Backward Design: Creating Purposeful Journeys Toward Every Learning Destination
Backward Design: Creating Purposeful Journeys Toward Every Learning Destination
Lesson planning is one of a teacher's most essential tasks, and it's easy to focus on activities and assignments first.
Have you ever considered asking yourself, “What’s the ultimate goal of this lesson or unit?” That’s where backward design comes into play—a strategy that encourages us to begin by identifying the desired outcomes and then plan backwards to create assessments and learning experiences. This intentional approach helps ensure that learning is purposeful and impactful for our learners.
What is Backward Design?
Backward design, also called backward planning, is an instructional framework focusing on beginning with the end in mind. It was popularised by educators Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe in their book Understanding by Design (1998). The approach involves three main stages.
First, you identify the desired results by determining what learners should understand and be able to do by the end of a lesson, unit, or course. Next, you decide how you will assess their learning. Consider what evidence will demonstrate that learners have achieved the desired outcomes. This step encourages using varied assessments, such as tests, projects, presentations, or informal evaluations. Finally, once the goals and assessments are clear, you plan the learning experiences and lessons to guide learners toward success. The key is ensuring that all activities and instruction directly support the goals and assessments, creating a clear and consistent learning path.
Why Use Backward Design?
Backward design can lead to deeper understanding for learners—and more focused teaching for educators. By starting with your objectives, you gain clarity about where your lessons need to go, preventing you from getting lost in the details of planning fun activities that might not contribute to the larger learning goals. Backward design helps teachers focus intentionally on what their learners should be learning rather than their teaching methods.
When lessons are designed with clear goals, learners are more likely to understand the relevance of the material and feel more engaged. Backward design also supports differentiation, allowing teachers to plan various ways to meet the diverse needs of all learners while guiding them toward the same objectives.
Creative Ways to Apply Backward Design
Once you’ve identified your desired outcomes, consider sharing the learning journey with learners at the start of a unit. A visual map outlining important milestones, assessments, and objectives can help them see how each lesson builds toward the final goal, keeping them engaged and giving them ownership of their learning.
Backward design also allows for creative assessment approaches. After determining the evidence of learning, involve learners in designing part of their assessment, giving them the choice to demonstrate understanding through a test, presentation, or creative project. This personalises learning and highlights their strengths. Backward design expands the concept of assessment by offering alternatives such as reflective journals, self-assessments, or peer teaching, which often give deeper insights into understanding.
In a team-teaching environment, backward design is excellent for cross-curricular planning. By identifying shared learning goals, you can design assessments that combine multiple subjects, promoting critical thinking and fostering connections across disciplines.
It’s All About Purpose
In a profession where time is always limited and the to-do list is never-ending, backward design offers a practical, purpose-driven approach to planning. By starting with the end in mind, we can ensure that every lesson, activity, and assessment is aligned with our larger goals and that our learners are on a clear path toward achieving them.
As you plan your next lesson or unit, take a step back and ask yourself: What do I want my learners to know, understand, and be able to do? With backward design, you can ensure that the journey is as purposeful as the destination—and that’s a win for both you and your learners. The Limina team wishes you happy planning in the new term, and happy teaching!
By Chantal Tarling