1. UbD: Stages of Backward Design
Stage 1. Identify
desired results. Stage 2. Determine
acceptable evidence.
Guiding Questions
Guiding Questions 3. Plan learning
•What are the established experiences and
goals? •What is sufficient and telling
evidence of understanding? instruction.
•What “big ideas” do we want
students to come to •Keeping the goals in
understand? mind, what performance tasks Guiding Questions
should anchor and focus the
•What essential questions will unit? •What instructional strategies
stimulate inquiry? and learning activities are
•What criteria will be used to needed to achieve the results
•What knowledge and skills assess the work? identified in Stage 1 and
need to be acquired given the reflected in the assessment
understandings and related •Will the assessment reveal and evidence specified in Stage 2?
content standards? What focus distinguish those who really
questions will guide students to understand versus those who
targeted knowledge and skills? only seem to understand?

2. What’s the Big Idea?
Definition: the core Additional Clarification
concepts, principles, t
heories, and • Big ideas are not
processes that should discrete facts.
serve as the focal
point of • Big ideas are not skills.
curriculum, instructio
n, and assessment.
Big ideas are
important, enduring,
and transferable
beyond the scope of a
particular unit.

3. What’s the Big Idea?
Is it a big idea? Does it …
Facts and skills • Have lasting
value/transfer to other
inquiries?
Key concepts • Serve as a key notion
& for making
Core processes Big
knowledge, skills, and
Ideas!
acts more
coherent, meaningful
Generalizations and useful?
&
Principles • Lie at the heart of the
subject or discipline?
• Require “uncoverage”
to problem solve or
explore an abstract or
misunderstood idea?

4. Examples from the SAS Portal …
“Information to gain or
“Comprehension requires expand knowledge can be
and enhances critical acquired through a
thinking and is variety of sources.”
constructed through the
intentional interaction
between reader and “Effective speaking and
text.”
listening are essential for
productive communication.”
Do these examples meet the parameters of the
big idea definition?

5. What Are the essential questions?
Definition: a provocative Additional Clarification
question designed to
engage student interest Essential questions are not
and guide inquiry into the … trivial;
important ideas in a field
of study. Rather than … leading;
yielding pat … they do not elicit
answers, essential single, straightforward
questions are intended to answers.
stimulate discussion and
rethinking over time.

6. Is It an Essential Question?
A question is ‘essential’ if it . . .
• Has no simple ‘right answer’ that can be looked up;
• Is meant to be investigated, argued, looked at from
different points of view;
• Raises other important questions, and if the question itself
can be fruitfully questioned;
• Naturally arises in everyday life, and/or in ‘doing’ the
subject;
• Constantly and appropriately recurs; it can be asked and re-
asked over time, and as a result of further learning.

7. Examples from the SAS Portal
How does interaction with How do we think
text provoke thinking and while reading in
response?
order to understand
and respond?
How can our
knowledge and use
of the research Do these
process promote examples meet
the definition of
lifelong learning? essential
questions?

8. What’s the concept?
In other words …
Definition: a Concepts describe what
mental construct students should know
represented by a as a result of instruction
specific to a particular
word. Concepts grade level.
include both
tangible objects
and abstract
ideas.

9. Examples from the SAS Portal
Research is an inquiry Validity of
based process. information must
be established.
Essential ideas in text
inform meaning.
Acquire and apply a robust Do these examples meet the
vocabulary repertoire to definition of concept?
construct meaning.

10. Additional Component of SAS
Portal … Competency
Definition:
describes what
students can do

11. Examples from the SAS Portal
Use grade appropriate
Do these examples meet the resources to confirm
definition of comptency? and extend meaning
of vocabulary.
Summarize key Identify literary devices within
texts
information and the (e.g., personification, simile
implied or stated main , alliteration, and
idea of texts. metaphor).
Distinguish fiction from
nonfiction.

12. Application Activity …
• Big Ideas
Identify the contents • Essential Questions
of your envelope as: • Concepts
• Competencies

13. Application Activity
Based on our definitions and discussions of big
ideas, essential questions, concepts, and
competencies, write sample items of each for the
course that you plan develop one unit of online
instruction.