2) Planning Backward Using UBD

We've chosen to use the general planning framework offered by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe in their well-known book,
"Understanding by Design" because, if properly grasped, we believe their planning methodology can result in a more durable and authentic learning experience for our students than a mere "coverage" approach. While this approach necessarily sacrifices some breadth of content coverage, this apparent cost is made up for as students develop deeper mastery that results in greater lifelong scientific literacy and love of learning, and a higher performance on the New York State Living Environment Regents Examination. The project-based nature of this unit also enables us to credit students with equivalent "lab minutes" for their time spent performing background research, modeling ecosystems, and presenting to a public audience.