“…the ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows.”
David Perkins in Teaching for Understanding, Wiske et al (1998)
Engages students in active discovery
Facilitates the construction of knowledge through a series of increasingly
challenging “performances”
Is central to a domain or discipline
Carefully scaffolds activities and
group interactions Provides multiple entry points
Involves a cyclical, reflective process
A Framework forA Framework forCURRICULUMCURRICULUMDESIGNDESIGN
Framework Elements
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Performances ofUnderstandingUnderstanding
Goals
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Ongoing Assessment
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Reflective, CollaborativeCommunity
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Generative Topic
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.Generative Topic
Framework Elements
Connects to teacher’s passion
Relevant to students’ lives and experiences
Relates to multiple important ideas in a discipline
Accessible through multiple entry points
“Bottomless”
Support overarching goals (“Throughlines”)
Connect to challenging material deep within a discipline*
• Knowledge• Methods• Forms• Purposes
Understanding Goals
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Address targets of difficulty for teacher and students
Framework Elements
*Some goals also may address technology proficiency and 21st century skills
• Introductory
• Guided
• Culminating
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.Performances of Understanding
Framework Elements
Linked to goals and ongoing assessment
• “Messing About”
QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.Ongoing Assessment
Framework Elements
Teacher assessment
Peer assessment
Self-assessment
Some performances also are assessments
Cyclical MetacognitiveExplicit
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Reflective, Collaborative Community
Framework Elements
Representing and communicating one’s experiences
Co-constructing understanding with others
Recognizing diverse cultural perspectives
Joint problem-solving
Two ExamplesFramework Elements
High School Science: Equilibrium
Middle School Social Studies: Understanding Byzantium
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New Technology andTeaching for Understanding
Allow learners to pursue
different aspects of a topic
Connect to authentic
collaborators & audiences
Make abstract
concepts visible
Present ideas in
multiple media
Provide immediatefeedback
Make collaboration
efficient
Use same tools used by practitioners
Supportexperimentation
Allow individual inquiry
Access toreal data and artifacts
Support independentlearningProvide access to
many cultures and disciplines
Keep goals
visible
Teachers’ and Students’ Parallel Learning
Digital Age LiteracyScience, economics, technologyVisual & informationMulticultural & global
Inventive ThinkingCapacity for complexitySelf-directionCuriosity, creativity, risk-takingHigher order thinking, reasoning
Effective CommunicationCollaboration & interpersonal skillPersonal, civic & social responsibilityInteractive communication
High ProductivityPrioritizing, planning, resultsUse of “real world tools”Ability to produce quality products