Backward Design

Mr. Wiggins stated that UBD is not a philosophy of teaching or a teaching approach but a planning framework. UBD helps us to keep our goals when teaching. We are to use the long term goals and apply them to our short term goals. He also stated that a textbook is not the course but a resource that helps to support our goal.

My understanding of the Backward Design is to start from the very end and work our way back. An example that was given by Mr. Wiggins was being a history and teaching history from the past. Below is a picture that talks about the three stages of the backward design and questions to ask yourself before moving on to the next stage.