Backward Design (UbD)

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Why it works

Understanding by Design reverses the usual planning order into three stages: identify the desired results, determine acceptable evidence, and then plan the learning and instruction. Designing from outcomes and evidence keeps units coherent, prioritizes transferable understanding over coverage, and ensures assessment actually measures the goals.

The research: Wiggins and McTighe on Understanding by Design.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: plan one unit backward

Teachers leave with one unit designed through the three stages, activities aligned to the goal.

Pick a unit.
Stage one: name the desired results, the key understandings and standards.
Stage two: decide what evidence would show that understanding, the assessment.
Stage three: outline the learning that builds toward it, and check every activity serves the goal.

Start from the endDecide what understanding you want and how you will know students have it, before you plan a single activity. Then everything serves the goal.

Facilitator notes

Work the three stages in order.
Prioritize understanding over coverage, and align assessment to the goals.
Cut activities that do not serve the goal.

Do not plan activities firstStarting from activities or the textbook leads to coverage without coherence. Start from the understanding and the evidence.

Adapt it

Elementary and secondary: the same three stages.
All settings: understanding first, evidence second, activities last.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Backward Design: results, evidence, learning

Plan from the end: desired results, then the evidence, then the learning that gets there.

The unit:
Stage one, desired results (understandings, standards):
Stage two, the evidence (assessment):
Stage three, the learning outline:
Activities to cut because they do not serve the goal:

Make it stick

Outcomes and evidence first:

Plan from outcomes and evidence.
Cut activities that do not serve the goal.
Bring a backward-designed unit to the next PLC.

Common questions

Isn't this just writing objectives first?

It goes further: you also decide what evidence would prove the understanding before planning any activities, so assessment and instruction both serve the goal.

Doesn't planning from outcomes take more time?

Up front, somewhat. But it prevents the bigger waste of activities that do not add up, and it makes units reusable and coherent.

What are the three stages?

Identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence, then plan the learning experiences and instruction.