Understanding by Design

In this week's assignment, we were tasked with creating a plan based on the UbD framework. When starting this assignment I was overwhelmed and thought that it was a lot of work. A little less than halfway through, I quickly understood the importance and value of this design. The UbD design requires the teacher to plan backward. This helps the teacher by ensuring that the desired outcome of the lesson is put front and center. This allows for everything else in the plan to be tailored around the wanted outcomes, instead of how other plans work around the tasks and hope that leads to the desired outcome. 

​

The 3-column table that I developed last week also worked in a backward design. Both of these models are valuable and will come in handy. However, I think the UbD model can be more useful for teachers who are not yet seasoned. It helps by digging deeper into the goals, desired outcomes, misconceptions, and so forth. It requires a lot more planning on the teacher's part but it is more helpful when getting down to the point whereas the 3-column table is much more broader and does not dig as deep. 

​

Overall, I really enjoyed both models. I just really think that I can get more out of the UbD plan and it will keep me more focused when planning and implementing the plans.