While I am reading about UbD, I am constantly questioning my own lessons and curriculum and wondering how I would go about changing my approach to teaching my third graders so that they leave the grade with the "enduring understandings" that they need to be successful. This is not an easy task! Making sure that students get these "enduring understandings" is not as simple as merely knowing as a teacher what you want them to know. If teachers and administrations are really hoping to prepare their students with eduring understandings, there are essential questions that must be created, including both overarching and topical issues that must be considered. It is blatently obvious from reading Wiggins and McTighe, that teachers have to actually KNOW WHERE THEY ARE GOING! Let's be honest. We are all really good at teaching the lessons, the hands on activities, and the day to day snipits of what kids need to know to pass the state tests, but do we all really have a good grasp on the big picture?
So we know now that there are six facets of understanding, that there are two types of essential questions that must meet six criteria before actually being essential questions, and that there is a huge difference between factual knowledge and understanding. So now what????? This is what teachers must grapple with. Now I know that questions that are essential should not necessarily be answered in one sentence, but at the same time, you cannot tell if a question is essential unless you look at it in the whole scheme of your plan. I also know that these essential questions must revolve around things that reccur throughout life, relate to core ideas within a discipline, encourage students to inquire, and engage a diverse group of learners. On top of this I need to make sure that the questions that I'm asking my students are not leading them to the answer because I know that they must uncover the answers themselves and I also know that these questions should have some relevance to their own lives and the real world to help ensure tranferablilty. Oh yeah, and did I mention that there is often a huge misconception on the part of the teachers that what think of as facts are actually understandings and that we often fall into that "Expert Blind Spot"?
Wow! This is a lot for teachers to grapple with. Wiggins and McTighe make it perfectly clear that UbD is the way to go in terms of developing curriculum and the success of the results seems to be undeniable. The hard part appears to be getting started. What makes matters more difficult is that when you gather a group of people together on a curriculum development committee, the chance that all the participants are going to agree on those essential questions and eduring understandings that the students should take with them are pretty slim. Let the grappling begin!
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I can relate to the "expert blind spot" as well. There are so many teachers that often confuse the facts and understandings, which makes it difficult to teach the subject matter! It is difficult to develop these essential questions. To make sure that it relates to the content taught, the students' lives, and does not have one answer it a difficult task! And your point on having a committee of several teacher, all with their own ideas as to what is important, having to agree upon these essential questions, wow, it truly is a lot of grappling!
I think you made a good point about teachers thinking about where they are going and the bigger picture. I think some teachers get too wrapped up in the benchmarks the specifics rather than the bigger picture which can limit the learning experience.
You made another good point that developing the essential questions and enduring understandings is one obstacle, but deciding on them as a team is another.
I'm glad to see that while your reading this "stuff", which I do see a point to, you are trying to figure out ways to apply it to your own lessons in your classroom. I think that is the entire point of these readings, and not so much to go out on a crusade and try to change the world in one day, but to see how you can make some minor adjustments in what you do to improve upon the overall quality of teaching.
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