UNDERSTANDING
BY DESIGN

When I created my innovation plan, 

I was beyond excited to provide teachers with the necessary information to EMPOWER them to become innovative, inspiring educators. My goal was to encourage them to take risks in creating blended learning environments that would profoundly impact every student they engaged with. I also knew that would come with a significant amount of dedication and attention to detail when it came to planning the instruction for the Empower: Blended Learning Leadership Program. 

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Fortunately, these plans came to life with the utilization of Fink’s 3-Column Table and the Understanding by Design (UbD) template. Both instructional design tools have been created to help teachers and educators organize and plan their curriculum, and each design template also focuses on “Backward Design” where the first step is to identify the desired results and ask ourselves, “What is it we want students, in the end, to be able to do with what they have learned?” (Bowen, 2017). From there, the backward design suggests we determine the assessment evidence that reflects the desired results identified in Stage 1 (Bowen, 2017). Finally, in Stage 3, teachers plan appropriate lessons and learning activities. 

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What stands out to me in both Fink's 3-Column Table and the UbD template is their shared emphasis on prioritizing student learning. Wiggins and McTighe (2005) claim that too many teachers remain focused on what they will do rather than focusing on what the students will need. They focus on the teaching and not the learning (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005). This shift from teacher-centered to learner-centered aligns with the central goals of my innovation plan. Both templates serve as a way for teachers to explore, understand, and apply necessary concepts, fostering a transition to a culture of learning.

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While these designs are similar, it is clear that Fink’s (2003) 3-Column Table is more concerned with designing significant learning experiences with aligning goals, assessments, and activities while the UbD provides a broader, more holistic approach to the design. Fink's design allowed me to consider “situational factors” of my program such as pedagogical challenges, characteristics of the learners, and the nature of the subject. Considering these factors was so important when creating the unit plans for the Empower Program because it made me think deeply about my audience and how to meet them where they are. Additionally, creating goals for each of the categories of the taxonomy of significant learning was incredibly helpful. It forced me to look at the entire teacher, especially in the caring and human dimension categories. 

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While the Finks 3-Column Table was beneficial, the UbD allowed me to take a deeper, more holistic dive into my course for the Empower: Blended Learning Leadership Program. Not only did I focus on the desired outcomes for the learner, I was able to determine what would be considered acceptable evidence of learning and plan learning experiences and instruction with a major focus on resources. The details in this template made the course more tangible and instilled the confidence to implement it. 

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With many similarities and differences, each design process varies in effectiveness depending on the circumstances. For example, the UbD may be appropriate when designing a new course, cross-curriculum planning, and any major unit in a course due to its focus on transfer goals and focus on details and measuring understanding. The Finks 3-Column Table, on the other hand, may be appropriate when creating single lesson plans or making adjustments/enhancing existing curriculum due to its practicality for evaluating and aligning objectives, assessments and activities. 

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Overall, the combined use of both design models proved beneficial in the creation of my innovation plan, and I plan to leverage them in future professional development and course designs.

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References 

Bowen, R. S.  (2017). Understanding by Design. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/understanding-by-design/.
 

Fink, L. D. (2003). A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning. Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
 

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design (expanded second ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.