Meanings of Understanding Based Curriculum and Its Limits: An Analysis of Core Concepts

This study critically analyzes core concepts of Understanding-Based Curriculum(UBC) which provided theoretical basis of current Korea national curriculum principles. 2015 / 2022 revised curriculum demands construction of contents structure on the basis of Big Ideas, but it provoked local schools resistance due to its conceptual ambiguities. To review this problem more thoroughly, this study raised following questions: 1) What is the structural problems of backward design? Is the concept of understanding clear enough for the following design activities? 2) What is the conceptual ambiguities of the concept Big Ideas? 3) What is the relationship between transmission, essential questions and Big Ideas? Each research questions were explored by theoretical cocept analysis and the results of study are as follows. First, desired results which are final objectives of backward design has self-contradicting issues. And conceptual ambiguities between the concept of understanding in UBC and performance were confirmed. Second, conceptual discrepancies of Big Ideas were confirmed according to its status, which consists of starting point and ending point. Third, tranfer and essential questions worked as trigger for drawing the dynamics of Big Ideas.