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Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition [Paperback]

Grant Wiggins , Jay McTighe
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)

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Book Description

July 24, 2005 0131950843 978-0131950849 Expanded 2nd
The highly anticipated second edition of Understanding by Design poses the core, essential questions of understanding and design, and provides readers with practical solutions for the teacher-designer.  The book opens by analyzing the logic of backward design as an alternative to coverage and activity-oriented plans.  Though backward from habit, this approach brings more focus and coherence to instruction.  The book proposes a multifaceted approach, with the six “facets” of understanding.  The facets combine with backward design to provide a powerful, expanded array of practical tools and strategies for designing curriculum, instruction, and assessments that lead students at all grade levels to genuine understanding. 

The second edition, a refined work, has been thoroughly and extensively revised, updated, and expanded, including improvement of the UbD Template, the key terms of UbD, dozens of worksheets, and some of the larger concepts. The authors have successfully put together a text that demonstrates what best practice in the design of learning looks like, enhancing for its audience their capability for creating more engaging and effective learning, whether the student is a third grader, a college freshman, or a faculty member.

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Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition + Understanding by Design: Professional Development Workbook + The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units
Price for all three: $77.64

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Pearson; Expanded 2nd edition (July 24, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0131950843
  • ISBN-13: 978-0131950849
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.6 x 10.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

A lot of great information is included in this readable book. M. Hanson  |  5 reviewers made a similar statement
I purchased this book for a graduate class. Lana A. Lacanfora  |  5 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 48 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Potentially useful to some; many "but"s for most. June 11, 2007
By Rgh1066
Format:Paperback
Whether the human mind is capable of understanding the process of understanding is a philosophical conundrum that has occupied the time of great thinkers from the pre-Socratics to the modern-day exponents of the theory of the mind. It is against this background that McTighe and Wiggins, respected American education researchers and theorists, attempt to say important things about understanding to teachers hoping to improve their lessons and their lesson planning.

Their book sets out to do this largely by attempting to clarify some pragmatic trivia in a well ploughed field. Unfortunately, the reader is soon furnished with ample evidence that McTighe and Wiggins are patently out of their depth in this field. Their definition of understanding is an extremely poor one - "that a student has something more than just textbook knowledge and skill - that a student really `gets it.' " - although, to be fair, their definitions of assessment and curriculum are much sharper and better considered, and remain useful even outside the context of this book.

What the two researchers can achieve is the definition of a series of facets that they themselves create - the Six Facets of Understanding. One is immediately reminded of Bloom's taxonomy here, but McTighe and Wiggins claim that their research supports the notion that this rubric is valuable for teachers seeking to deepen the understanding of students in their classes.

Typically, for this type of book it is the anecdotal evidence they cite which remains in the mind. There is a tradition of made up anecdotal evidence being perfectly acceptable in American education research - as long as it describes patterns of behaviour that are empirically evident in schools. I have strong reservations about the validity of making up classroom scenarios, but it is possible that this fictional anecdotal approach can occasionally be useful in clarifying areas of learning that are hazy. My problem with this book is that if McTighe and Wiggins are relying upon empirical data to persuade the reader to accept their facets of understanding rubric, then they themselves are recognizing only one of many possible definitions of what understanding is.

In my view, the six facets allow the teacher or assessor to assert that the participator in a lesson influenced by Understanding by Design has been advanced further along an arbitrary linear spectrum called "Understanding" than might otherwise have been the case. No more and no less.

The book is, therefore, mainly an explanatory footnote to the six facets rubric. It's a useful rubric for accomplishing some pragmatic classroom tasks, but it has nothing new to say about understanding.

If you plan lessons that may broadly be described as

* open ended

* based on standards

* containing clear criteria for student success

* include different ways to ensure student enthusiasm

* flexible enough to accommodate the "teachable moment"

* accessing the higher echelons of Bloom's taxonomy

* integrating skills

then the likelihood is you won't learn anything new from reading Understanding by Design. If you don't already do the above, Understanding by Design may be a useful tool towards self-improvement as a teacher.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book! April 26, 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I purchased this book for a graduate class. This is by far the most well written and enlightening book I've ever read on the subject of teaching. The Six Facets of Understanding, in my opinion, are a better approach than Bloom's Taxonomy. The writers have a talent for deeply explaining information and making sure the reader understands what is being said. Buy this book and you will not be disappointed.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Would Be Better as a Booklet October 30, 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Others have already stated my opinion. The useful points in this book would be better stated in a booklet. The authors ramble on needlessly when, in reality, they should have backward-mapped their own main points, stated them, and then stopped typing. The extra babbling detracts from the main points: backwards mapping and six facets. This stuff would stick in the reader's mind more if the authors got out of the way, but then I suppose they wouldn't make dough by selling textbooks would they?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars THis is a good textbook - not my forte but good book.
Used it f text book and helped clarify some points - THis was a good book to use - will be sellingit back when done
Published 14 hours ago by T. Heise
5.0 out of 5 stars Book for class
This book was in great condition and was useful and helpful to me for my class in grad school.That is why I always buy my books here.
Published 2 months ago by jean turner
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Cited
I have yet to fully explore this book. However, according to Google Scholar it has been cited over 3000 times. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Discabolus
5.0 out of 5 stars Positive addition to educational theory
This is an excellent design for educators to use during instruction. It helps the process of meeting students where they are at.
Published 3 months ago by Kelsie Brook
4.0 out of 5 stars A good book
Currently using this for my class. Some of it seems rather common sense to me but it lays the information out in an accessible way, to where almost anyone would be able to... Read more
Published 3 months ago by ZenLikeMe
4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended by a friend.
I have not finished reading the book, but it is good for a beginner teacher to understand how to communicate effectively with students. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Bonnie Truman
4.0 out of 5 stars Useful for All Teachers and Those Planning to Become Teachers
I purchased this book for a teacher education class I was taking in the Spring of 2012. I don't know any other way of saying this, but: THIS BOOK IS A MUST FOR ALL TEACHERS AND... Read more
Published 5 months ago by James
4.0 out of 5 stars useful advice, but long-winded
This book contains some useful advice for teachers. Even simple ideas, such as focusing on the goals of teaching first rather than the lesson plan, are worth the price of the book. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Enjolras
5.0 out of 5 stars Great educators read great professional books!
A genuinely needed tool to help educators design instruction to meet the needs of students. A guide to understand backward design.
Published 13 months ago by P. Baker
5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding by Design Expanded 2nd Edition
Perfect book for the classroom teacher who is looking for how to assess and teach students. The authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe offer brilliant strategies that allow... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Deuel
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