Understanding by Design Template
Comparing the Fink's 3-Column Table and the UbD Template
Fink's 3-Column Table:
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Fink's table is useful for designing courses that aim to create significant learning experiences. It focuses on the three types of learning goals: foundational knowledge, application, and integration.
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It’s particularly effective in focusing on how students will integrate learning into their lives, which would be helpful in the Enriched Virtual Model because the model encourages personalized, life-applicable learning.
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Best for: When you need to ensure learning has deep, lasting impact and is integrated into a student's life and future endeavors. Fink’s table would be particularly useful when reflecting on how the Enriched Virtual Model aligns with creating life-long learning habits, independence, and critical thinking.
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UbD Template:
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The UbD framework focuses on aligning goals, assessments, and activities to ensure understanding, transfer of knowledge, and learning progression.
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Best for: Ensuring that students are consistently meeting the learning objectives, using assessments that are aligned with these goals, and ensuring there’s a clear roadmap to achieve the overarching enduring understandings.
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In the Enriched Virtual Model, the UbD template ensures that the remote learning activities are relevant and rigorous and that students are progressing toward the set learning goals, while also being able to reflect on and adapt their learning approach.
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Reflection on How the Design Processes Contribute to the Innovation Plan
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UbD Design Process:
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UbD helped ensure that the learning experiences in the Enriched Virtual Model are not just about content delivery but about helping students develop self-regulation and personalized learning habits. The assessment design in UbD encourages student agency in monitoring their progress, aligning with your goal of fostering independence in learning. By incorporating ongoing assessments, both formative and summative, UbD also ensures that teachers can continually adjust the learning experience to better meet the students’ needs.
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Fink’s 3-Column Table:
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Fink’s design process is especially helpful for considering how learning experiences in the Enriched Virtual Model can connect to students’ real-world needs and long-term success. This model promotes authentic learning, where students apply their knowledge in relevant ways. It’s beneficial for thinking about how students integrate their learning into broader contexts, like their community or future academic endeavors.
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By combining both UbD’s emphasis on understanding and assessment with Fink’s focus on application and
integration, the innovation plan for the Enriched Virtual Model can successfully address both the immediate learning needs of students and their long-term educational goals.
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In conclusion, the UbD process helped refine the structure of the Enriched Virtual Model by aligning outcomes, assessments, and activities with both immediate goals (e.g., reducing student stress, promoting engagement) and long-term goals (e.g., fostering independence and self-regulation in learning). The Fink design process, on the other hand, would be instrumental in evaluating how students apply learning to their lives outside the classroom. Both processes, when used together, enhance the overall innovation plan, ensuring it addresses the diverse needs of elementary students while fostering a growth-oriented educational environment.
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References
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Fink, L. D. (n.d.). A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. Retrieved from
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Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (Expanded 2nd ed.). Pearson.
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