Backwards Design

In reading about Backward Design I thought it sounded like a great idea. It sounded like an effective way to help teachers focus on planning activities that will help students meet learning objectives. I was also drawn to this form of planning because we used a similar planning system in creating science lessons last semester. In planning science lessons we started by thinking about the specific objectives we were trying to meet. We had to identify the conditions we would provide our students with to demonstrate their mastery and the level at which we defined mastery of the topic or skill. Once that judgment of understanding was established we had to go back and plan activities that would help students explore those ideas. More specifically we had to come with several activities with different purposes including, engaging our students in the topic as well as exploring the topic and expanding upon it. These activities allow students to explore and apply what they have learned to new situations. These plans are student-centered, “hands-on,” and “minds-on.” Considering how well this works in science, it almost seems obvious that it should be successful in other academic areas.

Despite my initial positive feelings about backwards planning in social studies, I was very frustrated in class earlier this week when we tried using this strategy to plan in our groups. My frustration stemmed from the fact that I did not have content knowledge in the area we were planning. How could I figure out what I want students to know or be able to do without knowing what there is to know or what they should be able to do? I don’t know what I want students to know generally, specifically, or to be able to apply to other situations because I do not know myself. Thus, I would like to add a step to the Backwards Design plan where step A (before step one) is doing research on a topic. I understand that this research should not involve lesson plans, but should instead focus on the topic being addressed. Had I had some background on European immigration to North Carolina, I think the activity would have been more worthwhile.

I suppose that my frustration was productive in that it made me aware of what I don’t know and has propelled me to learn more. Had I used traditional planning methods, I may have searched for activities that sounded interesting, but I would not know how well they addressed the objectives because I lacked the needed background knowledge. Therefore, I think backwards design is more work than traditional design, but is more worthwhile for the teachers’ and students’ deeper understanding of the curriculum.