You wanted some feedback regarding our three day training? It was one of the most valuable, timely trainings we have held in the district. Through our work with Grant (Wiggins) and Denise (Wilbur) our Student Achievement Coaches really got a good handle and start on the work we are trying to accomplish.

Dr. Wiggins’ message was overwhelmingly well received by the educators in Wyoming. His knowledge of assessment and curriculum design had a powerful impact on our educators. They are excited to roll up their sleeves and continue working on the work.

It (the workshop) was great. Grant really covered a lot of information. I don’t know how he does it – he seemed to be talking off the cuff and yet covered a lot of information. Today, faculty were talking about what he said and from their comments, I know they were listening. I definitely feel we got our money’s worth. I must also say that working with you (all) was a pleasure.

As a trainer Grant (Wiggins) has the vision to see where education needs to go. His experience, common sense, and insight are remarkable.

He (Grant Wiggins) has presented UbD™ (Understanding for Design) for me at two schools. At both the faculty saw it as a powerful tool that would help them develop a stronger curriculum…. does a wonderful job of showing teachers how to raise the level of student engagement and to ensure that what we teach is meaningful and enduring in its impact. The backward design model has fundamentally changed the way we think.

The workshop that Grant (Wiggins) conducted for our 50 administrators was excellent!… The issues we discussed were thought-provoking, and the materials used enabled us to clarify the direction that we need to take as a district… Everyone left with a much greater sense of the power behind the UbD™ (Understanding by Design®) process. Thanks for all of your help!

For the last fourteen years I have been doing what I can to get Grant Wiggins in front of as many independent school audiences as possible. Every teacher in every school needs to be exposed to and internalize Grant’s work on assessment and Understanding by Design®. I think people leave the workshops irrevocably changed; once you’ve worked with Grant, you can’t go back to your narrow views of curriculum, assessment, and learning.

The workshop was GREAT! The response of the faculty was very promising. As a matter of fact, those involved with the education department decided to ‘immediately’ place student outcomes with at least one performance based assessment into our syllabi for next fall! I think Grant had a good impact on all of us. Dr. Wiggins adapted his presentation well to meet the needs of our college faculty and it was appreciated. I hope we can work with him again in the near future.

…It was an exciting and thought provoking day!

It (the workshop) was very successful…the response was quite positive from the staff and the administrators … It was a good beginning to a new look at assessment…thank you!

It was a fantastic opportunity to have Dr. Wiggins and Associates provide critical friend work for us. The chance to have one of the foremost educational experts and his team provide us with both insights and important external validation was well worth the nominal fee.

Fantastic! Wonderful! Dynamic! Right on target! Perfect! The group LOVED him (Grant Wiggins)!

No one has taught me more about course design than Grant Wiggins. Until I read ‘Understanding by Design® (UbD™)’, I never considered designing new courses to be serious intellectual work, but Wiggins’ ‘backwards design’ approach changed all that. Now I understand that making a course good for learning requires the same creativity, the same careful inquiry, and, really, the same long gestation period that is required of all scholarly work. It would take a decade to wring all the insights that could be gained out of UbD™ and apply them to a single course. But in the meantime, concepts such as ‘enduring questions,’ ‘recurring tasks,’ ‘facets of understanding,’ and ‘uncoverage’ have become foundational concepts for the way I design my courses and justify them to others.

I’ve been working with a mentor on instructional design and this workshop sounded (to me) like it would be more food for thought and exploration – and it has been!

The whole idea of moving backwards. So smart!

Why struggle with assessing and developing high level learning opportunities for students – Wiggins is an expert… Grant’s effective guidance encourages me to think (about) how to apply his knowledge.

Grant Wiggins provided an excellent workshop in designing assessments to address curricular goals. Above all, he proved to be a good listener – concerning himself first with learning about our needs and helping us take a next step in our thinking. His advance work was exemplary and essential in optimizing the usefulness of his onsite presentation.

Absolutely, unequivocally the best three days my team could have spent together! Essential training for any school/school system seriously interested in improving substandard teaching and learning practices. An objective pair of eyes for the Administrator; invaluable in establishing effective teams.

Our staff developer (from Authentic Education) Ms. Wilbur was absolutely top shelf! Her goal was clearly congruent with ours from the outset–she takes pride in her work, and believes in its ability to transform organizational thinking.

We look forward to Ms. Wilbur continuing as a member of our team. Thank you very much!

Southwest Cooperative greatly appreciates that time, knowledge, and skills that Diane (Van Ausdall) shared with our group. We were very pleased with her attention to our needs, tons of resources she shared, and her concise instruction on UbD™ (Understanding by Design®). We are pleased to begin this (UbD™) journey with Diane as our facilitator.

Everything worked out great! We look forward to her return.