From Design to Practice: Understanding by Design as a Framework for Developing Didactic Competence in Pre-Service Teachers

Abstract

Mahasiswa calon guru sering mengalami kesulitan dalam menyelaraskan tujuan pembelajaran, penilaian, dan kegiatan pembelajaran sehingga rancangan pembelajaran yang disusun cenderung tidak koheren. Penelitian kualitatif ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji peran kerangka Understanding by Design (UbD) dalam mendukung pengembangan kompetensi didaktik mahasiswa calon guru. Penelitian melibatkan 26 mahasiswa calon guru (14 Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris dan 12 Pendidikan Matematika) yang mengikuti Program Pendidikan Profesi Guru (PPG) tahun 2025 di Banda Aceh. Data dikumpulkan melalui analisis rancangan pembelajaran, jurnal reflektif, dan wawancara, kemudian dianalisis menggunakan reflexive thematic analysis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa sebelum penerapan UbD, sebanyak 84,6% partisipan belum mampu mengaitkan tujuan pembelajaran, penilaian, dan kegiatan pembelajaran secara selaras, terutama karena penilaian masih dipahami sebatas jenis asesmen. Setelah penerapan UbD, rancangan pembelajaran menjadi lebih terarah dan selaras antara tujuan dan penilaian. Namun demikian, sebagian penilaian masih berada pada tingkat kognitif rendah dan belum mendukung keterampilan berpikir tingkat tinggi. Temuan ini menunjukkan bahwa UbD efektif sebagai scaffold untuk membangun kompetensi didaktik dasar, tetapi perlu didukung penguatan literasi asesmen dalam pendidikan profesi guru.

Pre-service teachers often struggle to align learning objectives, assessment, and instructional activities, resulting in fragmented lesson design. This qualitative study examines how the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework supports the development of didactic competence among 26 pre-service teachers (14 English and 12 Mathematics) enrolled in a 2025 professional teacher education (PPG) program in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Data were collected through lesson plan analysis, reflective journals, and interviews, and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings show that prior to UbD instruction, 84.6% of participants failed to coherently connect objectives, assessment, and learning activities, particularly conceptualizing assessment only in terms of types rather than evidence of learning. After applying UbD, lesson designs became more aligned, with clearer connections between goals and assessment. However, assessment tasks frequently remained at low cognitive levels, limiting opportunities for higher-order thinking. The study demonstrates that UbD effectively scaffolds foundational didactic competence by promoting alignment and reflective instructional reasoning, but does not automatically lead to higher-order assessment design. These findings highlight the importance of integrating UbD with explicit assessment literacy support in professional teacher education.