Designing Units with the Ubd Framework to Teach English as a Foreign Language: Benefits and Challenges

Abstract

This study aims to explore English language teachers’ and English department heads’ perspectives on the benefits and challenges of designing and delivering units using Understanding by Design (UbD) framework to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL). UbD is a unit and curriculum design framework which aims for student understanding and its transfer into real life context through three stages: identifying the desired results, determining the assessment evidence, and planning learning activities. Data was collected through open-ended questionnaires from 39 English language teachers and five department heads, and semi-structured focus group interviews with seven teachers. The content and thematic analysis of the qualitative data revealed that the teachers who implemented UbD within the context of their school perceived it as a design process with benefits on students’ academic achievement and English language skills through its focus on the development of understandings and transfer. The findings also uncovered perceived challenges caused by institutional, instructional, teacher related and learner related factors. Teachers also found UbD implementations challenging due to the characteristics of online education during the global pandemic. These findings suggest that although UbD is not commonly used at schools in the Turkish EFL context, it can be offered as an alternative unit design practice if teachers’ professional knowledge of its underlying principles is increased with regular in-service trainings on its proper implementation.

Keywords

• Understanding by Design (UbD)
• English curriculum design
• unit design in EFL

İngilizce’nin Yabancı Dil Olarak Öğretiminde Ünite Tasarım Şablonu Olarak UbD’nin Kullanımı: Yararları ve Zorlukları

Öz

Bu çalışma İngilizce’yi yabancı dil olarak öğreten İngilizce öğretmenlerinin ve bölüm başkanlarının ünite tasarlarken kullandıkları Anlama Odaklı Tasarım (UbD) şablonu hakkındaki görüşlerini keşfetmeyi hedeflemektedir. Anlama Odaklı Tasarım öğrencilerin kendi anlamalarını geliştirmelerine ve bunları gerçek hayatta uygulamalarına odaklanan 3 aşamalı bir ünite ve müfredat tasarımı aracıdır. Bu 3 aşama istenilen sonuçları belirleme, anlama kanıtlarını saptama ve öğrenme aktivitelerini planlama adımlarından oluşmaktadır. Veri 39 öğretmen ve 5 bölüm başkanı ile yapılan açık uçlu sorulardan oluşan anketler ve sonrasında 7 öğretmenle yapılan yarı yapılandırılmış odak grup görüşmeleri aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Datanın tema ve içerik analizi okullarında UbD uygulayan öğretmenlerin UbD’yi öğrencilerin akademik ve İngilizce dil gelişimine katkı sağlayan bir tasarım süreci olarak algıladıklarını göstermiştir. Çalışmanın sonuçları kurum, öğretim, öğretmen ve öğrenci kaynaklı hissedilen bazı zorlukları ortaya çıkarmıştır. Öğretmenler küresel pandemi sırasında UbD uygulamayı zorlayıcı bulduklarını ifade etmiştir. Aynı zamanda bu çalışma UbD’nin İngilizcenin yabancı dil olarak öğretilen bağlamlarda yaygın olarak kullanılmamasına rağmen, bu tasarım modelinin öğretmenlere yeterli hizmet içi eğitim olanakları sağlayarak profesyonel gelişimlerinin desteklendiği takdirde geleneksel ünite tasarımına alternatif bir şablon olarak kullanabileceğini ortaya koymuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Anlama Odaklı Tasarım (UbD)
• İngilizce müfredat tasarımı
• İngilizce ünite tasarımı

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