Understanding by Design (UbD)

Understanding by Design (UbD)

Overview

The Understanding by Design (UbD) model, developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, is a framework that emphasizes backward design. Rather than starting with activities or content delivery, UbD begins with the end goal in mind: what students or learners should deeply understand and be able to apply by the end of the learning experience. This model shifts the focus from covering material to achieving meaningful learning outcomes that endure beyond the classroom or training environment.

UbD is structured around three interconnected stages:

Stage 1: Identify Desired Results

This first stage asks designers to clarify the end goals of learning. What should learners know, understand, and be able to do by the end of the course? UbD calls these "enduring understandings"(Knowledge and skills that have long-term value, are transferable across contexts, and reflect the deeper purpose of instruction). For example, in a digital literacy minicourse, the desired result might be learners developing the ability to recognize and avoid online security risks, a skill they will use continuously in their daily lives.

Stage 2: Determine Acceptable Evidence

Once the goals are clear, the next step is deciding how learners will demonstrate their understanding. This stage emphasizes the importance of authentic assessments or tasks that mirror real-world applications of knowledge. UbD pushes beyond multiple-choice tests to performance tasks, projects, and demonstrations that serve as evidence of understanding. In the digital literacy example, this could involve evaluating sample emails to identify phishing attempts rather than just recalling a definition of "phishing."

Stage 3: Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

Only after establishing goals and assessments does UbD turn to planning the actual lessons, activities, and instructional strategies. This stage focuses on designing experiences that will guide learners toward the desired outcomes. Activities are selected not for their own sake, but because they help bridge the gap between where learners are and the enduring understandings defined in Stage 1. In practice, this could mean designing interactive activities, case studies, or guided reflections that gradually build learners' confidence and skills in safe web navigation.

“The Understanding by Design model begins with the end in mind, ensuring that every activity and assessment is intentionally aligned to foster deep, lasting, and transferable learning.”

UbD reframes instructional design as a process of intentional alignment: starting with clear goals, creating evidence of success, and then building the learning path backward. This ensures that everything learners do directly contributes to achieving lasting and transferable understanding, rather than just short-term memorization.

Implications of the Understanding by Design (UbD) Model for Instructional Design

The Understanding by Design model has important implications for how instructional design is approached. Its emphasis on backward design changes the way educators and designers think about planning, forcing them to shift from activity-driven teaching to outcome-driven learning. Instead of asking, "What content should I cover?" UbD requires asking, "What should learners understand and be able to do, and how will I know they've achieved it?"

1. Prioritizing Deep Learning over Coverage

UbD pushes designers to focus on what really matters. Enduring understandings that go beyond memorization or surface-level recall. This means instructional design is no longer about cramming in as much content as possible but about creating meaningful learning experiences that foster application, transfer, and critical thinking.

2. Alignment Across Goals, Evidence, and Instruction

The three stages of UbD reinforce alignment at every level. Desired results shape assessments, and assessments shape learning activities. This implication is critical: it ensures that every activity and assessment serves a clear purpose rather than existing in isolation. Instructional design becomes more coherent and intentional.

3. Authentic Assessments as Evidence of Learning

UbD's insistence on determining acceptable evidence challenges designers to think beyond traditional tests. The implication is that instructional design must create authentic tasks that mirror real-world performance. This makes the role of the designer more complex but also more impactful, as learning is evaluated through performance, problem-solving, and transfer of knowledge.

4. A Systems View of Curriculum and Instruction

UbD frames instructional design as part of a broader system of teaching and learning. Designers must consider not just content delivery but also how assessments, essential questions, and activities all interconnect to cultivate deeper understanding. The implication is a more holistic and integrated approach to course design.

5. Ongoing Reflection and Improvement

Finally, UbD implies that instructional design is not static. Regularly reviewing goals, assessments, and instruction ensures continuous improvement and responsiveness to learner needs. This positions instructional design as an evolving practice, rather than a one-time planning process.

“UbD challenges instructional designers to think backward, plan forward, and design learning that endures far beyond the course itself.”

Strengths and Limitations of the UbD Model for the Web Basics Minicourse

Strengths

• Focus on Enduring Understanding: UbD prioritizes deep, transferable knowledge. For Web Basics, this means learners won't just memorize terms like "HTTPS" or "cookies," but will develop lasting skills to evaluate online safety and apply them in daily browsing.
• Backward Design for Clarity: Starting with outcomes ensures that every part of the minicourse is aligned. For example, if the goal is "Learners will safely identify and avoid phishing emails," then the assessment becomes an authentic task (evaluating real sample emails), and activities are planned backward to build this skill step by step.
• Authentic Assessment: UbD encourages assessments that mirror real-world application. In Web Basics, scenario-based activities (deciding whether to trust a link, recognizing security warnings) provide meaningful evidence of understanding.
• Flexibility Across Contexts: The model adapts well to different audiences. For adult learners with varied levels of digital literacy, UbD allows the minicourse to focus on universal, transferable outcomes like safe browsing, while adjusting activities to meet different starting points.

Limitations

• Complexity for Small Courses: UbD can feel heavy for a short minicourse. The detailed process of writing enduring understandings, essential questions, and authentic assessments may be more elaborate than necessary for a 3-4 module course.
• Resource-Intensive Assessments: Authentic performance tasks often require more time to design and test than simple quizzes. For Web Basics, creating realistic phishing email simulations might demand extra effort compared to multiple-choice questions.
• Risk of Overemphasis on Abstraction: Focusing on "enduring understandings" can sometimes push content into being too broad or abstract. For digital literacy, the challenge is ensuring learners leave with practical, concrete steps (like enabling multi-factor authentication), not just conceptual awareness.
• Iterative Demands: UbD requires continuous reflection and revision. While valuable, this may slow development when a small, practical minicourse needs to be launched quickly.

2. How UbD Supports or Challenges the Web Basics Minicourse

Supports:

• UbD ensures that the minicourse is tightly aligned: outcomes (safe browsing), evidence (scenario-based assessments), and activities (guided practice) connect seamlessly.
• It supports authentic learning, which is especially important in digital literacy. Learners aren't just told what phishing looks like, they actively practice detecting it.
• The model's flexibility allows tailoring examples to different learner groups, such as beginners unfamiliar with browser security or professionals who need advanced safeguards.

Challenges:

• The model's structured design process may feel disproportionate for a short minicourse focused on essentials. Some steps, like crafting multiple layers of essential questions, may not be practical.
• Time and resource demands could delay development, particularly when creating realistic scenarios for assessments.
• UbD's focus on broad, transferable understandings may need to be balanced with very specific "how-to" skills so learners leave with both conceptual clarity and actionable know-how.

3. Examples from the Web Basics Minicourse

• Stage 1 (Desired Results): Enduring understanding: "Safe browsing requires recognizing risks and making informed decisions online."
• Stage 2 (Evidence): Performance task: Learners review sample web pages and emails to decide whether they are safe or unsafe, justifying their choices.
• Stage 3 (Learning Plan): Activities include short video explainers, interactive "spot the phishing email" tasks, and guided reflection on personal browsing habits.

“UbD supports the Web Basics minicourse by aligning goals, evidence, and activities around real-world digital safety, but its complexity can challenge the speed and simplicity needed for a short, skills-focused learning experience.”