Backward design is a planning approach that begins with the end in mind: what students should be able to know, do, or demonstrate by the end of a lesson, unit, or course. Instead of starting with activities or content, backward design asks faculty to first clarify the learning goal, then determine how students will show their learning, and finally plan the instruction and practice that will help them succeed. This approach can strengthen alignment between outcomes, assessments, and learning activities while helping faculty make intentional decisions about what to include, revise, or remove.
The Cult of Pedagogy article on backward design offers practical questions faculty can use to reflect on their lessons and assessments. These questions are especially useful when reviewing whether course activities directly prepare students for the skills and knowledge they are expected to demonstrate.
Some Questions About Your Lessons from Cult of Pedagogy :
- What exactly do your standards require? Do they ask students to memorize and identify facts, or do they ask them to describe, explain, analyze, or create? (It’s probably the latter.)
- If it’s the latter, how closely do your assessments measure those standards? Do they actually require students to do the describing, explaining, analyzing, or creating (which would likely require them to write, present, or create some product), or do they merely ask them to recognize when someone else does it in the form of an answer on a multiple-choice test?
- Do you need to adjust your assessments so they more closely align with the standards?
- If you do, the next step is to rework the lessons that lead up to that assessment. Does every lesson contribute to student success on that assessment? Could some of your lessons be omitted because they don’t connect directly to the assessment? Are you missing anything? For example, if your assessment requires students to write in academic language and support their ideas with evidence, you should include some lessons that give students practice with that kind of writing.
- Finally, will the assessment be weighted heavily in your gradebook? (It should be.)The lessons and activities leading up to the final assessment are there to give students exposure to the knowledge and practice with the skills necessary to perform on that final assessment; ideally, they should receive no grades at all on those activities. If you absolutely must assign some points, be sure the final assessment is worth a heck of a lot more than those smaller tasks.