Provides information for school administrators and curriculum specialists on ways to align the curriculum to state standards to improve student achievement and teacher effectiveness.

What is understanding and how does it differ from knowledge? How can we determine the big ideas worth understanding? Why is understanding an important teaching goal, and how do we know when students have attained it? How can we create a rigorous and engaging curriculum that focuses on understanding and leads to improved student performance in today's high-stakes, standards-based environment? Authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe answer these and many other questions in this second edition of Understanding by Design. Drawing on feedback from thousands of educators around the world who have used the UbD framework since its introduction in 1998, the authors have greatly revised and expanded their original work to guide educators across the K-16 spectrum in the design of curriculum, assessment, and instruction. With an improved UbD Template at its core, the book explains the rationale of backward design and explores in greater depth the meaning of such key ideas as essential questions and transfer tasks. Readers will learn why the familiar coverage- and activity-based approaches to curriculum design fall short, and how a focus on the six facets of understanding can enrich student learning. With an expanded array of practical strategies, tools, and examples from all subject areas, the book demonstrates how the research-based principles of Understanding by Design apply to district frameworks as well as to individual units of curriculum. Combining provocative ideas, thoughtful analysis, and tested approaches, this new edition of Understanding by Design offers teacher-designers a clear path to the creation of curriculum that ensures better learning and a more stimulating experience for students and teachers alike.

Taxonomy-- 'Classification, esp. of animals and plants according to their natural relationships...'Most readers will have heard of the biological taxonomies which permit classification into such categories as phyllum, class, order, family, genus, species, variety. Biologist have found their taxonomy markedly helpful as a means of insuring accuracy of communication about their science and as a means of understanding the organization and interrelation of the various parts of the animal and plant world.

The Creative Curriculum comes alive! This videotape-winner of the 1989 Silver Apple Award at the National Educational Film and Video Festival-demonstrates how teachers set the stage for learning by creating a dynamic well-organized environment. It shows children involved in seven of the interest areas in the The Creative Curriculum and explains how they learn in each area. Everyone conducts in-service training workshops for staff and parents or who teaches early childhood education courses will find the video an indispensable tool for explainin appropriate practice.

′This is a very exciting book and should be read widely by anyone who wants a better understanding of the role of assessment in the diverse, globalised, digital societies of the 21st century.′ - Professor Mary James, University of Cambridge, President, British Educational Research Association ′Highly readable and thoroughly researched, this call for a new vision of education deserves to be ready by all those who share the concern to shape today′s assessment practices to meet the needs of tomorrow′s society.′ - Professor Patricia Broadfoot, CBE, University of Bristol Do you need a practical guide to assessment, curriculum and policy? Are you also looking for a book that is firmly grounded in theory and professional practice? This book makes assessment processes transparent for practitioners, and shows how assessment should align with curriculum and teaching for success in education. The book will show you how practitioner use of achievement standards can improve learning, equity, social justice and accountability. Inside this book, you will learn about: Quality assessment and judgement practice Relationships across curriculum, assessment, teaching and learning Front-ending assessment based on the learner′s needs Practitioner judgement approaches and standards The conditions under which teacher assessment can be valid Principles derived from research of social moderation practices Assessment for Education is the perfect guide for students, researchers, academics and teaches, and anyone working in curriculum and assessment policy.

A key skill to be mastered by graduates today is the ability to assess the quality of their own work, and the work of others. This book demonstrates how the higher education system might move away from a culture of unhelpful grades and rigid marking schemes, to focus instead on forms of feedback and assessment that develop the critical skills of its students. Tracing the historical and sociocultural development of evaluative judgement, and bringing together evidence and practice design from a range of disciplines, this book demystifies the concept of evaluative judgement and shows how it might be integrated and encouraged in a range of pedagogical contexts. Contributors develop various understandings of this often poorly understood concept and draw on their experience to showcase a toolbox of strategies including peer learning, self-regulated learning, self-assessment and the use of technologies. A key text for those working with students in the higher education system, Developing Evaluative Judgement in Higher Education will give readers the knowledge and confidence required to promote these much-needed skills when working with individual students and groups.

This book is a teachers’ and administrators’ guide for implementing and sustaining an educational system that ensures students are taught and learn what is required by benchmarks, assessments, and state standards, and to the learning needs of each individual student. This is accomplished by providing a tight alignment between the intended, taught, and tested curricula.

As teaching strategies continue to change and evolve, and technology use in classrooms continues to increase, it is imperative that their impact on student learning is monitored and assessed. New practices are being developed to enhance students’ participation, especially in their own assessment, be it through peer-review, reflective assessment, the introduction of new technologies, or other novel solutions. Educators must remain up-to-date on the latest methods of evaluation and performance measurement techniques to ensure that their students excel. Learning and Performance Assessment: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications is a vital reference source that examines emerging perspectives on the theoretical and practical aspects of learning and performance-based assessment techniques and applications within educational settings. Highlighting a range of topics such as learning outcomes, assessment design, and peer assessment, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for educators, administrative officials, principals, deans, instructional designers, school boards, academicians, researchers, and education students seeking coverage on an educator’s role in evaluation design and analyses of evaluation methods and outcomes.

What the experts say about how the Balanced Curriculum process can tip the scales in favor of your students! "The work that Dr. Squires has done in moving the curriculum development process onto the Web has removed some of the tedium involved in crafting curriculum, making it ′user friendly′ and open to the kinds of ongoing changes that make the promise of continual renewal of curriculum a reality." From the Foreword by Fenwick W. English --R. Wendell Eaves Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill "A coherent approach to curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the age of standards-driven education.... It will be an excellent contribution." --H. Lynn Erickson Author, Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction "I′m happy with the Balanced Curriculum process, my Board is happy, and my students are benefiting by it." --Philomena T. Pezzano, District Superintendent Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey Public Schools "The book builds a bridge of confidence that will convince readers of both the ideas and of their own ability to succeed." --David W. Champagne, Professor Emeritus University of Pittsburgh "A wonderful and thorough explanation of the Balanced Curriculum." --Michelle Barnea, Educational Consultant Milburn, New Jersey Aligning and Balancing the Standards-Based Curriculum highlights the research, theory, method, practice, and implementation guidelines from a successful 15-year track record of schools already using the BalancedCurriculum.com Web site and its curriculum balancing process. Benefit from the invaluable insights, experience, and expertise of author David A. Squires, as he outlines curriculum innovations that include: Web-based solutions to simplify curriculum development and writing Professional development opportunities designed to achieve school and districtwide consensus on curriculum development Practical methods for ensuring that the curriculum is consistently reviewed, evaluated, enhanced, aligned, and rebalanced Full of field-tested practices, clear-sighted diagrams, sample lessons, assessments, and case studies, this comprehensive handbook shows how schools and districts all across the nation can use the Balanced Curriculum process to put their schools on the track to success.