This blog shows how using platform technology can improve Understanding by Design (UbD) curriculum design by offering tools for planning, assessing, and working together. It shows how these digital tools (specifically eduplanet21) can help simplify the design process, improve lessons, and boost student engagement within the eduplanet21 platform.
As educators and administrators, we’re constantly looking for ways to improve curriculum writing. Understanding by Design® (UbD®) is a powerful framework that leverages a ‘backward design’ approach.
Educators begin by establishing the learning goals for their unit, designing authentic performance tasks (assessments) to assess those goals, then creating meaningful and engaging learning experiences to meet them. Even the best frameworks can benefit from integrating technology, and curriculum management platforms like Eduplanet21 offer robust tools that simplify and enhance the design process, improve lessons, and boost student engagement.
Let’s learn more about how Eduplanet21’s platform can simplify planning, enhance lessons, and increase student engagement.
One of educators' most significant challenges when designing curriculum is the time-consuming document formatting process. We’ve heard it repeatedly - educators are spending as much time formatting their Google Docs as they are writing the curriculum! This can lead to frustration and wasted time, detracting from the quality and quantity of the curriculum being developed.
With a curriculum management platform, you can ensure all teachers use a consistent template and don’t waste time formatting documents. Instead, they prioritize creating a quality curriculum that neatly exports right into the UbD® 2.0 template.
A consistent template can only take you so far if you don’t understand the information you’re putting into it. Developing a new curriculum framework can be daunting, especially when staff aren’t well-trained in the framework. Rather than simply providing educators access to the platform and leaving them to navigate it independently, the platform offers reminders and tips to help guide teachers as they craft their curriculum. This structured approach can significantly reduce anxiety and enhance confidence in implementing the UbD® framework.
In addition to the guidance that curriculum management platforms offer, Eduplanet21 offers asynchronous PLUS professional learning institutes. Developed in partnership with Jay McTighe, the Understanding by Design® Institute consists of 9 self-paced learning paths and is excellent for educators who are new to backwards design or may need a refresher.
Connections to Eduplanet21 are made throughout the institute, which allows and encourages participants to build a unit as they progress in their learning. If you are an educator who has studied and implemented backwards design, the last three learning paths in the series will help you to refine your skills and focus on the revision and quality of units. Participants are encouraged to review and revise a unit while engaging in these titles.
While the Understanding by Design® template is a powerful tool in and of itself, the analytics you’ll find in a curriculum management platform help you take that power to the next level. To support the alignment that is so important within the Understanding by Design® template, Eduplanet21 offers a Unit Alignment Check within each unit.
These checks and balances allow us to see whether or not we are assessing the goals we’re hoping to achieve, and teaching to meet these goals.
Giving us a more holistic view is Eduplanet21’s Stage 1 Learning Goals Frequency Report gives us a more holistic view. With the ability to run this report for standards as well as district and school-wide goals or disciplinary overarching goals, this report allows us to analyze gaps and redundancies within an entire goal set rather than the specific goals selected within one unit. On top of seeing how many times a goal was chosen throughout the curriculum, administrators, and teachers can also see whether or not these goals were aligned to in Stages Two and Three.
A powerful curriculum is only effective if educators can easily access their materials. Too often, curriculum documents are scattered across personal binders, Google Drive, or shared drives, making it nearly impossible to get a complete picture of what has been done. This lack of organization can lead to duplicated efforts or overlooked materials.
With a curriculum management platform like Eduplanet21, all curriculum documents are housed in one central location. This ensures that educators have a consistent and complete view of the curriculum, making collaborating and sharing resources easier. Centralized access empowers educators to make informed decisions about curriculum design, allowing for a more cohesive and effective teaching approach.
Now that all documents are in a central location, visibility is much more transparent, and collaboration is much easier. In a curriculum management platform, there is complete visibility among all subjects and grade levels. Internal transparency ensures a consistent learning experience for all students and opens the door for collaboration both vertically and horizontally.
Collaboration is seamless within a curriculum management platform. Educators can easily add team members to a course and grant them editing access, allowing real-time collaboration on curriculum design. This feature promotes a culture of teamwork, where teachers can share ideas, provide feedback, and build upon one another’s strengths. The result is a richer and more diverse curriculum that reflects the collective expertise of the teaching staff.
Ultimately, any curriculum design process aims to enhance student learning and engagement. Tools like Eduplanet21’s Curriculum Blueprint have revolutionized how curriculum is shared with parents, students, and the community. Once learning goals have been established, administrators can publish units to the Curriculum Blueprint, allowing students to view the units and better understand the learning objectives.
By providing students with access to the curriculum, they become more informed learners. This transparency fosters greater engagement, as students can better connect with their learning experiences and understand the relevance of their lessons. When students know the goals and expectations, they are more likely to take ownership of their learning journey.
Leveraging a curriculum management platform like Eduplanet21 transforms the way educators approach Understanding by Design®. By eliminating formatting headaches, providing professional development resources, offering powerful analytics, and facilitating collaboration, these digital tools empower teachers to focus on what truly matters: crafting high-quality curriculum that meets the diverse needs of their students.
As we embrace the future of education, investing in a curriculum management platform not only enhances the design process but also ensures a more cohesive and engaging learning experience for all students. With a unified approach to curriculum design, we can create classrooms where every learner thrives.
Want to streamline UbD curriculum design? Eduplanet21 is here to help. Reach out today to start the discussion.
