“…the ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows.”

David Perkins in Teaching for Understanding, Wiske et al (1998)

Engages students in active discovery

Facilitates the construction of knowledge through a series of increasingly

challenging “performances”

Is central to a domain or discipline

Carefully scaffolds activities and

group interactions Provides multiple entry points

Involves a cyclical, reflective process

A Framework forA Framework forCURRICULUMCURRICULUMDESIGNDESIGN

Framework Elements

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Performances ofUnderstandingUnderstanding

Goals

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Ongoing Assessment

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Reflective, CollaborativeCommunity

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Generative Topic

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.Generative Topic

Framework Elements

Connects to teacher’s passion

Relevant to students’ lives and experiences

Relates to multiple important ideas in a discipline

Accessible through multiple entry points

“Bottomless”

Support overarching goals (“Throughlines”)

Connect to challenging material deep within a discipline*

• Knowledge• Methods• Forms• Purposes

Understanding Goals

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Address targets of difficulty for teacher and students

Framework Elements

*Some goals also may address technology proficiency and 21st century skills

• Introductory

• Guided

• Culminating

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressorare needed to see this picture.Performances of Understanding

Framework Elements

Linked to goals and ongoing assessment

• “Messing About”

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Framework Elements

Teacher assessment

Peer assessment

Self-assessment

Some performances also are assessments

Cyclical MetacognitiveExplicit

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Reflective, Collaborative Community

Framework Elements

Representing and communicating one’s experiences

Co-constructing understanding with others

Recognizing diverse cultural perspectives

Joint problem-solving

Two ExamplesFramework Elements

High School Science: Equilibrium

Middle School Social Studies: Understanding Byzantium

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New Technology andTeaching for Understanding

Allow learners to pursue

different aspects of a topic

Connect to authentic

collaborators & audiences

Make abstract

concepts visible

Present ideas in

multiple media

Provide immediatefeedback

Make collaboration

efficient

Use same tools used by practitioners

Supportexperimentation

Allow individual inquiry

Access toreal data and artifacts

Support independentlearningProvide access to

many cultures and disciplines

Keep goals

visible

Teachers’ and Students’ Parallel Learning

Digital Age LiteracyScience, economics, technologyVisual & informationMulticultural & global

Inventive ThinkingCapacity for complexitySelf-directionCuriosity, creativity, risk-takingHigher order thinking, reasoning

Effective CommunicationCollaboration & interpersonal skillPersonal, civic & social responsibilityInteractive communication

High ProductivityPrioritizing, planning, resultsUse of “real world tools”Ability to produce quality products