Understanding by Design (UbD)

The first step starts with the end. The Instructional Designer (ID) must carefully consider what learning outcomes are to be reached by students. But it is important to note the mindset here. The idea is to determine what “big ideas” are most worth understanding. These often concern concepts the students can take with them and use beyond the course. There may be a direct takeaway that can be used beyond the course or it may be that the understanding of a takeaway influence things like the way students perceive or gather information from their environment or how they make decisions or see problems. These takeaways are distinct from basic information the students should be familiar with or basic skills the students should have regarding the information in the course. While basic information and skills may be necessary for the course, it is the understanding of these critical takeaways that should drive the next two steps in the UbD process.

In this second stage, the ID will decide how instructors will measure goal achievement by the students. A student scoring at an appropriate level on an is evidence of the student learning what was laid out in the learning objectives. An assortment of different types of assessments should be used. However, particular focus should fall on assessments that seem like they capture elements of how their learning can be applied in the real world.

The learning goals and assessments from the first two stages should drive what learning activities and materials are created and chosen. While learning goal attainment should be at the forefront of the learning plan there are some other considerations as well. For instance diversity of learner preferences should be taken into consideration. As such, a variety of activities and materials should be included. It is also pointed out that these various activities should be engaging. Similarly, incorporating reflection and real-world connections into the activities can be very beneficial for the students (especially in meeting these goals that require the student to reach beyond the course.) Additionally, the assessments that were previously designed could be embedded into the materials and activities.