accepted, the following are criticisms of the backward design approach: Difficulties in dealing with issues of validity and reliability Textbooks and content standards do not always explicitly highlight the key concepts that students should learn This approach provides teachers with little support about how to enhance understanding of their students and the way people learn Teachers may misunderstand and misinterpret what their students should learn and what the big ideas are Teacher effectiveness is measured more on the success of the students based on formulated assessments rather than ability to connect knowledge and skills to the needs and interests of students. Thus, lack of concern with social and cultural differences within the classroom This process promotes lesson design through deductive reasoning. It does not fit in well in a constructivist ontology where the multifaceted nature of each student warrants consideration in planning. Similarly, it leaves little room for improvisation. Teachers who know their curriculum and lesson trajectory that was led by Backwards Design may find that over adherence depletes their ability to focus on the learning experience and, with students or colleagues, induce new routes towards learning goals. A focus on principles of creative development such as contextual probing, improvisation, and juxtaposition may lead students to discover and know that which was unanticipated by the teacher or curriculum developers. In this, BD is incomplete or a potential recipe for student boredom. Desired results may fall short of student potential. This model assumes the relative level of students, yet students may have the capacity to go beyond desired results. In assuming an end goal, students are not empowered to reach for their own goals or to follow a process that may lead to results that surprise both the student and the teacher. For the master teacher, it would be worthwhile to move past fixed goals and establish processes and student choices that lead them to relevant yet indeterminate locations. See also Notes References Buehl, D. (2000, October). Backward design; Forward thinking. Education News. Retrieved 10 June 2012 from https://web.archive.org/web/20130327141424/http://www.weac.org/news_and_publications/education_news/2000-2001/read_backwards.aspx. Childre, A., Sands, J.R., Pope, S.T. (2009). Backward design. Teaching Exceptional Children, 41(5), 6-14. Cho, J., & Trent, A. (2005). "Backward" Curriculum Design and Assessment: What Goes Around Comes Around, or Haven't We Seen This Before?. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 9(2), 105–122. Gustafson, K.L. & Branch, R.M. (2002). What is instructional design. In R.A. Reiser & J.V. Dempsey (Eds.),