The Benefits of Backwards Design

 Why Should We Move Backwards...

    ...in a field where we are constantly pushed by the ever-competitive world to move forward? This is the question we will explore today as we discuss Backwards Design Lesson Planning, a succinct and student-focused method of lesson planning that starts with the desired end results and works down to how students will achieve those goals.

There are 3 Main Sections that Comprise a Backwards Design (or UbD) Lesson Plan:

1. The Desired End Results

• Included Parts: Essential Questions, Big Understandings, New Knowledge, Measurable Objectives

            Since the whole idea of a backwards lesson plan is to start at the finish line, the first part of a UbD lesson plan is the Desired End Results that you as the teacher want the students to learn or achieve. Some questions that teachers should ask themselves when drafting this section of their lesson plan are: "What transfer and content goals should be met?", "What essential questions will students explore and address?", and "What knowledge and skill will students leave with?" (UbD in a Nutshell). Ultimately, teachers' goals for students should not just be to spit out facts but to walk away with skills and smarts that they can apply elsewhere (Is that Higher-Order Thinking?).

     2. The Assessment Evidence

• Included Parts: Formative and Summative Feedback, Feedback, Evaluation

            After setting goals for students to achieve, teachers need ways to assess if students have actually met those goals, ways to evaluate those assessments, and ways to give feedback to students who may not be meeting the desired end results yet. This is all encompassed by the Assessment Evidence section of a UbD lesson plan, where teachers will detail what things, whether tangible or not, will reveal that students understand the things that teachers are teaching (UbD in a Nutshell). This can include quizzes, worksheets, discussions, projects, and anything else a teacher could think of to gauge student performance.

    3. The Learning Plan

• Included Parts: Designing for all Learners, Procedure, Materials, Extensions

            The final and bulkiest part of a Backwards Design lesson plan is the Learning Plan, in which teachers will specify exactly what all students will do and learn in order to show on their Assessments that they understand and have reached the Desired End Results (UbD in a Nutshell). This section gets down to the nitty-gritty of lesson planning, but it acts as the glue that ties the previous two sections together. Figuring out how to differentiate learning for all types of students, what materials are going to be used, how the lesson is going to play out, and what you might need if the lesson goes awry are all included in this section of the lesson plan.

You might be asking yourself "Okay, great. I know how a Backwards Design lesson plan looks now. But why should I use it? What makes it better than any other lesson plan format?"

This is a very good question, and thankfully, you are not the first person to ask (far from it actually). As I discussed above, a UbD lesson plan is set up the way it is to ensure that everything connects back to the Desired End Results, as those are the most important things for students to achieve. Starting from the Learning Plan makes tying everything together that much harder because you don't have any previously established overarching goals that you are working towards. The more connected a lesson is, the more likely students will actually reach the goals you set for them, and most importantly, the more they will want to. 

Although it might surprise you, students can feel when they are doing something that isn't leading towards an end goal. Take it from me, as I'm speaking from experience.