The Understanding by Design Handbook (Spiral-bound)

by Jay McTighe (Author), Grant P. Wiggins (Author), Grant Wiggins (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
What is understanding, and how does it differ from knowing? How will we know that students truly understand and can apply their knowledge in meaningful ways? How might we design our courses and units to emphasize understanding and "uncoverage" rather than "coverage"? These are questions that The Understanding by Design Handbook guides users in answering.

The handbook is the companion book to Understanding by Design (ASCD, 1998). Understanding by Design provides the conceptual foundation for a theory of understanding that is based on six facets of understanding. The handbook offers the practical side: a unit planning template, worksheets, exercises, design tools, design standards and tests, and a peer review process for learning and applying the ideas in Understanding by Design. Following the logic of the authors' backward design approach, handbook materials show users how to plan curriculum, assessment, and instruction.

The handbook was developed to assist educators interested in designing units and courses of study that focus on developing and deepening students' understanding. It is also intended to serve as a resource for undergraduate and graduate-level coursework and in-service professional development. Various users, including teachers (elementary through graduate levels), school-based administrators, curriculum directors, subject matter specialists, staff developers, and assessment-evaluation personnel, will benefit from these practical and proven ideas and resources.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 287 pages
• Publisher: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Deve (July 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871203405
• ISBN-13: 978-0871203403
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,785 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential to Understanding Understanding (that's no typo), July 21, 2003

By	Jennifer Kinscy "Teacher/Writer" (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In order for us as educators to effectively assess our students, we must decipher how our students learn and understand.

That's essentially what McTighe and Wiggins help us do here. I also bought their textbook for a course I took in Assessment. It was fascinating.

This book, along with the textbook is very useful in Unit Planning and shows its readers how to effectively use the "backward design" technique. Teachers, I can only describe the technique as assessment the way WE think it should be.

This handbook is a step-by-step guide with tons of reproducibles.

Very useful find for planning the school year!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource, August 6, 2004

By	Christopher Davis (Flint, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One of my pet peeves is books on applied topics that talk about theory but can not bridge the theory to application. This handbook does a great job of assisting educators from going from the ideas of backward instructional design to implementing these ideas in actually developing educational plans.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Focused Book on Education that I've Read!, August 14, 2004

By	R. Rowe (Arlington, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm re-reading this fabulous resource as I start my fifth year of teaching since it keeps me focused on what I'm teaching and how to most appropriately assess how my students can apply their knowledge. The details and worksheets in this workbook help me put the book into practice day to day. Thanks Jay.