Table Of Content
The next step is to determine appropriate assessments to demonstrate success with the objectives in place. The final step is where the educator decides which activities and teaching methods are best suited to achieving the learning goal. Once the assessments are aligned to the intended learning outcomes, the job of in-class instruction becomes much clearer. Instead of asking before each class session, “what am I going to cover today,” in-class time can be devoted to helping students actually achieve the desired learning outcomes – and ultimately succeed on the various assessments. With intended learning outcomes in hand, the next step of the backward design process is to create assessments that appropriately measure students’ attainment of intended learning outcomes.
Stage 1: Identify Desired Results
Ensure that various, appropriate levels of challenge are represented in your outcomes so you can measure how close students are to achieving the learning goal. You’ll probably have somewhere in the range of three to seven learning goals for the course you are designing. When using the Step-by-Step Guide below to plan your course, you'll want to keep your ideas organized. A Course Plan template like the one pictured here helps you outline your course week-by-week, articulate how you will sequence course content, and solidify the timing of learning activities over the semester. Complete the columns of the template in order as you proceed through each step of backward design. Laying out your Course Plan this way will enable you to see the big picture as you work, so you can ensure that all components of your course stay aligned.
Qualities of effective intended learning outcomes
Research strongly suggests, however, that as teachers, we need to begin by looking at the standards and develop content objectives and plan our assessments first. These planned assessments must evaluate whether or not our students mastered the content. Only once the assessments have been planned, can we truly plan the most effective instructional activities. Backward design lesson planning is a process that involves starting with the end goal and then working backward to determine the necessary steps to achieve that goal. In other words, instead of starting with the content or activities, the teacher begins by defining the desired learning outcomes and then designs the curriculum accordingly. As previously stated, backward design is beneficial to instructors because it innately encourages intentionality during the design process.
Step 2: Determine a method of assessment
In Step 4, you will choose the course content that will support students to succeed on those assessments. When you create your course learning goals, you describe how you want students to change internally as a result of taking your course. Learning goals broadly state what students should know or care about by the end of a course or curriculum.
However, the backward design approach provides an authentic learning experience relevant for both the educator and the student when deployed effectively. Critics of backward design express concerns around a potential lack of flexibility in programming. Teachers may fear “teaching to the test” and not enabling authentic learning. Education authorities establish a curriculum in a top-down manner that may not fully address the circumstances in a classroom.
Developing a backward design lesson plan step by step
You study standards, learning objectives, or profit margins, then create your lessons and learning materials based on those goals. Rather than starting with decisions about course content, the backward design process begins by asking you to determine what you want students to learn. Assignments are then developed, with the aim of allowing students to practice and demonstrate that learning. It is only toward the end of the backward design process that decisions about course content finally appear, guided by reflection on what students will need in order to perform well on the assignments. Some teachers may fear that backward design emphasizes “teaching to the test,” which puts unfair pressure on students to learn for the sake of the final assessment. However, it is up to the skilled teacher to emphasize the process of gaining new knowledge, as opposed to acing the final test.
Understanding the Benefits for Students
At the final step of backward design, educators develop summative assessments to evaluate students’ mastery of the intended learning outcomes. These assessments provide valuable feedback on students’ progress and help instructors refine their instructional methods for future courses. By incorporating backward design principles into their curriculum planning, educators can create engaging and effective learning experiences that prioritize student success. Throughout the stages of backward design, teachers consider various factors, including student learning needs, prior knowledge, and assessment methods. They select appropriate teaching methods and design lesson plans that cater to diverse learning styles, ensuring that students remain actively engaged in the learning process.
Stage 3: Plan Learning Activities and Instructional Materials
Regardless, the key to teaching valuable and effective lessons that actually teach your students is moving beyond planning one lesson at a time, piecemealing a unit together as you go. With backward design, every lesson and activity is part of a bigger learning journey. Students are inching closer to their overall learning goals for said unit each day. At this stage it is important to consider a wide range of assessment methods in order to ensure that students are being assess over the goals the instructor wants students to attain. Sometimes, the assessments do not match the learning goals, and it becomes a frustrating experience for students and instructors.
Traditional vs. backward design lesson planning
While you could spend endless hours digging into their pedagogy and rationale, you don’t need to read the entire book to reap the benefits of this approach. With a good rubric in place, we then work backwards to determine what lessons students need to do excellent work on the final assessment. So if we re-do this unit plan with backward design, we’ll need to start by developing an assessment that would measure success with that standard. The “full” version of Wiggins and McTighe’s original approach is pretty complex and can be time-consuming to implement.
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As teaching moves further into the 21st century it continues to evolve and change. In order to design lessons with measurable results, teachers need to shift their thinking. Collaboration, along with the integration of content and technology, are the trends that now drive most planning sessions. With it, teachers can integrate subject matter with technology and critical thinking activities.
At the same time, the other disadvantage of traditional lesson planning is that the process ignores the learner’s needs and role throughout the curriculum design process. The process is logical – if teachers focus on the desired learning then the appropriate teaching methods will follow. With backwards design, teachers shift their thinking from a content-focused design to a result-focused approach. In this way, the integration of different subject matter and the use of technology becomes organic in the design of the unit. Backwards design focuses on the destination and then plans the route, rather than the other way around. Thinking about your lessons backward can actually help move student learning forward.
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