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Misunderstanding by Chance

November 2007

By now most of us have heard of Understanding by Design (UbD).  Whether through faculty meetings, department or grade-level gatherings, or the grapevine, we have garnered at least a passing familiarity with the UbD model.  Despite this broad recognition, however, there seems to be far less comprehension of what UbD actually entails, and even more distressingly, what precisely we are expected to be doing with it.  Unfortunately this widespread confusion is starting to erode support for this initiative, and instead build on a broader sense of consternation and cynicism with regard to reforms in general. 

According to the official UbD website, “Understanding by Design is a framework for improving student achievement.
Emphasizing the teacher's critical role as a designer of student learning, UbD works . . . to help teachers clarify learning goals, devise revealing assessments of student understanding, and craft effective and engaging learning activities.”

Indeed, UbD is widely regarded as one of the most promising and comprehensive models for improving instruction and bettering education in general. 

This fact makes the halting, uneven and ultimately confusing manner in which the District is introducing this concept all the more disappointing.  In fact, there seems to be little consensus, even among administrators, as to what it is we are actually doing when it comes to UbD.  While some curriculum coordinators are treating it as an interesting model worthy of further investigation, others are proceeding as if it were a district-level mandate.  Some have even gone so far as to require teachers to design all of their lessons and units using the UbD framework.  While UbD proponents explicitly warn against such a rigid approach to the model, this only serves to underscore the extent of the confusion surrounding this initiative.  For if curriculum coordinators are so unclear, not just as to what the district’s ultimate intentions for UbD are, but even as to how to actually apply the model, then how are teachers to be expected to know.  And yet, despite this widespread lack of clarity, many teachers are being formally evaluated based on their use of UbD.  One can only imagine the phone calls our administration would have to field if teachers were assessing students on concepts and practices that had never been taught. 

This is a situation that cries out for clarification.  Though the district recently  disseminated an invitation to teachers to participate on a UbD investigatory committee, this too highlights the current lack of clarity.  Clearly, teachers cannot be judged on their use of a program that we are only now being asked to look into.

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