3 Column Table or UbD.... Which do I Prefer?

This is a question that I really had to sit back and think hard about. I had some struggles with each one in very different ways. I had never heard about or used a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) or a 3 Column Table for lesson planning. I have been using a UbD template at my current school for a number of years, but creating it from scratch with more detail was a task in it's own. Both of the templates were challenging in their own ways but I learned so much more about my PD goals while creating them. I enjoyed learning more as I created them both. 

 

For the 3 Column Table I created my BHAG first then designed my table to reflect the BHAG. I made a list of learning goals, a list of learning activities to go with the learning goals, and a list of assessment activities to be used to reflect both. The entire document was created with the end in mind. Fink (n.d.) stated that you start with the learning goals, move on to feedback and assessment, then to the teaching/learning activities, and finally on to the integration. This is very similar to the Understanding by Design (UbD) template that also mentions backward design. Wiggins & McTighe (2005) mention the idea that creating a lesson plan is like making a blueprint. They designed a template to use as you create lessons with the end in mind by deciding what results you want to achieve (the learning goal) and work backwards... just like the 3 Column Table.

The UbD template is very detailed and takes a lot of time and planning to create. The 3 Column Table is not as detailed, but it is just as effective.

 

There were things I liked about both templates and things I was not as fond of for each one. Both of my lesson plans were made with educators in mind. I wanted to create plans for the PD that I will be using to implement blended learning station rotations in my school. I wanted to do this to prepare myself for actual planning of my PD for EDLD 5389 class in my Applied Digital Learning degree. 

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Which template do I like better? I am still a bit undecided. Which one will I be using in the future? I think it might depend on my mood for that week and on the class and actual lesson that I am planning. I am an innovative educator... why can't I use both? 

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Resources:

Fink, L. D. (n.d.). A Self directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. Retrieved                                from https://www.deefinkandassociates.com/GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf

Harapnuik, D. (n.d.). COVA. [online] It's About Learning. Retrieved from                                                                   http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6991 

Wiggins, G. P., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design, Expanded 2nd Edition. Pearson.