Wiggin's Theory of Backwards Design

Essentially, Wiggin's theory of backwards design is a theory that uses the idea that educators need to start with an end goal when they are creating a lesson plan. The strength of this theory is that you have something measurable to work with. Rather than saying something like "We are going to learn the difference between writing online and writing offline", which is a vague goal, this theory allows you to put the focus on one particular aspect of a lesson at a time. Otherwise, the goal is overwhelming and not achievable. Because you can list a general goal with which to work while creating the several lesson plans that will provide individual goals to meet the larger one, you can also modify and add to the individual lessons.

For instance, you do not write a goal as "learn proper grammar" for one lesson, but you might keep that as the general idea while you create goals such as "learn proper use of pronouns" and so forth. In other words, Wiggin's theory of backwards design works best when combined with other theories that allows for multiple goal scaffolding and the experience of the learners as well as as modification of the elements of the lesson to fit the needs of the learners.

In short, the strength of this theory of design is that it allows for measurable goals to guide the lesson, while the weakness is that it does not entirely account for all of the elements of a lesson. Basically, the weakness is the same weakness that every other educational tool has in that it must be used in combination with other elements in order to be most effective.

Other Learning theories reviewed include Gagne's nine events of instruction and teaching for understanding.
Comparing Learning Theories