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• Explain how teaching for understanding can improve the achievement of all students.     
• Describe the key elements of Understanding by Design and justify its claim that the best lesson and unit designs are “backwards.”

• Identify and explain the six facets of understanding identified by Understanding by Design: explanation, application, interpretation, analysis of perspectives, empathy, and self-knowledge.
• Use the six facets of understanding to frame learner outcomes.

• Describe and apply the Understanding by Design three-circle curriculum audit process.
• Use a consensus-driven process for determining what is worth being familiar with and what all students should know, be able to do, and understand in your school or district’s core curriculum.

• Identify and describe the three stages of the Understanding by Design backward-design process.
• Examine and self-reflect on the extent to which you already use key Understanding by Design design principles in your current practice.

• Evaluate units based on their alignment of key backward-design elements.
• Critique units to eliminate problems with reliability and validity.

• Critique and evaluate sample overarching and topical understandings and essential questions.
• Evaluate ways in which sample units’ assessment and instructional activities support — or work against — student understanding of the core curriculum and its standards.

• Apply the Understanding by Design principles to your strategic planning and school improvement planning processes.
• Create a preliminary action plan for successful Understanding by Design implementation in your school or district.