- Reflects a coherent design -- big ideas and essential questions clearly guide the design of, and are aligned with, assessments and teaching and learning activities.
- Makes clear distinctions between big ideas and essential questions, and the knowledge and skills necessary for learning the ideas and answering the questions.
- Uses multiple forms of assessment to let students demonstrate their understanding in various ways.
- Incorporates instruction and assessment that reflects the six facets of understanding -- the design provides opportunities for students to explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective, empathize, and self-assess.
- Anchors assessment of understanding with authentic performance tasks calling for students to demonstrate their understanding and apply knowledge and skills.
- Uses clear criteria and performance standards for teacher, peer, and self-evaluations of student products and performances.
- Enables students to revisit and rethink important ideas to deepen their understanding.
- Incorporates a variety of resources. The textbook is only one resource among many (rather than serving as the syllabus).
THE TEACHER
- Informs students of the big ideas and essential questions, performance requirements, and evaluative criteria at the beginning of the unit or course.
- Hooks and holds students' interest while they examine and explore big ideas and essential questions.
- Uses a variety of strategies to promote deeper understanding of subject matter.
- Facilitates students' active construction of meaning (rather than simply telling).
- Promotes opportunities for students to "unpack their thinking" -- to explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective, empathize, or self-assess (incorporates the six facets of understanding).
- Uses questioning, probing, and feedback to stimulate student reflection and rethinking.
- Teaches basic knowledge and skills in the context of big ideas and explores essential questions.
- Uses information from ongoing assessments as feedback to adjust instruction.
- Uses information from ongoing assessments to check for student understanding and misconceptions along the way.
- Uses a variety of resources (beyond the textbook) to promote understanding.
THE LEARNERS
- Can describe the goals (big ideas and essential questions) and performance requirements of the unit or course.
- Can explain what they are doing and why (i.e., how today's work relates to the larger unit or course goals).
- Are hooked at the beginning and remain engaged throughout the unit or course.
- Can describe the criteria by which their work will be evaluated.
- Are engaged in activities that help them to learn the big ideas and answer the essential questions.
- Are engaged in activities that promote explanation, interpretation, application, perspective taking, empathy, and self-assessment (the six facets).
- Demonstrate that they are learning the background knowledge and skills that support the big ideas and essential questions.
- Have opportunities to generate relevant questions.
- Are able to explain and justify their work and their answers.
- Are involved in self- or peer-assessment based on established criteria and performance standards.
- Use the criteria or rubrics to guide and revise their work.
- Set relevant goals based on feedback.
