Leading by Design with Grant Wiggins

Grant Wiggins, addressing school leaders in the session entitled "Leading by Design," focused on the need for school reform that is based on principles about how learning for understanding works, not just generic processes about change.

To successfully meet standards requires changing how teaching and learning are conceived, but many teachers don't understand their job--believing that it is coverage of the curriculum, rather than guiding students to understanding big ideas and the transfer of knowledge and skills. This misconception is supported by many school policies and practices.

School leaders can shift the focus from curriculum coverage to understanding by applying backward design to leadership and action planning:

• putting the focus on learning about learning
• researching what is and isn'’t working
• framing desired results and performance goals around teaching
• assessing for understanding

Tell Us What You Think--Join the DI and UbD Community
If you are a school leader, how do you apply UbD principles in your role?

If you are not a school leader, do your school leaders apply UbD principles? If so, how? Do school leaders allow you and show you how to apply UbD principles in your classroom?

Share your experience with other educators about what works and what to avoid--post a comment.

Learn more about next year's conference, visit our 2006 summer conference page, where you can register today.

Explore Differentiated Instruction resources and Understanding by Design resources.