Session 1: What’s The Big Idea?

Integrating Understanding by Design and Historical

Thinking

1. Utilize the backward design framework for planning curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

2. Develop a “macro-curriculum” that outlines the big ideas, enduring understandings, essential questions, and effective strategies for 6-12 social studies.

3. Infuse historical thinking strategies to grasp enduring understandings and essential questions.

Strand Benchmarks

1. Differentiate between knowledge and understanding.

2. Explain the three-step process of backward design.

3. Develop a social studies mission statement, and a set of big ideas, enduring understandings, and essential questions.

4. Identify the key 21st century skills and historical thinking skills.

5. Develop performance-based assessments to measure understanding.

Session One Indicators

We’re going on a trip. We have about 10 days for our trip. Decide on the best plan for our trip. Use the map to help you plan. You will be scored on your plan.

Why were all of your trips different? What additional information did you need to plan? What was the scoring based on?

Let’s Plan a Trip

Wiggins on UbD Video

What is the difference between knowledge and understanding?

6 Facets of Understanding1. Explanation2. Interpretation3. Application4. Perspective5. Empathy6. Self-Knowledge

Knowledge vs. Understanding

3 Stages of Backward Design1. Identify Desired Results2. Determine Acceptable Evidence3. Plan Learning Strategies

Using Backward Design

You have just entered an elevator. Striking up a conversation with your fellow riders, you begin to share about your professional life. You only have about a minute until the elevator stops at your floor, but you want to make sure these riders understand why you do what you do. Create mission statement that explains the purpose of social studies education in one minute.

Why Teach Social Studies?

Developing a social studies mission statement

Working with your Vertical Team, discuss:

What common themes, terms, and phrases emerged from your mission statements?

Why Teach Social Studies?

Developing a social studies mission statement

Based on the mission statement of social studies, what are the key concepts that students need to understand in order for us to fulfill our mission?

Big Ideas are NOT…. Categories- History, Geography,

GovernmentBig Ideas are…

conceptual lens for prioritizing content transferable Example – Choice, Conflict

Big Ideas

Big Idea

Big Idea

Big Idea

Big Idea

Big Idea

Big Idea

Mission

Enduring Understandings are… the moral of the story broad generalizations that are central to social studies transferable – interdisciplinary and real-world connections

Enduring Understandings are not… Tautologies – true by definition Vague generalizations Trivial facts

Enduring Understandings

Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts

As you return, read the following pages from Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts Yellow, Green, Orange Groups– pp. vii-xi and pp.

3-5 What does Wineburg believe students should learn from

history? How do Wineburg’s ideas relate to the UbD approach? According to Wineburg, what is the instrumental purpose

of history? Blue, Purple, Red Groups--pp. 217-226

What aspects of Stinson’s classroom reflect the UbD approach?

What are the big ideas and enduring understandings that Stinson is unpacking?

What challenges does Stinson encounter that may be common to UbD classrooms?

Big Ideas, Enduring Understandings, and Transfer

“We don't learn in school just to stay in school for the rest of our lives. We have to be able to transfer what we learn in one setting and use it somewhere else. In order to transfer our knowledge we have to be able to learn things in a way that is flexible, that sees the connections between one use of the knowledge and another use of the knowledge.” - Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University

Big Ideas, Enduring Understandings, and Transfer

“The challenge of education is always to ask: What is the least amount of material we can teach really well that will, in turn, make it possible for students to use that knowledge in the widest possible range of situations, not only situations that we can anticipate, but also situations that no one can anticipate. That is, abstractly, the problem of transfer: how can you learn less, and make much more of it?”- Lee Shulman, President of The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Overarching Essential Questions…Guide inquiry-based learningHelp students “uncover” the enduring

understandingsCut across grade levels and coursesAre open-ended and debatable

Overarching Essential Questions

• Essential Question• Essential Question

Enduring Understandin

g• Essential Question• Essential Question

Enduring Understandin

gEnduring Understandin

gEnduring Understandin

gEnduring Understandin

gEnduring Understandin

g

Connected to the Overarching Essential Question – scaffolding

Course (grade level) specificUnit/Lesson/Topic specific

Essential Questions

Learning and Innovation Skills Creativity and Innovation Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Communication and Collaboration

Information, Media and Technology Skills Information Literacy Media Literacy ICT Literacy

Life and Career Skills 

21st Century Skills

1. Chronological Thinking 2. Historical Comprehension 3. Historical Analysis and Interpretation4. Historical Research Capabilities5. Historical Issues-Analysis and Decision-

Making

Historical Thinking

• Which of these skills are necessary to unpack the enduring understandings?

• Identify (and adapt if necessary) the essential skills

• Yellow, Green, Orange – 21st Century Skills• Blue, Purple, Red – Historical Thinking

Skills

21st Century Skills and Historical Thinking

Reflections, Questions & Answers

Exchange Question boxes with another group. Each group member should select a card and

read it to the group. Discuss your responses to the questions as a

group.