İngilizce'nin yabancı dil olarak öğretildiği Türk bağlamında İngilizce öğretmenlerinin, ünite tasarımında Anlama Odaklı Tasarım Modeli uygulamaları hakkındaki görüşleri

The purpose of this study is to explore English language teachers' and English department heads' perspectives on the implementation of the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework in their Turkish EFL context. UbD is a unit and curriculum design framework which aims for student understanding and its transfer into real life context through three stages: identifying the desired results, determining the evidence, and planning learning activities. A qualitative research design was adopted for the study. The participants of the study were 39 English teachers and five department heads. Data was collected through open-ended questionnaires from teachers and heads, and semi-constructed focus group interviews conducted with teachers. Data was analysed through content and thematic analysis. The results of the study indicated that the teachers who implemented UbD within the context of their school recognized it mostly as a design process. Regarding the implementation of UbD in the Turkish EFL context, the findings revealed some perceived benefits on students' academic achievement and English language skills thanks to its focus on the development of understandings and transferring of skills. The findings also revealed perceived challenges caused by institutional, instructional, teacher related and learner related factors. As for online education during the global pandemic, the findings indicated that teachers benefited from UbD although they found it challenging due to the characteristics of online education. These findings suggest that school administrators should accept the fact that the UbD process can take a long time, and therefore they should develop a plan for the whole academic year without imposing pressure on teachers to cover their content. Hence, teachers can prioritize their students' learning. Schools should also provide their teachers with regular in-service training to ensure the proper implementation of UbD by increasing their professional knowledge of its underlying principles. Besides, conceptualization of such innovations by teachers who are expected to implement them should be taken into consideration. In other words, schools should deploy efforts to form a shared understanding of the innovative ideas and their ultimate goals that can be verbalized by each member of the team. Key Words: Understanding by Design (UbD), English curriculum design