![]() ![]() A critical factor in a quality unit plan is alignment-all three stages clearly aligned, not only to standards, but also to one another. Daily lessons that describe the planned teaching and learning activities are then developed (Stage 3). The most successful teaching begins with clarity about desired learning outcomes (Stage 1) as well as about the evidence that will show that the targeted learning has occurred (Stage 2). The UbD framework offers a three-stage curriculum unit design process based on the idea that teaching is a means to an end, and curriculum planning precedes instruction. ![]() We will also examine an instructional sequence called explore-before-explain teaching and provide an example of how to incorporate it into a unit using the UbD framework. In this article, we will explore the use of Understanding by Design (UbD), a widely used curriculum development framework, for honoring the intentions of the NGSS. It is the job of teachers and curriculum teams to use the Standards as the basis for designing the specific pathway for teaching and learning. This construct aligns with the recommendation of curriculum experts (e.g., Wiggins and McTighe 2005 Wiggins and McTighe 2011) that educators should move away from trying to cover volumes of factual material and instead prioritize their curriculum around a smaller number of conceptually more critical, transferable ideas.Īs well developed as they may be, the NGSS are not curriculum. ![]() To avoid the familiar problem of curricula that are a mile wide and an inch deep, the Standards call for framing teaching around disciplinary core (“big”) ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts. Its three-dimensional construct calls for teachers to favor depth over breadth, while engaging students in “doing” science, not just learning science facts. The Next Generation Science Standards ( NGSS Lead States 2013) present a modern framework for science education. ![]()
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