Backward Design : 1 Outcomes defined as What is the Learning Goal; 2 Assessment defined as How will I know my student reached the goal; and 3 Instruction: What content and activities will help my student reach the goal?

Stage 1: Identify the outcomes

As we noted earlier, the results you are seeking in your course are identified by the outcomes listed in your COR. A design process that keeps the outcomes in mind is robust for several reasons. First, it helps prepare students for transfer. Articulation agreements between campuses and between the three tiers of California's public higher education system are built on reciprocity and cooperation, and we uphold our end of the bargain when we help students meet the required outcomes.

In addition, when we teach to the textbook rather than the outcomes, we may find we don't have enough time in our term to linger over important concepts or to share our own passions with students. Focusing on the outcomes can help us trim excess information from the content, giving us more time to develop a deeper understanding of core concepts, and freeing us from the tyranny of the publisher's agenda.

Stage 2: Determine assessment evidence

In the second stage, instructors carefully develop assessments that are a reliable and valid measure of the learning outcomes. This means carefully and purposefully thinking about both the material students are asked to learn, and the cognitive tasks they are being asked to do with that material. There is a big difference, for instance, in the cognitive difficulty required to recall definitions versus that required to solve a complex problem.

Assessments should, whenever possible, be designed to match the cognitive level set by the learning outcome, and they should mirror authentic ways this knowledge would be used or applied in an authentic environment. For instance, few of us go on to careers that require us to take multiple choice tests or that prevent us from using resource material to find an answer, right?

Stage 3: Plan instructional experiences

The final stage is choosing content and designing learning activities that will help the student acquire the requisite knowledge and skills, make meaning from these activities, and transfer the learning to new situations or contexts. Given the plethora of information and activities on the internet, it is essential that this stage is last, as it is easy to be led astray by the virtual candy store of ideas available online. Instead, we should carefully craft content and activities to guide our students to the planned destinations for our course.

If you would like to know more about UbD, the ASCD has an excellent white paper, Understanding by Design Framework

Graphic: "Backward Design Stages" by Online Network of Educators is licensed under CC BY 4.0