Design Backwards, Then Measure

Brad Rathgeber

Connection, collaboration, creativity, and application were the original pillars that we built from, though as the field (and technology evolved) and as we learned more in the online space, that baseline pedagogy was added to and evolved. 

Our challenge was to understand how to measure progress and growth that supported the pedagogy we had set out. Interestingly, we started with the understanding that these things should be measured… and that’s not always where we come from in the independent school world.  

As we designed backwards from the goals, we had to determine both what we wanted to measure and which tools were best for the job. Student voice was key for us. We wanted to know how students perceived what was being built--not only at the end of the course but also at key moments throughout the academic year.  So, since our start, we’ve surveyed our students five times a year: two weeks into the course, and at the end of each quarter.  Teachers receive this feedback, and they review it with the Assistant Head and our Instructional Designer, in order to make any in-moment course corrections and to plan for future iterations of  the course.

Similarly, faculty are evaluated by themselves and by the Assistant Head of School, in order to make sure that objectives are met. Faculty evaluations, in aggregate, are even shown to the Board, as a marker of course progress and to demonstrate how and why investments are being made in certain areas.

We also continue to improve and adjust our pedagogy, using the latest available research and learnings of our faculty and administrative team.  We keep the pedagogy of the school updated, and adjust our faculty course standards and competencies annually — we continue to move the goalposts so that what was “exemplary implementation” in year one, is “baseline effectiveness” by year three.

We deliberately built from mission and goals, and then measured.  For schools, there might be an opportunity either with reverse design or with building instruments to measure how you are meeting the stated goals and objectives.

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For a deeper dive into the topic, check out the below research and resources:
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White-Papers & Blogs:​

• Blog posts on: Course Quality, The Importance of Goal Setting, The Learner Driven Classroom and Personalized Learning, but from the perspective of the learner rather than the teacher. 
• Take a look at our Pedagogy of One Schoolhouse white-paper to learn more about our approach to learner-driven courses. Here, we outline why we approach teaching & learning from this perspective and how we stay true to our roots of being a research-driven organization. ​