UbD and DI Chapter 3: What Really Matters in Learning (Content)

In DI and Ubd Chapter 3, Tomlinson and McTighe discuss how educators have “too much content to teach given the available time” (24). They discuss how in means of trying to fix this problem a list of content standards was established to help let educators know what students need to learn. Later, a new plan was created in hopes to improve this even more with a three-stage backward design made up of desired results, acceptable evidence for the results, and learning experiences and instructions that will help bring students to the results. When doing this, the use of local standards makes it easier to plan. One part of this I found an interesting way to find the important information with in the standards was “unpacking.” This method seems helpful to get main points out of it all while also giving educators a base of what big ideas are found.

As an educator it is important to have a curriculum. When making your curriculum it is crucial to follow standards laid out by areas you teach in. I personally find using the three-stage backward design is key in coming up with good reflective lesson plans for your curriculum. It allows you a basic template and makes you think of all options when planning a lesson. I believe using this helps make a basic road map that will make it easier for teaching students. This will give you time to make sure you get everything you need your students to learn while also being flexible enough to change and cater to students when they need a better understanding. Through this all I was able to grasp backward design. It helped me understand the aspects of it all while getting a clear idea of how it helps.