answer-
ing is to ensure that we assess what is central to the understanding, not just what is easy to
score. In addition, we need to make sure that we identify the separate traits of performance
(e.g. a paper can be well-organized but not informative and vice versa) to ensure that the
student gets specific and valid feedback. Finally, we need to make sure that we consider the
different types of criteria (e.g. the quality of the understanding vs. the quality of the perfor-
mance in which it is revealed). The chart below offers ideas for different types of criteria and
their associated indicators.

content process quality result

Describes the degree of Describes the degree Describes the Describes the over-
knowledge of factual info- of skill/proficiency. degree of quality all impact and the
mation or under- Also refers to the effec- evident in extent to which
standing of concepts, tiveness of the process products and goals, purposes, or
principles, and processes. or method used. performances. results are achieved.

accurate careful attractive beneficial

appropriate clever competent conclusive
authentic coherent creative convincing
complete collaborative detailed decisive
correct concise extensive effective
credible coordinated focused engaging
explained effective graceful entertaining
justified efficient masterful informative
important flawless organized inspiring
in-depth followed process polished meets standards
insightful logical/reasoned proficient memorable
logical mechanically correct precise moving
makes connections methodical neat persuasive
precise meticulous novel proven
relevant organized rigorous responsive
sophisticated planned skilled satisfactory
supported purposeful stylish satisfying
thorough rehearsed smooth significant
valid sequential unique useful
skilled well-crafted understood

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 70

 Understanding by Design

What Is Exemplary Design for Learning?

1. Think back to your many prior experiences with well-designed learning, both in and out of school.
What was the most well-designed learning experience you have ever encountered as a learner?
What features of the design - not the teacher’s style or your interests - made the learning so engag-
ing and effective? (Design elements include: challenges posed, sequence of activities, resources
provided, assignments, assessments, groupings, teacher’s role, etc.).
Briefly describe the design, below:

2. In sharing your recollections and analyses with your colleagues, build a list of generalizations that
follow from the accounts. What do well-designed learning experiences have in common? In other
words, what must be built in “by design” for any learning experience to be maximally effective and
engaging for students?

The best designs for learning...

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 71

Understanding by Design

Seven Principles of Learning*

1. Learning with understanding is facilitated when new and existing knowledge is structured
around the major concepts and principles of the discipline.
2. Learners use what they already know to construct new understandings.
3. Learning is facilitated through the use of metacognitive strategies that identify, monitor,
and regulate cognitive processes.
4. Learners have different strategies, approaches, patterns of abilities, and learning styles
that are a function of the interaction between their heredity and prior experiences.
5. Learners’ motivation to learn and sense of self affects what is learned, how much is
learned, and how much effort will be put into the learning process.
6. The practices and activities in which people engage while learning shape what is learned.
7. Learning is enhanced through socially supported interactions.

Principles of Instruction for Understanding*

Teaching for conceptual understanding in advanced mathematics and science courses:
1. Maintains students’ focus on the central organizing themes and underlying concepts of the
discipline.
2. Is based on careful consideration of what students already know, their ideas and ways of under-
standing the world, and the patterns of practice they bring into the classroom.
3. Focuses on detecting, making visible, and addressing students’ often fragile, underdeveloped
understandings and misconceptions.
4. Reflects an understanding of differences in students’ interests, motivations, preferences, knowl-
edge, and abilities.
5. Is designed to provide the appropriate degree of explicitness for the situation and the abilities of
the learners.
6. Recognizes students’ preferences for and varying abilities to process different symbol systems,
such as language (written and spoken), images, and numerical representations, by employing
multiple representations during instruction.
7. Engages students in worthwhile tasks that provide access to powerful mathematical and scientific
ideas and practices; moves students to see past the surface features of problems to the deeper,
more fundamental principles; and develops their conceptual understanding.
8. Structures learning environments in which students can work collaboratively to gain experience
in using the ways of thinking and speaking used by experts in the discipline.
9. Orchestrates classroom discourse so that students can make conjectures, present solutions, and
argue about the validity of claims, thus helping them explore old understandings in new
ways, reveal misconceptions, and generalize and transfer their learning to new problems or
more robust understandings.
10. Provides explicit instruction in metacognition as part of teaching in the discipline.
11. Uses various kinds of formal and informal formative assessments to monitor students’ under-
standing and target instruction effectively.
12. Creates expectations and social norms for the classroom that allow students to experience
success and develop confidence in their abilities to learn.
*Source: Committee on Programs for Advanced Study of Mathematics and Science in American High Schools

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 72

Understanding by Design

Teaching and Learning for Understanding

What does it mean to teach and learn for understanding?
We have found it useful to consider this question by examining three distinct, yet
interrelated, learning goals: 1) acquisition of new information and skill, 2) making meaning
of that content (i.e., coming to understand), and 3) transfer of one’s knowledge (i.e., apply-
ing one’s learning to new situations).
These three categories link directly to elements identified in Understanding by Design.
In Stage 1 teachers specify the knowledge and skill that they intend students to acquire.
They also decide upon the “big ideas” they want students to come to understand and
develop essential questions to help students make meaning of those ideas. In Stage 2,
teachers develop performance tasks requiring transfer as evidence that students understand
and can apply their knowledge in authentic contexts.

Make
Acquire Meaning
important
of “big ideas”
knowledge
(key principles
and skills
and processes)

Transfer
learning to new
situations

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 73

Understanding by Design

What is Fair?
Who won this year’s 7th grade race around the campus?
Every year Birdsong Middle School has a field day in which classes engage in various outdoor
activities. One of the events is a 3/4 mile run around the perimeter of the campus. Below are the
results for the four 7th grade classes. The data show the order of finishes for all of the 7th grade
runners.

But there is a problem: The teachers never intended this as a competition, so they did not develop
a method of calculating the winning class. However, the students want to know the winner!

What is the fairest way to determine which class should be declared winner?
Your group task is to review the order of finish data in the chart below and decide a FAIR way of de-
ciding which class is the winner? Your group should discuss the problem, decide on a winning class,
AND be prepared to explain your reasoning and defend your approach.

Class rank Class A Class B Class C Class D

1 4 6 1 2
2 9 7 3 5
3 11 10 14 8
4 12 13 18 15
5 20 16 19 17
6 21 22 23 31
7 25 24 28 33
8 26 27 30 36
9 29 34 32 37
10 35 39 41 38
11 43 40 44 46
12 45 42 47 51
13 49 48 50 55
14 54 52 56 57
15 61 53 60 58
16 65 62 63 59
17 69 66 64 67
18 70 72 68
19 71 73
20 74

Notes on the chart:

• The numbers in the chart, from 1 to 74 represent the place of finish of that runner. So, the overall
race winner was from Class C, the number two runner overall was in Class D, etc.
• Class rank refers to the rank of finish place in that class, not the overall race. So, the first runner in
class A was 4th overall in the race, the 2nd best runner in class A came in 9th overall, etc.
• The blanks reflect the fact that each of the 4 classes has a different number of students.

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 74

Understanding by Design

Coding a Learning Plan Using A - M - T

A = acquiring basic knowledge and skills M = making meaning T = transfer
Mathematics Unit on Measures of Central Tendency

Essential Question: What is fair - and how can mathematics help us answer the question?

1. Introduce and discuss the essential question, first part - What is “fair”? What is “unfair’? M

2. Introduce the 7th grade race problem. Which of the 7th-grade classes won the race? What is a fair
way to decide? Small-group inquiry, followed by class discussion of answers. M

3. Teacher informs students about the mathematical connections derived from the problem
analysis, and lays out the unit and its culminating transfer task. A

4. In small-group jigsaw, students share their answers to the INQUIRY sheet, then return to their
team to generalize from all the small-group work. Discuss other examples related to the concept of
“fairness” such as the following. M
- What is a fair way to rank many teams when they do not all play each other?
- What is a fair way to split up limited food among hungry people of very different sizes?
- When is it ‘fair’ to use majority vote and when is it not fair? What might be fairer?
- Is it fair to have apportioned Representatives based on a state’s population, yet have two
Senators from each state irrespective of their size? What might be fairer?
- What are fair and unfair ways of representing how much money the “average” worker
earns, for purposes of making government policy?

5. Teacher connects the discussion to the next section in the textbook - measures of central tendency
(mean, median, mode, range, standard deviation). A

6. Students practice calculating each type of measure. A

7. Teacher gives quiz on mean, median, mode from textbook. A

8. Teacher leads a review and discussion of the quiz results. A M

9. Group task worked on in class: What is the fairest possible grading system for schools to use?
M T
10. Individuals and small teams present their grading policy recommendations and reasons. M T

11. Culminating transfer task: Each student determines which measure (mean, median or mode)
should be used to calculate their grade for the marking period and writes a note to the teacher show-
ing their calculations and explaining their choice. T

12. Students write a reflection on the essential question and their learnings as a result of the unit. M

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 75

 Learning Goals and Teaching Roles
Three Interrelated
Learning Goals → ACQUIRE MAKE MEANING TRANSFER
Note: These three goals are of This goal seeks to help This goal seeks to help students This goal seeks to support
course interrelated. However, learners acquire factual construct meaning (i.e., come to an the learner’s ability to
there is merit in distinguish- transfer their learning
Understanding by Design

ing them to sharpen and focus

information and basic understanding) of important ideas autonomously and effect-
teaching and assessment. skills. and processes. ively in new situations.

Direct Instruction Facilitative Teaching Coaching

In this role, the teacher’s pri- Teachers in this role engage the learners in In a coaching role, teachers
actively processing information and guide establish clear performance
Teacher Role/ mary role is to inform the learn-
goals, supervise on-going

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins

Instructional ers through explicit instruction their inquiry into complex problems, texts,
opportunities to perform
Strategies in targeted knowledge and skills; projects, cases, or simulations; differentiating
(independent practice) in
differentiating as needed. as needed.
increasingly complex situations,
Note: Like the above Strategies include: provide models and give on-
Strategies include:
learning goals, these m diagnostic assessment going feedback (as personalized
three teaching roles m diagnostic assessment as possible). They also provide
m using analogies
(and their associated m lecture m graphic organizers “just in time teaching” (direct
methods) work togeth- instruction) when needed.
m advanced organizers m questioning (divergent) & probing
er in pursuit of identi- Strategies include:
m concept attainment
fied learning results. m graphic organizers m on-going assessment,
m inquiry-oriented approaches
m questioning (convergent) m providing specific
m Problem-Based Learning feedback in the context
m demonstration/modeling m Socratic Seminar of authentic application
m process guides m Reciprocal Teaching m conferencing
m formative (on-going) assessments m prompting self assess-
m guided practice
m understanding notebook ment and reflection
m feedback, corrections,
m feedback/ corrections
m differentiation m rethinking and reflection prompts
m differentiated instruction

76
 Learning Goals and Student Actions
Three Interrelated
Learning Goals → ACQUIRE MAKE MEANING TRANSFER
In order to acquire knowledge In order to make meaning (i.e., In order to develop the capac
and skills, learners need to: come to an understanding) of ity to transfer their learning,
Understanding by Design

important ideas and processes students need to:

Note: Not every m listen, read, and view care- learners need to:
learner action will be fully m apply their learning in novel
applicable to every m listen, read, and view critically
m respond and increasingly complex situa-
situation. Nonethe-
m respond thoughtfully tions.
less, these are the m take notes
kinds of learner m observe the results
m take reflective notes

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins

m ask questions
actions needed to m listen to and act on feedback
achieve the various m use mnemonics m critically question
learning results. m compare m engage in focused practice
m link to prior knowledge
m make inferences m visualize performance
m compare
m create analogies m re-try
m create non-linguistic
representations m make connections m refine

m rehearse/practice m create non-linguistic m rethink action

m complete classwork and representations m revise
homework m rehearse/practice mindfully m reflect on performance
m self assess m self assess
m employ productive habits of
m set learning goals m reflect on their understanding mind
m employ productive m rethink ideas
habits of mind m set learning goals
m employ productive habits of mind

77
Understanding by Design

Tips for Using Essential Questions

1. Organize programs, courses, units of study, and lessons around the questions. Make the “content”
answers to questions.

2. Select or design assessment tasks (up front) that are explicitly linked to the questions. The
task(s) and performance standards should clarify what acceptable pursuit of, and answers to,
the questions actually look like.

3. Use a reasonable number of questions per unit (2-5). Make less be more. Prioritize ‘content’
for students to make the work clearly focus on a few key questions.

4. Frame the questions in “kid language” as needed to make them more accessible. Edit the
questions to make them as engaging and provocative as possible for the age-group.

5. Ensure that every child understands the questions and sees their value. Conduct a survey or
informal check, as necessary, to ensure this.

6. Derive and design specific concrete exploratory activities and inquiries for each question.

7. Sequence the questions so they “naturally” lead from one to another.

8. Post the essential questions in classroom(s), and encourage students to organize notebooks
around them to make clear their importance for study and note-taking.

9. Help students to personalize the questions. Have them share examples, personal stories, and
hunches. Encourage them to bring in clippings and artifacts to help make the questions come
alive.

10. Allot sufficient time for “unpacking” the questions — examining sub-questions and probing
implications — mindful of student age, experience, and other instructional obligations. Use
question/concept maps to show relatedness of questions.

11. Share your questions with other faculty to make planning and teaching for cross-subject matter
coherence more likely. Ideas to promote overarching questions school-wide — ask teachers to
post their questions in the faculty room and/or in department meeting/planning areas. Type and
circulate questions in the faculty bulletin. Present and discuss at faculty and P.T.S.A. meetings.

Other tips: _______________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 78

Understanding by Design

Teaching and Assessing for Understanding –

Observable Classroom Indicators
To what extent are...

1. Instruction and assessment focused on “big ideas” 4 3 2 1

and essential questions based on established standards/outcomes?

2. Essential questions posted and revisited throughout a unit?

4 3 2 1

3. Pre-assessments used to check students’ prior knowledge and

potential misconceptions regarding new topics of study? 4 3 2 1

4. Opening ”hooks” used to engage students in exploring the big 4 3 2 1

ideas and essential questions?

5. Students’ understanding of the “big ideas” and core processes

assessed through authentic tasks involving one or more of the six 4 3 2 1
facets?

6. Evaluations of student products/performances based upon 4 3 2 1

known criteria/rubrics, performance standards, and models
(exemplars)?

7. Appropriate instructional strategies used to help learners’

acquire knowledge and skills, make meaning of the big ideas, 4 3 2 1
and transfer their learning?

8. Students given regular opportunities to rethink, revise and 4 3 2 1

reflect on their work based on feedback from on-going (formative)
assessments?

9. The students expected to self-asses/ reflect on their work/learn-

ing and set goals for improvement? 4 3 2 1

10. Other: _____________________________________ 4 3 2 1

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 79

Understanding by Design

Characteristics of the Best Learning Designs...

(based on surveys of K-16 faculty throughout the nation)

Expectations the best learning designs...

• provide clear learning goals and performance expectations.
• cast learning goals in terms of genuine/meaningful performance.
• frame the work around genuine questions & meaningful challenges.
• show models/exemplars of expected performance.

Instruction in the best learning designs...

• the teacher serves as a facilitator/coach to support the learner.
• targeted instruction and relevant resources are provided to “equip” students for
expected performance.
• the textbook serves as one resource among many (i.e., text is resource, not syllabus).
• the teacher “uncovers” important ideas/processes by exploring essential
questions and genuine applications of knowledge and skills.

Learning Activities in the best learning designs...

• individual differences (e.g., learning styles, skill levels, interests) are accommodated
through a variety of activities/methods.
• there is variety in work, methods and students have some choice (e.g., opportunities
for both group and individual work).
• learning is active/experiential to help students “construct meaning”.
• cycles of model-try-feedback-refine anchor the learning

Assessment in the best learning designs...

• there is no mystery as to performance goals or standards.
• diagnostic assessments check for prior knowledge, skill level, and misconceptions.
• students demonstrate their understanding through “real world” applications
(i.e., genuine use of knowledge and skills, tangible product, target audience).
• assessment methods are matched to achievement targets.
• on-going, timely, and descriptive feedback is provided.
• learners have opportunities for trial and error, reflection and revision.
• self-assessment is expected.

Sequence & Coherence the best learning designs...

• start with a “hook”, immerse the learner in a genuine problem/issue/challenge.
• move back and forth from whole to part, with increasing complexity.
• scaffold learning in “do-able” increments.
• teach as needed; don’t over-teach all of the “basics” first.
• revisit ideas – have learners rethink and revise earlier ideas/work.
• are flexible (e.g., respond to student needs; revise plan to achieve goals).

© 2017 Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 80