Why Backward Design?
If you're something of a skeptic (like me), you might be wondering what the fuss is about. In other words - is this another swing of the pendulum? Is it the new flavor of the month?
In a simple way, Backwards Design is about starting with the end in mind and working backwards. I know - you've already done the readings. But for me, I couldn't really get a handle on it. So I did some research with the intent of learning while avoiding jargony stuff. Thankfully, I stumbled upon a funny little blog by Jessica Shyu called "Life....in Backward Design."
I like two things she said in her blog. The first was the same old same old (start with the end in mind). Sure, but what does that MEAN???
Then she gave some real life (non-educational) examples and BOOM! There it was. Sometimes we just need to get the content delivered in a manner we can relate to.
She wrote of coming across an article in a magazine about the city of Cerritos, CA and how they planned out their city goals using backward design:
"What I read was that the city managers knew what they wanted from the start (financial stability), they knew what it would look like to get there (lure businesses and investors to set up shop in the city) and had a long term plan on how to get there, which was directly aligned to their goals..." (Shyu, 2007)
So, now I get the larger concept, but I still wanted to get a grasp on how it applied to my job - teaching kids. Interestingly enough, it simply means you let the kids know the "why" of it all. I can certainly relate. When I can't see the purpose of something, I tend to get distracted, bored, and even antagonistic about the whole idea. I've got to see the benefits before I put in the time and effort.
According to the guys behind Backward Design:
"Critical and higher order thinking skills are better achieved when students are provided with opportunities to grasp the desire outcomes of their learning (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005)."
I came across another article wherein an English teacher was trying to put Backward Design into his particular perspective. He asks a very valid question about the purpose of reading "classic" literature, in this case Of Mice and Men. How will kids see the purpose in reading this?
In putting it into the conceptual framework of Backward Design, he suggested that maybe:
"Readers apply the same strategies to understanding stories in literature as they apply to understanding the stories of their lives (Graff, 2011)."
So, if you start by answering what you want your students to take away from a lesson, unit, etc., then you can work backwards to make it happen. It's as simple as that.
I know this book might be a big d'uh moment for many of you, but for me, putting it together was a cathartic experience. Not only did I nearly lose it trying to figure out the UDL Book Builder program (thank you Firefox and more importantly Jamie, Sean, and Suzan for your extraordinarily helpful suggestions). But, in completing this project, I came to a more purposeful understanding of the Backward Design concept.
It's humbling to take so long and be so stubborn to see something so obvious, but there it is. Who knew learning could be useful?
Dickerson, S. (2003). A Journal on Backward Design for Forward Action. Retrieved from http://sharodickerson.com/2/post/2011/10/a-journal-on-backward-design-for-forward-action.html
Graf, N. (2011) An Effective and Agonizing Way to Learn: Backwards Design and new teachers' preparation for planning curriculum. Teacher Education Quarterly, Summer 2011. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ940642.pdf
Shyu, J. (2007). Life...in Backward Design. Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/new_terrain/2007/10/life_in_backward_design.html
