The high school curriculum is to be developed at both the program area and at the individual course level. At the program level, a description of the program, the program philosophy and goals, and a program summary are to be included. Once these program level components are complete, it is then time to develop the various components of the curriculum at the course level. This step is aimed at enhancing student understanding by identifying the big ideas, enduring understandings, essential questions and knowledge, skills that are the target areas of the curriculum at the individual course level. Wiggins and McTighe (2005) tell us that “if the goal is to help students make good sense and use what they learn, then the design (and resultant teaching) must explicitly focus on the big ideas that connect and bring meaning to all the discrete facts and skills” of a discipline. (page 105) Having established the big ideas, the power standards, and what it is that we want the students to understand, we need to determine what students should know in order to achieve these understandings and what they should be able to do in order to demonstrate that they have achieved these understandings. These steps represent phase one in the curriculum development process using the Understanding by Design framework.

In phase two of the curriculum development process we must determine how student understanding will be assessed. How will one know that students understand, know, and are able to do that which has been identified in the big ideas and enduring understandings? And further, if students cannot demonstrate that they understand, know and are able to do something, how will one intervene to help the student? Identifying these assessments comprise phase two of the Understanding by Design framework.

The curriculum should also include evidence of technology/media integration. Here, the curriculum writers should indicate how the various forms of technology and media will be used and infused throughout the various courses within the program area. The curriculum should show how teachers and students will use technology and/or media to enhance the teaching/learning experiences.

Finally, the writers of the curriculum at the high school level must show how our Catholic Identity is integrated, infused, and permeates all aspects of the program, the course, and each unit of study within a course. How does the curriculum reflect our Catholic faith? Our Christian virtues? The Catholic Social Justice Teachings? The Rights of Children?

Over the past several years, high school teachers of the diocese have participated in a number of professional development sessions addressing the Understanding by Design framework and how this framework is to be used to develop curriculum at the local level. Many resources were provided in these sessions. A number of these resources can be accessed below.

Stage 2 - Determining Assessment Evidence

Core Language of Understanding By Design

Creating a Lesson based on Understanding by Design

Curriculum Development Using Understanding by Design

Understanding by Design and Instructional Leadership Handout

Understanding the Learning Organization:
Insights and Lessons Learned from Experienced Users of Understanding by Design

Advancing Stage Three - Promoting Student Understanding—“A Conceptual Framework”
Some Underlying Assumptions of Differentiated Instruction

Exploring Students’ and Staff Members’ Learning Modality and Learning Style Preferences

 “Writer’s Voice” (A Middle School English Language Arts Unit
Combining Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction)

Improving Student Achievement Using Robert Marzano’s The Art and Science of Teaching

Professional Development Activities for Classroom Instruction That Works

Understanding by Design: Beginning the Journey

Teaching for Understanding

Understanding by Design Stage 2 Assessment

Classroom Instruction that Works

How Can We Promote Student Understanding, Rather than Just “Knowing/Doing”?

How Can Administrators and Supervisors Enhance Student Understanding and Overall Achievement?

Sample Math Content Map

Assessment Criteria for Understanding by Design Unit Maps

How Can We Develop Curriculum That Promotes Student Understanding, Rather than Just “Knowing/Doing”?

School Leadership That Works From Research to Results

Understanding by Design and Differentiation

What Can We Observe in Classrooms That Reflect the
Principles of Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction?

The Art and Science of Teaching by Robert J. Marzano

UbD How Can We Promote the Understanding and Achievement of All Learners?