Sunday, May 24, 2009

Understanding by Design Workshop: Tentative Administrator Participants Announced

The following administrators will attend an Understanding by Design workshop on June 4, 2009. This workshop will be designed specifically for administrators to assist them in evaluating the quality of UbD curriculum and pedagogy implementation. The workshop will be held at the Brandt Professional Development Center and is part of the implementation process for the new curriculum

Erbe, Linda; Falco, ElizabethFitzgibbons, ThomasPalumbo, LindaPetrosino, AnthonyTortorella, CharlesBussanich, John;Tremitiedi, MaryVega, EdithPeters, JessicaMcKenzie, HowardKezmarsky, Kate;

Developed by nationally recognized educators Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, and published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), Understanding by Design is based on the following key ideas:

·         A primary goal of education should be the development and deepening of student understanding.

·         Students reveal their understanding most effectively when they are provided with complex, authentic opportunities to explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective, empathize and self-assess. When applied to complex tasks, these "six facets" provide a conceptual lens through which teachers can better assess student understanding.

·         Effective curriculum development reflects a three-stage design process called "backward design" that delays the planning of classroom activities until goals have been clarified and assessments designed. This process helps to avoid the twin problems of "textbook coverage" and "activity-oriented" teaching, in which no clear priorities and purposes are apparent.

·         Student and school performance gains are achieved through regular reviews of results (achievement data and student work) followed by targeted adjustments to curriculum and instruction. Teachers become most effective when they seek feedback from students and their peers and use that feedback to adjust approaches to design and teaching.

·         Teachers, schools, and districts benefit by "working smarter" through the collaborative design, sharing, and peer review of units of study.

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