MENTAL MODEL · M3622

Understanding by Design, UbD

CreateHigh supportDesign Thinking

Included

Updated 2026-08-05

Loading revision record…

INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

A framework developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe in Understanding by Design, published and revised. Its core proposition inverts the conventional sequence of textbook, then teaching, then test: the designer first names the enduring understandings a learner should leave with, then specifies the assessment evidence that would demonstrate those understandings, and only then plans learning activities. The key constraint is that each stage must remain answerable to the previous one, so an activity that produces no specified evidence is a candidate for removal.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Outcome first: write the result the audience should carry away before choosing any activity. - Evidence second: name the observable proof that the result was achieved. - Activity last: select only the exercises that generate that evidence, and cut the rest.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Designing forward from available activities lets the medium dictate the goal, because once a workshop or a lesson is built it acquires its own justification. Reversing the order removes that anchor: the intended result constrains what counts as evidence, and the evidence constrains which activities are admissible. Each later decision is then tested against an earlier commitment rather than against convenience, which keeps the whole design pointed at a single outcome.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/1

Practice this model in one real situation:

Write one sentence naming what the audience should understand or be able to do afterward. 2. Describe the performance that would prove it, in observable terms. 3. List the activities you were planning and mark which ones produce that evidence. 4. Cut or redesign the activities that produce none. 5. Sequence the surviving activities so each builds toward the final performance.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

Learning progress0%

account_treeGenealogyexpand_more

menu_bookReferencesexpand_more

Source support: Explicit

link
en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Understanding_by_DesignZH · Explicit
verified

RELATED MODELS