Backward Design

Backward Design (also Understanding by Design, UbD) was developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe and presented in Understanding by Design (1998, expanded 2nd edition 2005). The framework inverts the traditional curriculum-design sequence (start with content or activities, design assessment last) by structuring design in three sequential stages: Stage 1 (Identify Desired Results — what students should know, understand, and be able to do; what 'enduring understandings' should remain after details are forgotten; what 'essential questions' should organize inquiry); Stage 2 (Determine Acceptable Evidence — what assessment evidence will demonstrate that the desired understandings have been achieved, designed before instructional planning to align assessment with intended outcomes); Stage 3 (Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction — design the activities and sequence backward from the assessment evidence). The framework's central insight is that planning instruction first tends to produce coverage-driven rather than understanding-driven curriculum — teachers cover content because it's in the curriculum, with assessment retrofitted afterward. Backward Design aligns intentions, evidence, and instruction explicitly. The framework includes the Six Facets of Understanding (explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, self-knowledge) as a substantive account of what counts as understanding beyond mere knowing. Backward Design is the dominant contemporary curriculum-design framework in K-12 US education and substantially influential in higher education.