"The important thing is not to stop questioning."

Assessments play a key role in the Understanding by Design approach to unit planning. They represent the way that I plan to monitor learners' progress toward a goal. Therefore, I need to think carefully about what I am going to assess (objectives) and how I am going to assess (approaches) before the unit even begins. In other words, effective assessments require planning.

Before I was a teacher, I was a computer programmer. It wasn't a long career. An unsatisfying summer internship saw to that. But to this day, I am amazed at how much my programming experience impacts my teaching - especially when it comes to planning units.