Wiggins and McTighe propose a multifaceted approach to education, with six 'facets' of understanding. The facets combine with backward design to provide a powerful, practical framework for designing curriculum, assessment, and instruction. Understanding by Design offers practical design tools, including criteria for selecting 'big ideas' worthy of deep understanding, strategies for framing units of study around essential questions, a continuum of assessment methods for determining the degree to which students understand, and the WHERE framework, which enhances student engagement and 'rethinking.' The book concludes with a unit design template and standards to support quality control at the local level.
