Backward Design: The “Big Picture.”

Prepare

Read the Weekly Lesson.
Read Wiggins and McTighe (2005) Chapter 1: Backward Design.
Watch the Depth of Knowledge with Karin Hess (Links to an external site.) video (2:59).
Reflect

Select from one of the sample units from the Wiggins and McTighe (2005) text:
Figure 1.3: Nutrition Example (Chapter 1)
Figure 11.4: Social Studies Unit after Backward Design (Chapter 11)
Figure 11.7: Geometry Unit after Backward Design (Chapter 11)
Look for relationships between the three Stages and what you learned and practiced in the Week 1 assignment Practice: “Life” Standards Alignment.
Look for the levels of cognition (Bloom’s and Webb’s DOK) within the plan—what do you observe?
Write (Post an initial response by Day 3.)

In the subject line for the discussion, indicate the Stage 1 lesson you selected (e.g., Nutrition or Social Studies)
Share your thoughts and observations of the process of designing instruction using the backward design model. Describe more than the product (template) by discussing what the process means to you.
Describe parallels you drew between Stage 1 and standards and objectives. Where do the unit standard and objectives seem to fit in specifically?
Test yourself—what levels of cognitive rigor (Bloom’s and Webb’s DOK) did you observe in the plan? What helped you determine the levels you observed? How do you know?