When I first heard the phrase "backward design" in the lecture this week I was apprehensive to agree with the methodology associated with it. My initial assumption was that this kind of teaching would fall under "teaching the test" or designing everything in curriculum to get students to score high on a test. For me, our educational motivation and goals should be student learning, growth and maturity. When the priority becomes test scores, we lose sight of this and instruction lacks real meaning.
The philosophy of backward design as outlined by Bauer in Chapter 7 however, begins with identifying the goals and desired outcomes of a unit or lesson. Once the end results have been clearly established, the assessments, or "means of evidence" are designed in such a way as to measure accurately and effectively how well the students meet those results. So, the lesson does begin with designing and sometimes even taking tests, but not just so we can teach what's on going to be on it. The assessment becomes a tool to reach the goals, NOT the goal itself.
Our instruction will naturally reflect what our goals are. As a band director, I should apply these same concepts of making the musical development of the students my primary objective, not contest ratings, trophies, or reputation. When these are the goals instead of student development, rehearsals can become tedious, less student-centered, and have a heavy diet of literature with few fundamentals and method exercises. Performance outcome is very important, but will be even more enhanced when rehearsal instruction is student-centered and goal-oriented. Backward design seems like a natural and very beneficial method to apply in a band class.
I've been referring to a great article recently by Kenneth Beard when I prepare for my rehearsals. He says, "Every rehearsal should be like a private lesson." This statement is very student-focused, and the concepts in this article help achieve that end.
http://banddaddy.com/uploads/Performance_Evaluation_Preparation_1_.pdf
I also came across this article from SmartMusic when I was considering how integrating technology under the framework of backward design might look.
http://www.smartmusic.com/blog/teacher-tip-using-technology-rehearsals/
Justin,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for yoru great sharing on Backwards Design. I especially liked your statment "The assessment becomes a tool to reach the goals, Not the goal itself."
I like for any sort of assessment to be a learning experience and something that will help to solidfy the students understanding of a particular topic. For my group keyboard classes, I have tried to make my informal assessments into guided practice sessions, in which the students are able to strengthen their skills while performing different drill and practice activities for the class. I usually consider the third or fourth attemp at a given activity to be valid for assessment purposes since the students have had time to gain confidence in their performing skills. I feel like the backwards design approach will ultimately allow teachers to be much more focused on student learning and understanding rather than the "teaching to the test" model of instruction.
Justin,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for yoru great sharing on Backwards Design. I especially liked your statment "The assessment becomes a tool to reach the goals, Not the goal itself."
I like for any sort of assessment to be a learning experience and something that will help to solidfy the students understanding of a particular topic. For my group keyboard classes, I have tried to make my informal assessments into guided practice sessions, in which the students are able to strengthen their skills while performing different drill and practice activities for the class. I usually consider the third or fourth attemp at a given activity to be valid for assessment purposes since the students have had time to gain confidence in their performing skills. I feel like the backwards design approach will ultimately allow teachers to be much more focused on student learning and understanding rather than the "teaching to the test" model of instruction.