The Importance of Big Ideas and Assessments in Backward Design

【Abstract】Backward design is a method of designing educational curriculum by setting goals before choosing instructional methods and forms of assessments. In backward design， big ideas are important because they are keys to understanding. And teachers must think carefully about the desired results and then work backward to develop meaningful assessments and learning plans.This essay focuses on analyzing the importance of big ideas and assessments in backward design and the application in ESL teaching.

【Key words】backward design； big ideas； curriculum； assessment

Introduction

The idea of backward design comes from Wiggins & McTighe and suggests that learning experiences should be planned with the final assessment in mind. Backward design is a method of designing educational curriculum by setting goals before choosing instructional methods and forms of assessments. In backward design， the importance of big ideas and assessments can not be ignored.

1. Why the big ideas are important？

The big ideas are important in design because they are the keys to understanding. A big idea is thought of as a linchpin which is essential for understanding. Without grasping the idea and using it to hold together related content knowledge， we are left with bits and pieces of inert facts that cannot take us anywhere. Big ideas are at the core of the subject and they need to be uncovered. Big ideas are both central to coherent connections in a field of study and a conceptual anchor for making facts more understandable and useful. Big ideas are the foundation for learning.

Big ideas are like the motor that allows the material to function and are the building blocks for novices and experts alike – the core concepts. They are the glue and framework， to which students add the details. When posed as a provoking question， students know that their job is to inquire and search for explanations. Once the explanations have been found， then the big ideas become answers in sentence form.

2. Meaningful assessments and learning plans.

Schools must think carefully about the desired results and then work backward to develop meaningful assessments and learning plans. School and district improvement teams should consider organizational factors， such as standards， assessment， instruction， etc. When schools identify the processes or structure that need adjustment， they are using the action planning process to restructure the organization at the classroom， school， and district levels to address underlying reasons for performance problems. Through the backward design process， school teams determine learning goals； collect， analyze and summarize evidence from multiple sources of data to determine how well students are doing on external accountability tests and the extent to which they really understand what they are learning； consider the root causes of present achievement， and then implement systemic actions to address root causes， promote enduring learning， and increase test scores. In this way， schools can identify priorities， monitor results， and target actions that improve student learning.

For a school to work towards progress and cohesion there needs to be a positive and communicative environment where all are willing to participate， share， modify， grow and implement. But even more importantly， the curriculum design and assessment processes need to have clear guidelines. The guidelines for curriculum can simply by identified through state teaching standards. Reviewing these standards， choosing the action-verb higher order skills and designing curriculum to meet those goals can be achieved through reminding teachers of the goals. Standards and instruction should be easy to align since the goal of instruction in any subject is to have students perform the standards in every class. Of course not every subject may speak to every standard， but most can come close to achieving higher order thinking if teachers use standards to double check their curriculum and find evidence of the action verbs in work that the students do every day and on assessments.

Yet this issue of assessment in a school is more difficult to implement. Though school meetings may set up assessment seminars， getting all teachers to use them is where the challenge lays. Using standards to create criterion and rubrics for assessment is the safest way to make sure all teachers are evaluation thoroughly. This means that when a teacher gives a grade， there are multiple thinks that he/she looks， in several different ways and continually. Informal and formal assessments looking for specific evidence of student performance， improvement and achievement is the goal of the teachers and the school. Do students recognize and identify the problems？ Do they organize information so it is useful？ Do they review and revise their ideas？ Can they communicate ideas？ Are they tolerant and empathetic to others ideas？ etc. Designing evaluations can be as easy as selecting all the actions verbs in state standards， deciding what actions are evidence of these action verbs， and then continually and in varied ways check for proof of understand and demonstration of these actions.

3. How is backward design purposeful task analysis？

Though skills may take some time （weeks or months） to acquire， every lesson should have an objective/goal that can be seen and demonstrated， slowly adding to a solid base of knowledge. Teachers can put objectives of that lesson in a question that students have to answer. A response to an essential question will sum up the goal of learning for that particular lesson.

If the objectives of any lesson are also posed as a check for understanding then the teacher is meeting the goals of the lesson. However lessons are a small part of each unit. And each unit is a small part of the big picture. In backwards design， the essential question is posed and can be answered with the big idea through the student actually “doing” the subject. In other words， teachers can ensure they are designing and students are learning in this way：find the big idea for the year， the semester and the unit， design a provocative question that opens up the subject， and finally design the lesson so that students do the work through useful performance tasks that meet the standards and are clear and measurable.

Conclusion

In backward design， the essential question is posed and can be answered with the big idea through the students actually doing the subject. Teachers have to know how many big ideas we are actually going to be able to transmit and then design a test about that. By beginning with the end in mind， teachers are able to avoid the common problem of planning forward from the unit to another， only to find that in the end some students are prepared for the final assessment and others are not. After that， we can start designing lessons based on how to achieve students genuine understanding and transfer of those big ideas.

References：

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作者简介：张远艳（1982-）， 女， 漢族， 云南文山人， 文山学院外国语学院讲师， 硕士研究生， 主要从事英语教学法和英美文化研究。