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Leadership in Curriculum Mapping

Transforming Our Teaching And Learning

Module 3

Working with staff personalities and dynamics

Staff development considerations for implementing curriculum mapping

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Supporting Teachers through Change

Teachers may not be team oriented and prefer the autonomy of their own classroom

Teachers may be unwilling/fearful of being totally open about what they teach

Curriculum mapping will identify gaps and repetitions that call for teachers to change what they are teaching

Teachers must be willing to change if what they are doing does not benefit the child. The challenge for the administrator is to establish a culture that supports teachers through change.

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Consistency vs. Flexibility

A district must determine where consistency in the curriculum delivered is critical for the success of their students

On the other hand, a district must determine where flexibility in the curriculum delivered is just as important for the success of their students

Each discipline presents different considerations when coming to consensus on what needs to be consistent across the grade level classrooms and what should be flexible

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Consider the dynamics of the change process on the members of the faculty

Determine how individual teachers react to or approach change Suggestion – Use Phil Schlecty’s work, “On the

Frontier of School Reform with Trailblazers, Pioneers and Settlers”.

Identify the “trailblazers, pioneers and stay-at-homes” on your staff.

Determine how your leadership group will support the various factions on the faculty

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Typical Teacher Concerns:

1. Is mapping the “educational fad of the year”?2. How will the maps be used?3. Who will see the maps?4. Will the maps be used for teacher evaluation?5. How will my peers react to my maps?6. Does my name need to be on the map?7. Where will we find the time to map?8. I already do lesson plans9. Where is the research on the impact of mapping on

student achievement?

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Consider the dynamics of the change process on the

members of the school faculty

Determine how individual teachers react to or approach change Suggestion – Use Phil Schlecty’s work,

“On the Frontier of School Reform with Trailblazers, Pioneers and Settlers”.

Identify the “trailblazers, pioneers and stay-at-homes” on your staff.

Determine how your leadership group will support the various factions on the faculty

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Staff “Trailblazers” are:

Motivated by novelty, excitement, risk and sometimes by the possibility of fame and glory

Will go “where no man has gone before” Guided by their belief in themselves and

in the vision Invaluable sources of inspiration and

direction (both teachers and administrators) for the staff “pioneers”

Who are your “trailblazers”?

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Staff “Pioneers” are:

An adventurous and hardy lot Willing to take considerable

risks Have a considerable need for assurance that the trip is

worthwhile Staff who sometimes begin their

journey because of intolerable conditions, but will stay the course only if they are convinced that the new world is a better place.

Who are your “pioneers”?

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Staff “Settlers” are:

Are bold…but are not adventurous Staff who need to know that the world they are being asked to move to is better than the one they are leaving and that

the way to get there is known…they do not appreciate being sent on a fool’s errand.

Staff who want to know they are not taking the trip alone. Staff who need more detail and more carefully drawn

maps Staff who need strong, constant, reassuring leadership

that inspires them to keep going when they are tempted to turn back

Who are your “settlers”?

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Staff “Stay-At-Homes” are

NOT bad people Staff who don’t particularly want to

change but aren’t opposed to others changing

Staff who “stay-at-home” because they truly love it Staff who will only move when all…or

nearly all.. of their friends and neighbors have deserted them or when they muster the courage to “come for a visit” and find that they prefer it.

Who are your “stay-at-homes”?

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Staff “Saboteurs” are: Staff who will never come along, or if they do, they will make the trip as difficult as possible. Staff who may have behaved as “trailblazers” in the past but were betrayed by their leaders. As a result, they are cynical about the prospects of change. Actively committed to stopping change. Not only do they

refuse to take the trip, but they do not want others to go either.

Staff who want to be assured that those who are sounding the call to move will stay the course rather than turn around and go back.

Who are your “saboteurs”?

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Your organization functions and grows through conversations… …the quality of those conversations determines how smart

your organization is.

David Perkins,King Arthur’s Round Table

2002 N.Y. Wiley

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Training Issues To Consider Pre-requisites (log-ins, standards

assigned to courses, etc.) Group Size Hardware Bandwidth Room Set-up Follow-Up Training Settings vs. Normal Usage

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One District’s Plan Made Public

The Principia St. Louis Academy

http://www.prin.edu/acorn-upper/academics_common/curriculum/progress_chart.htm

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Consider a range of venues for meeting the varied staff professional development needs

Various groupings Labs Workshops Work sessions On-line courses Observations Coaching Video conferencing Staff development days based on data

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Differentiating Staff Development: Data Entry on Maps

#3

Low Curriculum Writing High Technology

#2

High Curriculum Writing High Technology

#4

Low Curriculum Writing Low Technology

#1

High Curriculum Writing Low Technology

High

Low

High

Tech

nolo

gy

Com

fort

Curriculum Writing Strength

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Building and District Structures to Support Curriculum Mapping

•The building school improvement team can take on this leadership role for the curriculum mapping initiative as it is integral to the school improvement process

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Preparing for Success

The site becomes the focus for the mapping initiative.

Collegial support is essential for curriculum mapping success.

A leadership group should be formed at the building level consisting of: classroom teachers with interest in

curriculum renewal; teachers representing a a range of

grades/ departments; at least one administrator; a media specialist if possible.

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Leadership Group – Ideas to Consider

Rotate leadership group membership Consider having teachers serve 1, 2 and 3 years so

no one is on the council for ever Determine times for meetings, lengths of meetings Generate agendas for all to see - meetings always

open Create a job description for members

Responsible for training new staff members on process of mapping, etc

Determine how teachers will be rewarded for their time on the council

The principal is a sitting member of the council

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Training options forleadership cadre

Attending workshops from area service centers

Attending national workshops

Visiting school sites experienced with mapping

Video conferencing

Bringing in mapping consultant

Viewing video tapes from ASCD

Book groups that discuss readings on mapping

Website research

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Leadership Group Activities

1. Collect information on curriculum mapping2. Identify existing time frames for carrying out the phases of

curriculum mapping3. Become knowledgeable about mapping basics4. Draft an action plan to introduce the faculty to mapping5. Rethink your existing support structure in light of your needs

for successful CM implementation Teacher leaders Department chairs/grade level

leaders Building School Improvement

Teams District School Improvement

Teams Technology support District office support

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Standardizing Input

Determine the format teachers will use to enter data such as: Abbreviations Referring to materials Columns to be used Contents – nouns and noun phrases

with descriptive adjectives Skills – start with verbs – higher levels

of blooms

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Getting Buy In

Develop a three year plan Clearly articulate how using curriculum

mapping will improve student learning Teachers are usually resistant because

they are fearful….so be well organized Get to read throughs quickly so that

teachers see the value of the process Bring the union in at the beginning of

planning and development

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Steps in the CurriculumMapping Process

Work to create buy-in and connect with District’s focus Develop and share definition of curriculum mapping process Develop a timeline for implementation Develop a plan to train staff in the mapping process Develop a plan to train staff on the mapping software Select content area for district mapping focus for first year Select course each teacher will be assigned to map Complete 2 to 3 months of diary maps Conduct first read throughs Vertical Horizontal Work to resolve issues/concerns/questions that surface during read-

throughs Revise individual maps or record agreed upon revisions in a draft Core

Map Continue read throughs and revisions through remainder of year District-wide consensus on Core (District, Essential, Consensus) Maps Subsequent year for that content area use mapping process to integrate

cross-curricular skills (and possibly work on alignment of assessments) Second year begin another content area for K-12 consideration

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Assessment of Your School’s Mapping

Process

After the first year of mapping, use the Rubric for Implementation of Mapping to measure your school’s progress.

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First Time Mapping First Time Mapping AdviceAdvice

First time advice: Concentrate on one discipline or

content area or strand when first mapping.

Add others in subsequent years.

Choose initial focus based on data - identified student needs.

Technology can assist in data collection.

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Rubric for Implementation of Mapping

Aspect Score of 4 Score of 3 Score of 2 Score of 1

Review of Data Honest exchange employing mapping and assessment data with a focus on both horizontal and vertical articulation

Exchange between teachers employing mapping data and assessment data but only on vertical OR horizontal articulation

Occasional reference to data in exchanges with limited articulation concerns

No use of direct assessment or mapping data and no articulation

Resolution of Problems Focus is maintained consistently on the needs of the population

Focus is maintained on learners but on occasion veers

Focus is highly inconsistent on learners

No focus on learners

Range of Participation Every teacher in the building has made entries consistent with the site criteria

Majority of teachers have made entries using the site criteria

Only some teachers have made entries using the site criteria

No entries have been made by any staff

Mechanics Exhibits correct spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, grammar and usage. Error free

Exhibits generally correct spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, grammar and usage. Few errors

Exhibits minor errors in spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, grammar or usage that do not interfere with communication

Exhibits errors in spelling, punctuation, paragraphing, grammar or usage that interferes with communication

Presentation Neat, professional; attractive, extra care in details. Employs template consistently

Neat, easy to read. Sometimes hard to follow; inconsistent use of format; careless

Confusing and inconsistent entries with little attention to template

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Rubric for Curriculum Map Entries

Map Component

Score of 4 Score of 3 Score of 2 Score of 1

Degree of Detail on Content

Details succinct, clear, specific references to key concepts, facts, materials

Describes main concepts and subject matter

Identifies title of unit or course Generic heading, vague

Essential Questions Engaging, targeted, insightful question that frames and aligns content, skills and assessment

Clear focus question Simplistic, uneven in quality and lacking in relevance

Absent

Precise Skills Commences with an action verb; reflects standards and desired proficiencies

Clear action verb Generic verb; broad process verb

Vague, missing or inaccurate

Targeted Assessment Specific product and performance providing evidence of student learning; aligns with other elements

Product or performance is listed

Generic products only; teacher role is noted but not students’ roles (i.e. – teacher observation)

Absent, incomplete or unfocused

Developmental Focus Age, stage of development is reflected in all entries

Uneven reflection of developmental appropriateness

Limited attention to developmental appropriateness

No attention to developmental considerations

Accuracy of Entries Consistent and accurate reflection of operationalized curriculum anchored in real time

Reasonable representation of operational curriculum

General representation of curriculum with little attention to timeframes

Inaccurately displays data on maps

Conceptual Understanding

Conveys a depth of understanding of curriculum supported by salient details

Shows understanding with adequate support

Shows some understanding with some support

Understanding is not evident

Internal Alignment Demonstrates a clear, coherent, complete correspondence between content, assessment, skills and essential questions

Demonstrates alignment between some of the key elements internally but not all

Minimal attention evident to alignment

No alignment; elements are missing

Alignment to Standards Clear precise evidence of alignment to both content and proficiency standards throughout all entries

Alignment is evident to most standards; minor revision is necessary

Alignment is spotty; many entries do not correspond to external standards

No alignment; elements are missing