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What new insights do you take back to your classroom?

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What new insights do you take back to your classroom?

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What new ideas resonated with you? What questions formed for you?

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What new ideas resonated with you? What questions formed for you?

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What has unpacking the standards looked like for you in the past? What experience do you have with backward design?

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What has unpacking the standards looked like for you in the past? What experience do you have with backward design?

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Continuing to look at standards from the students perspective on background knowledge and exactly what are they supposed to know after learning a new standard and how they are to apply this knowledge to other standard and back ground knowledge.

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I love the idea of coming to standards from view point of the student and what they need to know.

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I would search the standards to try and figure out what I was supposed to teach students in order that they would be successful learning the material presented in the standard

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The idea is great and planning will take work but it should have benefits.

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There are a lot of different skill levels and it's hard to pace every student in backward design with the given amount of time

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Backward design is used in the gym pretty often. This concept is important when breaking down and teaching skills of each sport/lesson.

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I will continue to look at my assessments before planning the unit.

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I will continue to look at my assessments before planning the unit.

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Now it's coming back! Start with the assessment!

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Now it's coming back! Start with the assessment!

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In my previous district, we dabbled in backwards design. I don't feel like I am an expert at this. I definitely have room to grow. I look at the standard carefully and the division assessment/performance task, or whatever assessment I will be using to determine mastery and decide from there what I need to teach.

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I don't have too much experience with this.

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I don't have too much experience with this.

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We need to focus more on the end result, what kids need to know, and how they can apply the information learned.

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We need to focus more on the end result, what kids need to know, and how they can apply the information learned.

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I like it where you create the assessment first and then focus your activities on making sure students are ready/equipped to be assessed or are ready to demonstrate what they have learned. 

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I like it where you create the assessment first and then focus your activities on making sure students are ready/equipped to be assessed or are ready to demonstrate what they have learned. 

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In the past, you lay out/ create activities that cover all of the parts of the standard. Then you assess to make sure that kids are questioned and know the information from the standard.

Just in the last couple of years, I have learned more about Backwards Design.

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I think the idea of the backwards instruction design makes the most sense because it addresses where your students are, what they need, and then what they have learned. It also allows for further student engagement, which supports student centered learning. 

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I think the idea of the backwards instruction design makes the most sense because it addresses where your students are, what they need, and then what they have learned. It also allows for further student engagement, which supports student centered learning. 

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I feel inspired to dive deeper into my planning. Now, to find the time!!!

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It reminded me to keep the focus on the verbs in the standards and this will keep students actively thinking and engaged.

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I liked the idea that when students present their projects, it can be a video or presented one on one with the teacher and not take up class time. Also, her ideas about grading and that some activities should not be graded if they are just giving background information and are formative. The final assessment project should be the biggest portion of the student's grade.

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Our school has provided PD on backward design for several years. We have unpacked the standards and focused on the verbs in the standards. I create the assessment first based on what students need to be able to do and this allows me to be focused on the end goal and plan activities that are purposeful and meaningful for my students.

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During a unit, it is important to remember that not all students will master content at the same rate and that sometimes you have to dive deeper in some areas than others. This is where pre-assessment comes in handy.

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I know student choice is important, but I would need to see this done in a special education classroom before trying it on my own.

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I wonder how we could use UbD in the pull out classes. How much do we prompt the students or provide ideas and how much do we let them create the project on their own?

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I would love to try to include more projects into my lessons where students are taking charge of their learning.

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I really like the idea of having students do projects to show their growth or knowledge of a concept because it shows us how they interpreted the lesson we have taught them. Allowing students to develop plans and demonstrate their knowledge, especially in a presentation format, allows the student to grow in many ways. With younger students this is sometimes hard because they are still needing a lot of guidance.

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I use backwards design for my math units. I also give my students a pre-assessment prior to each math unit. I look at our assessment and then form our lessons to what students are still struggling with. This allows me to see the growth throughout the entire process from start to finish. 

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I use backwards design for my math units. I also give my students a pre-assessment prior to each math unit. I look at our assessment and then form our lessons to what students are still struggling with. This allows me to see the growth throughout the entire process from start to finish. 

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I agree with another comment that said that backwards design takes out some of the busy work for teachers and students. Students can practice using more than just a worksheet. I need to remember this...

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I have used backward design before knowing it was backward design. When I'm planning a lesson, I focus on activities that will engage students. I need to remember that I can do both, plan engaging activities and use backward design to do it.

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I have used backward design before knowing it was backward design. When I'm planning a lesson, I focus on activities that will engage students. I need to remember that I can do both, plan engaging activities and use backward design to do it.

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I have wanted to incorporate a math project dealing with business, finances, and computation for a while now. I just haven't had the time to put it together. The rubric discussed in the podcast was a great example and may ease up the preparation on the teacher. Also, we need to work as a school level to find ways to helps students see relevance in what their learning outside of the classroom.

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This podcast provided a great reminder that any lessons I teach should not only align with the summative assessment, but also with what my standards require. It's easy to not feel comfortable with the "analyze" and "create", but practice makes progress. It does take a lot of time to modify lessons to the right rigor of what our standards require. Often, it's simply time I don't have. Maybe we need to consider trying a more fluid schedule for a year? While I love focusing on one subject and specializing in that area more each year, it may benefit students and teachers to teach all subjects in a less "Block" type schedule...

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I have used the ideas of backward design and unpacking the standards in my classroom in the past. I like to re-familiarize myself with the unit of study and make a checklist of what the students will need to be able to know and do before introducing it.

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Unpacking the standards allows teachers to know what needs to be taught and what students need to master. I do not have a ton of experience with backwards design, however I feel like this is the way I plan most of my lessons. Student outcome drives the lesson.

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Backwards design is important for making sure that your end goal or product aligns with the material that you are teaching so students are better able to succeed.

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Unpacking the standards through backwards design is something I have struggled with but have been familiar with for a long time. It was something we learned about and discussed while I was in school at Roanoke College.

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I wonder what how "learner centered INSTRUCTION" and "traditional, standardized test final assessments" align. I am totally on board with backward design, making learning more authentic and meaningful for students, and replacing traditional tests with authentic learning experiences - but is the VDOE going to shift their expectations of how we assess these students? Many students can develop and explain how a model works (which I agree is way more meaningful than correctly choosing a multiple choice answer) but they will be expected to take a big multiple choice/essay summative assessment to prove their knowledge - this is the problem. The STATE level assessment needs a revamp, too.

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It is useful to use backwards design to start with my end goal in mind and then plan my lessons around the knowledge and skills that my students need to be successful.

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I would like to improve lessons by including more interactive models for students to manipulate, and by giving them more opportunities to explain their thinking using specific vocabulary and language. I also like the suggestions given in the article, to offer student choice for models. There are many ways for students to demonstrate their learning, using various models.

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I may have actually listened to this episode before - I have listened to many Cult of Pedagogy podcasts and used resources on Jennifer Gonzalez's website. I feel pretty aligned with her ideas and find value in them.

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I like the reminder in the article that the lessons and activities leading up to the final assessment are there to give students exposure to the knowledge and practice the skills necessary to perform on the final assessment. Ideally, they should not be graded on those activities. I think it's important to make sure the activities are at the same level of rigor, as the assessment. Many times, students are working on activities or assignments in class that are on a lower level of thinking, than the level of thinking that is required on the assessment.

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My previous school district used backward design and we "unpacked" standards for many years.

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I have been using backward design for a while. We have highlighted verbs and what the student must do or demonstrate, to unpack standards. When we understand exactly what the students must be able to do, to meet the standard, we are able to design an assessement and instructional activities that match the standard.

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Backward design starts with alignment. Everything is geared toward students learning skills and knowledge they need to be successful on the assessment and in life. Many times activities that you used to do could be changed to reflect a more learner-centered classroom.

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Backwards design takes away a lot of the "busywork" from teachers and students as well!

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I learned about Backwards Design in my Master's Program 20 years ago and several years ago when we started UbD.

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Unpacking the standards allows teachers to realize what takeaways students should have at the end.

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Time is something that has to be put into a lesson at the beginning of planning a unit backwards. Making sure you everything ready for students and options for them. However, this is a great tool for teachers to use.

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Allowing students to have a choice in their learning is an opportunity for buy in from more students.

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It may take a while at first to unpack each standard and get comfortable with backward design, but once you do you will find that is makes teaching easier.

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Backwards design works for me when mapping out my unit and seeing where I want the students to end up at. The only question or concern is finding their zones and working with them from where they are at. This quickly can change up plans.

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Unpacking standards in the past for me has been very beneficial to making sure I knew what the student is expected to learn from the VDOE. I was personally taught UDB at Ferrum College and I think backwards when planning my units.

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Unpacking the standards allows the teacher to first understand what the students will need to know first. Generally, looking at the assessments first are a good idea to know what the content the students will be tested on.

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I love the moon example because many 4th-grade teachers use the Oreo activity. The podcast presented reasons why this activity doesn't align. Students need to develop their own models.

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Giving the students more of a say is always a plus!

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Once you are familiar with backward design, lesson planning can become easier and more affective.

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I am worried about time but maybe since we have a longer class period I can work towards something like this.

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Backward design seems great!

When will planning time be given to work on this?

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I liked the idea of backward design. I use this method a lot and it works wonderfully but I also find myself not having enough time to incorporate the backward design successfully.

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Before  We give a pre-test for each unit already in 8th grade science and then a post-test to test their knowledge growth .  This shows us and the students how much they have learned that they didn't know.

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Before  We give a pre-test for each unit already in 8th grade science and then a post-test to test their knowledge growth .  This shows us and the students how much they have learned that they didn't know.

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I wonder how long this would take to come up with new resources to use and find.

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I wonder how long this would take to come up with new resources to use and find.

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I thought this was helpful to come up with activities that help students better understand the learning goals for units.  This would be beneficial for science in 8th grade since we have a new type of sol that requires application of knowledge , rather than spitting out facts.

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I thought this was helpful to come up with activities that help students better understand the learning goals for units.  This would be beneficial for science in 8th grade since we have a new type of sol that requires application of knowledge , rather than spitting out facts.

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We need to keep the end goal in mind when creating new lessons for each standard.

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Time is my biggest concern when using backward design and making sure the students are getting what they need.

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In the past, it meant making sure I was creating lessons that touched on each standard and it's contents.

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In the past, it meant making sure I was creating lessons that touched on each standard and it's contents.

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I have reached out to other teachers across the state on how they interpret our standards and what type of lessons they use. I use those as the end result and work my way forward with my lesson planning.

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I want activities and concepts to be meaningful.

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Backward design is necessary especially with the new standards.

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The new standards require all teachers to use backward design to make sure our students are prepared.

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To me it means to break down the standards to have a better understanding of the content.

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We have unpacked standards numerous times throughout my years here. This will be the 3rd time with the SOL changes. This allows us to be familiar with the material.

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Unpacking the standards allows teachers to know everything the standard addresses. Backward design has teachers knowing what is tested and making sure your are covering each aspect as it needs to be done.

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Time can be hard when trying to teach new and old standards to get students prepare for what they need.

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As a first year teacher the only experience I have in unpacking the standards came from college. I used the backward design and think it is very helpful.

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It is helpful because you are thinking with the end in mind being more mindful of teaching practices throughout.

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My biggest worry is with time. There are so many other things we are doing that I feel stretched very, very thin!

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Knowing your desired destination before beginning the journey. Keeping the end goal clearly in mind as you plan.

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Unpacking standards is time consuming, but I find it gives me a better understanding.

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I have used backwards planning numerous times especially with PBL. I like using paper calendar months where I am able to figure out the where to implement the standards and activities. I also like to schedule in extra days for when the class may get off pacing.

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I have used backward design before, and I did find it to be really helpful. Then we moved to another research based item and left this behind. I do think others will find it to be helpful as well.

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"Unpacking the SOLs is something that I have had to do before .... it seems to have circled back around.   I had a colleague years ago that wanted to backward plan

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"Unpacking the SOLs is something that I have had to do before .... it seems to have circled back around.   I had a colleague years ago that wanted to backward plan

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How do we help kids work to deeper thinking with backward design when they need extensive review with basic term recall or application?

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It's very important to be mindful of what the students will be doing. I already know the information so how can I give students meaningful experiences to help them learn the material.

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I am all for this... but actually doing it without students being completely left behind is the challenge.

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Time and resources. Buy in from the students that lack motivation to work on their own or struggle a lot in a subject.

Love the idea of choices, and student projects.

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It was just a good reminder of backwards planning.

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We have been focusing on "High Value Activities." I have seen that sometimes I will attempt something in my class and students spend more time on the creativity part than they do the content that they need to grasp. They end up making a really pretty project, but not knowing what they needed to learn. I know this will take some time as we attempt, fail, and regroup for the future!

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I think my main question, like many others, is the time that it takes to redesign instruction and assessments.

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I often thought of backwards design as idenitfying the standars or creating the test / summative assessment first. Then working back to identify what students need to be taught.

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I believe that backwards design is important and I do utilize it when lesson planning. I do think it is important that teachers model what is expected of students and help them along the way to gain confidence to take control of their learning. I find this especially true with students with disabilities or students that struggle in a particular subject.

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Planning with the formal assessment as the ultimate guide and point weight. 

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Planning with the formal assessment as the ultimate guide and point weight. 

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S.E. Hinton book discussion... planning out what you want the students to discuss and learn before the lesson begins. 

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S.E. Hinton book discussion... planning out what you want the students to discuss and learn before the lesson begins. 

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Begin with the end in mind. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. 

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Begin with the end in mind. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. 

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It does take a lot of time and effort to plan. Working with a great team can make this task easier for all.

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I am all for anything that encourages students to make a personal connection to the curriculum being taught. I am concerned about there being time issues, especially for classes of students who are more distractable and less internally motivated to learn.

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I am learning the benefits of backward design by observing my co-workers and how they use it in their classrooms.

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I was not taught backward design as a college student many (MANY!) years ago, but my collegues use this approach regularly, and it is beginning to become a more natural way to teach for me.

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Hopefully, planning with the end result in mind will help to protect valuable instruction time.

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Time is always a concern.

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Giving the fact that I just graduated college, we were taught how to use backward design to plan everything for a lesson! Being as this was how I was taught, it makes this an easy focus!