Understanding by Design [Paperback]

Grant Wiggins (Author), Jay McTighe (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 013093058X | ISBN-13: 978-0130930583 | Publication Date: December 28, 2001

*Winner of a 1999 EdPress Distinguished Achievement Award! *What is understanding and how does it differ from knowing? What do we want students to understand and be able to do? What enduring knowledge is worth understanding? How will we know that students truly understand and can apply knowledge in a meaningful way? How can we design our courses and units to emphasize understanding and "uncoverage" rather than "coverage"? Understanding by Design explores these questions and provides 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 text proposes a multifaceted approach, with the six "facets" of understanding. The facets combine with backward design to provide a powerful, practical framework for designing curriculum, assessment, and instruction.

Product Details

• Paperback: 201 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (December 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013093058X
• ISBN-13: 978-0130930583
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Completely changed the way I look at teaching, March 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Understanding by Design (Paperback)

I first learned of this excellent book at a professional development workshop that was offered by my school. I was immediately driven to buy it and learn all that I could about the backwards design process. One year later I find myself planning ALL of my units around enduring understandings and essential questions. It really makes sense that students can demonstrate understanding in various ways, and that it is our duty as teachers to allow them to do that with as many opportunities as possible. This year I finally feel that my students are really connecting with what I want them to learn, and they are seeing the "big picture." I will never design a unit the "traditional" way again!

35 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read, November 21, 2002

By 

"studio_armada" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding by Design (Paperback)

McTighe and Williams successfully expound on a subject often mired in philosophical debate: how to assess understanding and evaluate true learning. It is an outstanding framework for developing curriculum intent on extending beyond traditional methods of teaching and preaching to students. The authors contend that true understanding can be assessed by measuring performance against six facets of understanding: explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge. These facets are vital to developing curriculum and the authors do an outstanding job of presenting the material in charts, and exercises, making a difficult topic easier to understand. Comparing and contrasting covering material and uncovering knowledge serves to help teachers think like assessors, rather than activity planners. Helpful design tools are included throughout the book and teachers are instructed to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching with thoughtful and probing questions.

Understanding by Design will serve as my guide for evaluating my own effectiveness as a teacher. I expect to rely on it to gauge my own competency in developing and executing lessons. Examples throughout the book illuminating the practical applications of each of the six facets are well organized and easy to follow. I found the use of keywords and charts especially helpful in furthering my own understanding of how to uncover knowledge. I am confident that if I remain faithful to the tenets of this book, I will be able to put into practice what I believe constitutes effective strategies for learning: student-centered activities which call upon students to question assumptions, draw upon past knowledge, and advance understanding through incremental learning

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Understanding, we get it!, May 9, 2007

By 

Lorelai Graham "SourPatchKid" (Northern VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding by Design (Paperback)

This was the main textbook in my Curriculum and Instruction class, and it's okay, but VERY redundant. It says to start your lesson by deciding what you want your students to learn (well, duh!) and then don't let a bunch of nice-to-know-but-not-really-important facts get in the way (I guess that's what comes from the SOLs and stuff). And it hammers home the idea that students can LEARN something without really UNDERSTANDING it, which seems a little obvious to me.

All in all it's not a BAD book, but Id recommend something by Robert J. Marzano instead. We also used "Classroom Instruction that Works" in our class, and it was much better -- easier to read, not as boring or textbook-y, and more practical application type stuff.