Beyond Learning Objectives: Backward Design as a Framework for Instructional Alignment

Introduction

Learning design is the intentional process of planning and implementing educational experiences to create cohesive, engaging learning environments. It is one of the most challenging aspects of being a college instructor because it requires balancing multiple goals: meeting institutional and accreditation standards, aligning with departmental expectations, supporting diverse learning needs, and ensuring that assessments accurately measure student learning. Instructors must thoughtfully integrate content knowledge, pedagogical strategies, and assessment methods to create a coherent learning experience that fosters student engagement and mastery of course objectives. Despite these challenges, Backward Design offers a powerful approach to planning that helps instructors create intentional, cohesive learning experiences for students.

What Is Backward Design?

First introduced by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe in their book Understanding by Design (1998), Backward Design is a framework for curriculum planning and assessment where instructors begin the learning design process with the end in mind. In other words, before choosing course materials and texts, teachers first consider the learning objectives for a given lesson, module, or course.

Applicable to any field of study, taking a backward approach to learning design enhances alignment between learning outcomes, instruction, and assessment.

In this article, we’ll explore the core steps of Backward Design and discuss how this approach can elevate instructional alignment across any curriculum.

The Three Steps of Backward Design  

Using Backward Design as a planning strategy provides clarity and direction in course planning, ensuring students achieve critical competencies in a given field of study. Follow the steps below to structure your course in a way that promotes cohesive learning experiences and aligns each instructional activity with desired outcomes:

Step 1: Identify Desired Results

Before selecting learning materials or planning assessments, begin by identifying the critical learning outcomes and objectives students need to achieve. These statements should clearly and succinctly articulate the knowledge and skills students will develop, ensuring they are both measurable and actionable. To craft these objectives, consider “unpacking the standard” by breaking it down into specific skills, concepts, and levels of rigor required for mastery (McLeskey et al., 2018). Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956) offers a useful framework for organizing the cognitive skills students will need to engage in the learning process. Use action verbs from the figure below to align your objectives with assessment practices, making it easier to evaluate student progress effectively.

Step 2: Determine Evidence

After establishing clear learning outcomes and objectives, determine the evidence or evaluative criteria you will use to measure student achievement.  Align learning outcomes and objectives with performance tasks by ensuring the validity of an evaluation and providing meaningful feedback on it. Keep in mind that the assessments you create should guide your instructional decisions. Below is a sample learning outcome, along with learning objectives and performance tasks that demonstrate mastery of this outcome:

Learning Outcome: Analyze the impact of social policies on economic inequality.

• Learning Objective 1: Analyze the relationship between social policies and economic inequality, identifying key factors and drawing evidence-based conclusions.
  • Performance Task 1: Write a research paper that examines how a specific social policy (e.g., minimum wage legislation) influences economic inequality in the United States.
• Learning Objective 2: Compare and contrast the impact of social policies on economic inequality across different contexts and develop insights into factors that contribute to these differences.
  • Performance Task 2: Create a multimedia presentation that highlights two case studies of social policies from different countries and compares their effects on economic inequality.
• Learning Objective 3: Evaluate and articulate arguments for and against universal basic income as a tool for addressing economic inequality, demonstrating an ability to support their position with research-based evidence.
  • Performance Task 3: Participate in a structured debate on the effectiveness of universal basic income (UBI) as a policy for reducing economic inequality, using evidence from recent studies to support your argument.

You may consider planning formative assessments after teaching, completing each learning objective to ensure they are prepared for each consecutive performance task. Summative assessments such as quizzes or multiple-choice exams can also be used as evidence to determine if students have met specific learning outcomes and objectives.

Step 3: Plan Learning Experiences

Now that you have determined how students will demonstrate their mastery of course outcomes and objectives, it’s time to plan the learning experiences that will guide them through this process, both in and out of the classroom. Keep in mind that not all learning experiences are equal in scope—some may involve semester-long projects, others might consist of shorter assignments or follow-up reviews. Here’s a list of innovative strategies (some from the K. Patricia Cross Academy Library!)  designed to foster meaningful student engagement:

• Problem-Based Learning (PBL) Activities: Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered approach to learning where students work in groups to solve an open-ended, real-world problem pertaining to course topics. For example, learners might design a campaign, create a prototype, or draft a policy proposal that demonstrates their understanding and application of course concepts. Solving a particular problem is what drives student motivation and learning.
• Peer Review Sessions: During peer review sessions, students learn from each other by offering guided formative feedback on a variety of different types of assessment – written work, multimodal presentations, performances, or other types of assignments, such as group projects (Weimer, 2021). Research suggests that peer review improves student performance (Li et al., 2020) and helps learners effectively conduct self-assessments (Nicol et al., 2014).
• Collaborative Digital Storytelling: In small groups, students use computer-based tools, such as video, audio, graphics, and web publishing, to tell personal or academic stories about life experiences relevant to course themes. This activity fosters creativity, teamwork, and a multimodal approach to understanding content. 
• Contemporary Issues Journal: Students look for recent events or developments in the real world that are related to their coursework, then analyze these current affairs to identify the connections to course material in entries that they write in a journal.   
• Guided Notes: In Guided Notes, the instructor provides a set of partial notes that students complete during the lecture, focusing their attention on key points.

 

Conclusion

Incorporating Backward Design into course planning can transform the way instructors approach every aspect of learning design. By focusing on desired outcomes from the start, instructors ensure that each instructional activity and assessment is purposefully aligned with learning goals, resulting in a more coherent and engaging experience for students. This framework promotes clarity and intentionality, allowing instructors to support students in achieving meaningful and measurable progress. Whether you’re a new educator or a seasoned professional, embracing Backward Design can help you create an impactful learning environment where students are empowered to master course objectives and apply their knowledge in valuable ways.