Unit Design Problem #5: Lack of Understanding Based Goals
Changing my focus to understanding instead of “checklists of facts” has really changed the environment in my classroom. Reading this part of “Solving 25 Problems in Unit Design” by McTighe and Wiggins (pages 11–14) gave me a clear perspective of just how much impact my change in focus has had. For me, it started with a frustration that my students were being just that, “students”. They were not “learners”. I was giving them projects and they had choice, but every project looked like it came from a cookie cutter. If I said give me 3–5 examples, I would get exactly 3 and they would be the bare minimum. Worse yet, a month later, when we were using this “knowledge” in a new way, I would be hard pressed to find anyone who could make the connection between the two applications. Knowledge was not being transferred and I didn’t like that. I had to make a change. Over time, I continually adjusted my rubrics and instructions to focus on reflection, making connections, and defending their choices. It became about quality instead of quantity. The project or activity is no longer the focus of my unit. The project and all learning activities are just a means to an end. The most important part of the unit is the reflection my learners put in their portfolio. To get to that point, they must do the project correctly. The project and activities are not graded. The reflections in their portfolio is what gets graded. Let’s say that I am in a unit that is covering the state standard: “Apply Newton’s third law of motion to various situations.” I could give a lecture over the third law with examples, then give my students a worksheet with a bunch of different examples to work through. We would wrap it up with a test that has more examples that students work out. This covers the material well and assesses them just fine with an opportunity for reassessment. The problem is that what they learned didn’t stay for long. I would find that by the very next unit, everything was gone. So I started giving projects that had them apply the third law and demonstrate it. There are so many ways to do this. We have done it with mouse trap race cars, rockets, and all kinds of other fun things. At the end of the project, they would either write a report or give a presentation. In the final piece they had to go over how the third law applied to this activity and how it would apply to other, unrelated events as well. I was making them test out and experience the learning. Then they had to explain it again. Finally they were transferring that to other situations. Unfortunately, when the next project came around they still were not able to connect the two without me doing all of the work for them. In then end, we had made progress, but not as much as I would expect or want. Now, we are doing the same activities and projects. The problem wasn’t with the activity. The problem was in what I was assessing. I was checking off that they applied the third law of motion to various situation. My learners did the same thing. They checked off that they did it. Here’s what I changed now. Like I said earlier, the activity itself is not graded. I do score it according to a rubric and give feedback. But the feedback is about the quality of the work. It is not a grade. Learners can get all the help they need to do the activity. I want them to seek out and ask for help. As professionals and adults we do that all the time. Along the way, learners post reflections of their progress in their portfolio. I give them prompts such as “explain something new you learned today” or “describe something that gave you problems and how you overcame it.” With these are photos, videos, and sketches to document their work. At the end, we have a final summarize reflection. In this reflection, learners tie together the previous reflections to tell the story of what they did throughout the project and why. Then they describe and show how the things they learned in the project relate to work they have done previously. They also have to relate this work to projects and learning that will be coming up in the future. I don’t give them these connections. It is up to the students to make the connection, explain it in their reflection, and defend their decision. Learners also have to explain how they will take what they have learned here and use it in life after graduation. I know that what I am presenting them with is important for their adult life. But, I want them to be crystal clear about it for themselves. My learners are now making their own meaning and understanding. This final reflection is what gets graded. My rubric focuses on the quality of their communication and reflection, the depth of understanding, and connections made. We have moved from collecting dots to connecting the dots. (Check out this post about that concept). I am now seeing my students get more out of their work than ever before. In addition, they are seeing the connections and the learning is staying with them. They are better able to transfer what they have learned to new situations. At the same time, the care and pride that goes into their work is growing. When I focused on understanding, everything changed.
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About this blog pageThis is my blog covering the activities and results from my work teaching App Dev with Swift. Archives
February 2021
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