Rex promotes deeper understanding of UbD

MANILA, Philippines - Rex Book Store, Inc. (RBSI) affirmed its support of the DepEd’s implementation of the 2010 Secondary Education Curriculum in public and private secondary schools by actively taking part in the latest Understanding by Design (UbD) International Conference, held recently in the United States. Rex Book Store Basic Education head Danda Garcia, together with RBSI author Ma. Luz Villarante and RBSI PRDG academic consultant Lucy Garcia, joined educators from around the world for six days of learning, collaboration, inspiration, and innovation on the best of UbD.

Conducted by Understanding by Design co-authors Dr. Grant Wiggins, renowned expert in curriculum design and assessment, and Jay McTighe, a leading expert in curriculum, assessment, and thinking skills, the conference featured lectures, panel discussions, guided application sessions, and learning sessions that had various UbD experts and educational leaders from around the world tackling a host of topics.

One of the highlights of the event was the presentation of the New UbD Template by Wiggins and McTighe - a general discussion of the implications of UbD implementation on unit design, alignment and supervision.

UbD is a powerful educational planning framework hinged on the basic concept of teaching for understanding that links curriculum design, instruction, and assessment to improve learning outcomes. This approach, first introduced in 1998, has since been successfully implemented across thousands of educational institutions around the world.

Since last year, Rex Book Store has been actively preparing for the implementation of the 2010 Secondary Education curriculum, a key feature of which is the adoption of the UbD curriculum planning framework. It has developed textbooks across subject areas that were designed to be compatible with the UbD implementation in the Philippine setting. Notable titles include “Science Links”, “Ang Lahing Pilipino, Dakila at Marangal”, “Philippines, Our Philippines”, “Proficiency in English”, “E-Math”, and “Kayamanan”, among others.

“We have no doubt that UbD will make a tremendous impact on the process of teaching and learning in the Philippines, in that it will lead to significant and lasting improvements in the quality of education and the way our students think,” added Don Timothy Buhain, chief operating officer of the Rex Group of Companies.