Understanding By Design Unit Template

Title of Unit	Online Learning in the High School Environment		Grade Level	Graduate
Curriculum Area	BE&ITM		Time Frame	Two weeks
Developed By	D Gavitt as a sample online unit for students in Seminar in Business Spring 2010
Identify Desired Results (Stage 1)
Content Standards
Based on the Partnership for the 21^st Century Skills report, Results that Matter: 21^st Century Skills and High School Reform, students will develop lessons in 21^st century emerging content areas that include global awareness; will use technology for the development of 21^st century content knowledge and skills; will create assessments that measure results in core areas and use technology to increase efficiency and timeliness, for rigorous, meaningful, and relevant education. (Taken from Curriculum: The Challenge by Janet Gandy and Robert Gryder writing for Business Education FORUM, Volume 61, Number 4, April 2007, NBEA)
Understandings			Essential Questions
Overarching Understanding			Overarching		Topical
High school BCIT teachers will understand how to design online learning for high school students. High school BCIT teachers will understand the value of online learning to resolve time conflicts with course requirements for students in acquiring graduation credits.			How can online learning meet the needs and/or solve some problems faced by high school students today?		Is it possible for high school students to take online courses for graduation credit? What would an online course look like in the BCIT curriculum?
Related Misconceptions
Online learning must either be all online or all in the classroom.
Knowledge Students will know…			Skills Students will …
... how to create online learning using the UbD template model for course development. ... PA and NBEA standards for use in BCIT high school course design.			... design two units of a BCIT course for online learning that is ready for use in a high school environment today. ...demonstrate competent use of UbD in the design of regular and online course content by high school students. ... show creative use in the implementation of NBEA and PA standards in the design of online learning. ... design online learning that connects objectives to effective assessments based on the research provided and the strategies used.
Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)
Performance Task Description – using this as a basic example for a unit of instruction
Goal	In teams of two or individually, develop two complete units of an online course by first writing the unit in the UbD format and converting it [using WORD, or a web editor – ie. Dreamweaver] for online use in the 10-12^th grade high school environment.
Role	teacher
Audience	graduate Students
Situation	For a variety of reasons, online learning can benefit high school students; perhaps the teacher is out on leave; perhaps the student must make up a failed credit in a short period of time; or maybe the student wants to graduate early and enter college. Online learning gives students choices for elective business courses where they may not have had the opportunity otherwise.
Product/Performance	Two completed units of classroom based instruction and two units of online instruction, based on one of the instructional areas in NBEA Standards and using PA Academic Standards or the cross-referenced standards.
Standards	NBEA Career Development: Workplace Expectations; Level IV (for entry level college students) -Identify techniques for encouraging others to enhance their performance -Identify resources for developing and strengthening high-demand workplace skills for a chosen job/career. (ie. BCIT + online learning course development experience)
Other Evidence
Learning Plan (Stage 3)
Where are your students headed? Where have they been? How will you make sure the students know where they are going?		Online learning for high school students is an area for BCIT teachers to explore and develop in promoting BCIT education in our schools. By first using a defined plan (or this plan/map) for course writing, and then converting two units into basic online units, potential teachers will have researched the topic adequately and had the experience for pursuing this option in their careers as teachers but also will give these students an experiential advantage in a competitive hiring process. Through research, analysis of online learning, and Skyped interview with an online K-12 course developer, students will gain an enlightened/informed attitude about the potential for online learning.
How will you hook students at the beginning of the unit?		Is online learning really an option for high school students? How many students in this Seminar class have taken an online course successfully? Is online learning appropriate in all learning situations, for all students? What if all education was free? (Carnegie Mellon)
What events will help students experience and explore the big idea and questions in the unit? How will you equip them with needed skills and knowledge?		Students will participate in a free online course of their choice for the purpose of critiquing their experience. (PSSA writing guidelines) (Essay writing guidelines according the the Owl at Purdue.) Students will engage in prior research provided in the course. Research and reading handouts provided: -Making your Online Course Successful, Bus Ed Forum, Feb 2004 -Evaluation in Online Courses, Bus Ed Forum, October 2003 -Mastering the Science and Art of Teaching Online, Bus Ed Forum, February 2007 Analyze Course Management Systems available for writing and delivering online courses; to include Google, Moodle, Blackboard, Web-based content using Word 2007 for easy conversion to HTML (ie. this document)
How will you cause students to reflect and rethink? How will you guide them in rehearsing, revising, and refining their work? How will you help students to exhibit and self-evaluate their growing skills, knowledge, and understanding throughout the unit?		Based on their experience, students will write a short self-reflection essay using a basic rubric for their critique. This evaluation will guide them in their own development of the units of online learning in their consideration of what worked and what did not. Resources: Pros and Cons of Online Learning Professional Development delivered online Based on their experiences and evaluation, students will design an effective online unit. Try a HS course demo here. Sample rubric Sample evaluation site Students will answer questions about the content presented in this sample template using an online quiz website.
How will you tailor and otherwise personalize the learning plan to optimize the engagement and effectiveness of ALL students, without compromising the goals of the unit?		Students will choose their own NBEA course for writing the units. In this way they may choose what is most familiar to them. Links are provided in each content area or a textbook may be used (see me). Students may choose their own method for delivery in their online units. Students may use the University Blackboard to post their units (I will have you listed as an administrator if this is your choice) ; or create the course in Google (cloud computing); or put all electronically linked documents in a folder on a USB flash drive. (Much the same way these documents have been created and are portable.)
How will you organize and sequence the learning activities to optimize the engagement and achievement of ALL students?		Provide research and discussion about online courses. Examine an online course Critique an online course Design instruction using UbD Develop UbD instruction using an online course environment for two units of a BCIT course.

From: Wiggins, Grant and J. Mc Tighe. (1998). Understanding by Design, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

ISBN # 0-87120-313-8 (ppk)