Curriculum design is an awesome responsibility and powerful opportunity which we describe as a purposeful, deliberate, and systemic process to guide instruction that can achieve desired results.

 Our Curriculum Development Series consists of three courses designed to introduce and advance the concepts of backward design planning.  This series is targeted to educators who are interested in improving their skills in revising or creating units of study and aligning “taught” curriculum in classroom lessons.  It is organized to support both beginning efforts in backward design and advance to more complicated elements.

 Course 1, Curriculum Development: A Beginner’s Guide to Backward Design is not a prerequisite for the following two courses. It does, however, provide a natural sequence and foundation for educators unfamiliar with backward design concepts.

 Courses in the series include readings from two textbooks by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe:

  • The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units
  • The Understanding by Design Guide to Advanced Concepts in Creating and Reviewing Units

Course 1:  A Beginner’s Guide to Backward Design
Course 2:  Creating a Unit Plan (Addressing Knowledge, Skills, Understanding and Transfer)
Course 3:  Unit Design in Action – Aligning Lesson Plans

Instructor:
Marlene Grueber
mgrueber@dominicancaonline.com  

EDUO 9983 A Beginners Guide to Backward Design Planning

Is it time to revise or create a new unit of instruction in your curriculum? Identify relevant content standards and your school/district guidelines that apply to this unit. Tackle this work by creating a design to engage your students and deepen their ability to make meaning of learning and transfer to performance.  Using the concepts of backward design, develop a unit sketch that defines your desired results, evidence of achieving goals, and instructional learning plan. This is Course 1 in the series, Curriculum Development.

Required Text:  Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

Instructor: Marlene Grueber

EDUO 9984 Creating a Unit Plan

Select a unit plan you wish to revise.  Using backward design concepts from assigned readings, refine or develop learning goals, essential questions, assessment evidence, and a learning plan which address and strengthen student understanding for meaning, transfer of learning, knowledge, and skills.

 

Instructor: Marlene Grueber

EDUO 9985 Unit Design in Action-Aligning Lesson Plans

Identify applications of the advanced design concepts described in your textbook readings. Refine your unit plan with further detail using concept elements addressing evaluative criteria, learning plan targets, essential questions, and authentic assessment. Your final activity will be to create a lesson that aligns with your refined unit. 

Instructor: Marlene Grueber