Backwards Design Model

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Research Paper I: Backwards Design Model Dale Hammerschmidt LeTourneau University MEDU 5453: Curriculum and Instructional Design Dr. Carol McKenzie Research Paper I: Backwards Design Model Before the backwards design model was created educators spent a lot of time trying to find how to effectively write lesson plans. Most school districts across the nation have adopted this design in some form or another and have sent their faculty to professional development in order to effectively learn how to write lesson planning. The basic design is devised into three stages; stage 1- desired results, stage 2-assessment evidence, stage 3- learning plan. Backwards design provided a great tool for curriculum writers and educators to learn how to create their planning. Versus planning a lesson and trying to fit it into the bigger scheme of things the theory suggests finding what knowledge is needed first. Typically this is handled by looking at the state required skills in Texas they are known as TEKS. According to Wiggins and McTighe, our lessons, units, and courses should be logically inferred from the results sought, not derived from the methods, books, and activities with which we are most comfortable. Curriculum should lay out the most effective ways of achieving specific results. It is analogous to travel planning. Our frameworks should provide a set of itineraries deliberately designed to meet cultural goals rather than a purposeless tour of all the major sites in a foreign country. In short, the best designs derive backward from the learnings sought. Stage 1 Stage one-identify the desired results. What exactly are the students supposed to know? Deciding on what needs to be known (goals), and working backwards from there enables the educator to pull the entire unit together. This goes beyond facts and skills and focuses on the bigger picture (concepts,
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