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About Backward Design

 

"Teachers are designers. An essential act of our profession is the crafting of curriculum and learning experiences to meet specified purposes. We are also designers of assessments to diagnose student needs to guide our teaching and to enable us, our students, and other (parents and administrators) to determine whether we have achieved our goals”(Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 13).

Bloom's Taxonomy

"Research shows that the critical thinking ability developed through using the higher-level thinking skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy strengthens the brain—creating more synapses between nerve cells—just as exercise builds muscle tissue... higher ordering thinking skills help learners make connections between past and new learning, creates new pathways, strengthens existing pathways, and increases the likelihood that the new learning will be consolidated and stored for future retrieval.”

Intentional Instruction

Anything worth teaching is worth teaching well.

Academic Standards

“Beginning with the end in mind” requires that we as teachers define what we want our “end” to be.

6 Facets of Understanding

Understanding is created through multiple achievements in the mastery of subject matter.  Evidence of learning is six-sided, it is the ability to explain, to interpret, to apply, to have perspective, to empathize and to have self-knowledge. 

Achievement & Growth

Growth should be measured alongside achievement to create an overall encompassing lesson and promote progress towards a goal in backward design, not just have an end all-be all mindset.

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