![]() ![]() For example, if you are teaching a class on leadership, one desired result might be that students can construct and articulate a vision. This, arguably, is one ultimate goal of education in any discipline, but is particularly relevant in applied disciplines such as I-O psychology. This process involves instructors thinking about how they would want their students to use their learning from the class in nonschool settings. The first UBD stage is to identify what you would like your students to know, understand, and do. This is backward in the sense that the starting point of the process is the desired end products of your class, and then decisions are “reverse engineered,” working backward from those desired end products, and arriving at what you plan to do in the classroom. In the UBD framework design happens “backward” in three stages, starting with the long-term outcomes that you want to see in your students, followed by assessments of this learning, and ending with instruction plans. As such, it’s not enough to think about the content of the class or what you are going to present to students, one has to think about how to ensure that students are actually learning. One important assumption of UBD is that instructors are responsible not just to teach or present information but to ensure that learning is actually happening-that meaning is being made and knowledge is being transferred successfully by students. They propose a process by which all curricula, regardless of the discipline or field, are designed and continuously improved upon. One useful way to think about preparing classes is articulated in the Understanding by Design (UBD) framework of McTighe and Wiggins (2012). So I’d like to discuss some ideas on how to prepare classes. But, if I’m being honest, I also want to make my classes better because that will make everyone happier-I’ll be happier that I’m a more effective instructor and because it’s a lot more fun to teach a class that works well, and I hope students will be happier because my classes will be more interesting, impactful, and useful to them. ![]() This is unfortunate because, in part, I feel like I have a professional obligation to strive towards continuous improvement in my teaching. ![]() I can remember being advised to instead focus on my research, and when it comes to your classes, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it-perhaps I’m not alone in this. I haven’t always taken enough time to think about how to create or modify my upcoming classes. Happy summer! I hope you are enjoying this spectacular season of BBQ, picnicking, swimming, vacationing, and (for some of us) working on our research with fewer interruptions! In addition to all of the above, summer is also a great time for instructors to take a step back, reflect on the classes that we’ve been teaching and are scheduled to teach in the upcoming academic year, revisit old course evaluations, and start planning classes for next year. Naidoo, California State University, Northridge Classroom Capacity: On Preparing to Teach Loren J. ![]()
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