Understanding by Design

Addressing Key Issues

The role of music in secondary

As teachers consider impact practically, curricularly and theoretically Move beyond activity and Coverage Example from Glendale District Constructing Instruction backwards

Starting from the end

Can we as teachers image not simply a coherent set of actions but envision from the start Desired Learnings?
What do I desire to be the learning experience? How do I get there? What should the evidence be? What would the wisest itinerary be? When and in what ways will I interact and interfere?

Key elements of Design

Big Ideas Are the key notions in the lesson transferable? Can they play a signicant role in understanding music? To what extend to I anticipate and address uncoverage? Are goals appropriate for the age group and for the context? Are questions being asked provocative and helpful. Are they merely didactic?

Assessment and Engagement

Authentic performance tasks? Have we developed criteria for what is being taught or for the activities? Are we providing constant feedback? Is there ever a time for students to self assess? In what ways do we help students know where they are going? Or where the lesson is going? How/when does the lesson get to the big ideas? How do we invite students in? Is there ever time for rethinking and unlearning?

Knowing and Understanding

To understand groove is not to have a simple conception that such a thing exist, or even to explain it, but to be able - through conception and practice - to manipulate rhythm and tempo. Problem: We keep a developmental conception where knowing is a qualifying step to understanding. To know is xed resolved, to understanding is to navigate through... Knowing is factual; understanding is meaning-full Knowing is connected to information; understanding to conceptualization

Transfer as essential
Going beyond information given... Result is not capacity to plug in, but to go beyond... Understanding: Knowledge + Skill + Mindfulness Big Ideas are prompt for transfer, asking us to inquire not to solve. Transfer is not an extra for its absence is uneconomical Shooting ourselves in the foot by focusing on coverage

Hard to generalize - Little intellectual reward - Easily lost Pathologies of mislearning - Is my teaching obvious??

Goals...
Engagement...while know that engagement is not guarantee of learning. Goals are personal, communal, district, standard-based, etc Problem of multiplicity Never teach something you dont think is worth knowing While being open minded about purpose of education... Far / Near & Minimal Transfer - p. 79 Big Ideas as Umbrella: Not vast or all encompassing Not Basic nor obvious Might be counter-intuitive