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Read
Read Chapter 1: Surfacing Backward Design from Small Teaching Online. Come to the next session ready to discuss using the backward design process in redesigning your course with OER.
The link above goes to the e-book chapter in one of our Library databases. Let us know if you have trouble logging in to read the chapter.
Reflect
Reflect on the following questions and post your thoughts as a comment below:
- How is backward design different than your current process for designing learning experiences for your students?
- How might you use backward design to redesign learning experiences in your course(s) using open educational resources and other no-cost materials?
- What are your key take-aways from the chapter, “Surfacing Backward Design”?
Bonus
If you have time and interest, here is a podcast episode interviewing the author of Small Teaching Online, Flower Darby.
8 thoughts on “OER Backward Design”
How is backward design different than your current process for designing learning experiences for your students?
It would be difficult to backward design an essay assignment. The goal of an essay assignment is a fine-tuned piece of writing. It would be impossible to start with this outcome, as it takes several steps to achieve this. The same could be said for reading and analyzing a text. Essentially, you start with nothing and end with something. Backward design is (somewhat) the opposite of this.
How might you use backward design to redesign learning experiences in your course(s) using open educational resources and other no-cost materials?
If we look at an essay assignment abstractly, we can focus on the students’ writing/reading process. A writing process is something like: brainstorm, pre-write, draft, revise, revise, proofread. You could start with a finished essay and ask a student to work backwards. In other words, read the essay and then create an outline for it.
Focusing on “end-of-term” assessments is a good idea. Explaining the purpose of assignments and how they fit into longer-term goals is also a good idea. In this way, starting with a desired outcome and working backwards can be useful.
What are your key take-aways from the chapter, “Surfacing Backward Design”?
My first takeaway, with regard to the narrative about teaching as a graduate assistant at 22, is how bizarre it is that this is a common practice (I can relate). Onward.
Class orchestrators might want to focus on understanding that endures over time and across cultures; we can focus on “enduring understanding.” This is an important idea, a noble goal. I think that focusing on fostering an appreciation of writing and literature, as well as focusing on developing a coherent writing process falls under this umbrella.
I do, however, think that some of the logistical goals of my writing courses are incompatible with backward design. In a writing a course, students are often too focused on the tangible finished product of their writing. While it’s certainly a good idea to focus on “where we want to go,” it might be overkill to reroute the road trip completely.
How is backward design different than your current process for designing learning experiences for your students?
Much of the work I do with current classes is rooted in the why, this is a natural component of vocal development. I see how I can better connect this idea to student learning objectives and written assignments. Some of the written assignments are simply reflection, but many of them include composer biographical information, genre characteristics, and particular pedagogical concepts. These areas are lacking an explicit explanation as to why the information will contribute to student success. What, why, and how are important!
How might you use backward design to redesign learning experiences in your course(s) using open educational resources and other no-cost materials?
I have students provide links to performances that they enjoy. We begin every class by listening and discussing. I could elevate this by providing specific performances that exemplify both genre specific performance practice and good singing habits. Weekly reflection, in class and online, are regular activities in my classes. It could be effective to utilize learning outcomes as guides in reflection.
What are your key take-aways from the chapter, “Surfacing Backward Design”?
I could do more to encourage students to evaluate what they want to get from the class. I want them to be thinking about how the curriculum can serve their vocal goals. Reflection is a big part of my courses. I think it would be helpful to use the syllabus CLO’s as a guide to reflection. In that way, the goals of the course are constantly being reinforced.
I often view the content and the objectives together, in health I always take the personal approach, and ask what will help us individually improve our personal health and wellness and that of the people we most often come across. My objective is always improving health and I look for any method of inspiring that.
I was not able to view the chapter it wouldn’t take my log in info
In classes that I have taught for a while, especially our intro HED 110 class, I am still overwhelmed with the amount of information that we are all trying to include in one semester, and so it still tends to be a rush to just get through the learning outcomes. However, the classes that I created are designed more in a backward way. Especially in the high level public health classes, I try to think about what skills I want my students to be walk away with to use in their future studies and public health career. So for those classes, I have tried to make all assignments be in service to those goals.
For the class I am redesigning now, HED 220, I think I will also try to include some practical learning goals, e.g. being able to navigate healthcare around sexual and reproductive health issues, as well as more lofty goals like understanding and applying the scientific method. This will drive the activities in class and the assignments for the semester.
My takeaway from the reading is that what faculty really need is time to slow down, time to plan and think. Often, we are thrown in to our jobs with certain expectations, and especially in the first few semesters, we feel like we are just trying to stay afloat. It is only after we truly master the material that we take that time to breathe and think. Being introduced to these pedagogical ideas before we begin would be very helpful. Many of us don’t have education degrees and so probably need a bit more training in the actual practice of teaching.
Backward design is tied to the PLOs (Program Learning Outcomes) of the course, so my assignments reflect this “goal-oriented” approach. That said, there are still ways in which I can improve on that process even more. Reading the responses already posted and thinking about my own assignments, I would like to work on applying this backward approach not to the formal writing assignment, the museum paper, which I have already tweaked and revised, but rather to more informal writing, something that happens more often in class, but that isn’t always developed with the same scrutiny as the more formal paper. It is also important to have a rubric to ensure that these PLO goals are being met through these assignments.
There is a slight difference between backward design and the current process for designing learning experiences for my students. I am altering some of my activities where backward design could be applied.
We can use open educational resources such as libraries, professor’s own videos, YouTube videos, journals, lecture notes, and Internet and apply the backward design. Here are some of the links we could use:
https://researchguides.library.tufts.edu/OER
https://guides.library.pdx.edu/oers
https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Commons/What-is-Canvas-Commons/ta-p/1788
It is really important for us in the teaching profession to consider our students’ varied cultures, talents, behavior, skills, background, experiences, and goals to be able to design effective learner-centered objectives.
Backward design responses
Backward design reinforces “end value in mind”.
Keeping the objectives in mind during each lesson while providing students summary of class notes (prepared by me) and access to Astronomy zero cost text book.
Better plan and approach to assist each student while keeping the end product in mind.
There is a slight difference between backward design and the current process for designing learning experiences for the students. I am altering some of my activities where backward design could be applied.
We can use open educational resources such as libraries, professor’s own videos, YouTube videos, journals, lecture notes, and Internet and apply the backward design. Here are some of the links we could use:
https://researchguides.library.tufts.edu/OER
https://guides.library.pdx.edu/oers
https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Commons/What-is-Canvas-Commons/ta-p/1788
https://libguides.humboldt.edu/openedu/ba
https://senecalearning.com/en-US/
https://www.stockfreeimages.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5cX4i8fj_wIVkZbICh16FA3zEAAYASAAEgJVK_D_BwE
It is important for us in the teaching profession to consider our students’ varied culture, talent, behavior, skills, background, experiences, and goals to be able to design effective learner-centered objectives. But this requires a lot of time especially if we will involve our students in designing and developing our course materials.
Backward design responses