GRAND LEDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

2012-13 Curriculum Mapping Project

Kick OffJune 11, 2012

Agenda Overview of curriculum and curriculum mapping

Definitions of curriculum What makes a good curriculum map Types of curriculum maps

Mapping Templates Year at a Glance Template Consensus Map Template

Process The Task The Time The Schedule

Resources – or “how to not reinvent the wheel”!! Curriculum Crafter Oakland ISD Atlas Maps Common Core Sites NGSS Site Michigan GLCE’s and HSCE’s for social studies

Curriculum The term “curriculum” is used to mean different things

depending on the context.

According to Education Week (May 23, 2011), “Calls for a shared curriculum for the common standards have triggered renewed debates about who decides what student learn, and about varied meanings of the word ‘curriculum’, adding layers of complexity to the job of translating the broad learning goals into classroom teaching.”

In the broadest sense “curriculum” may refer to all courses offered at a school. (Wikipedia) For example, the Michigan Merit Curriculum refers to the courses that students must take to graduate from high school in Michigan.

“Curriculum” can also refer to the content of a particular course in school or college. (Collins World English Dictionary)

Educational Researchers’ Definition of Curriculum

Goodlad and Su (1992) define curriculum as a plan that consists of learning opportunities for a specific time frame and place, a tool that aims to bring about behaviour changes in students as a result of planned activities and includes all learning experiences received by students with the guidance of the school.

Schubert (1987) defines curriculum as the contents of a subject, concepts and tasks to be acquired, planned activities, the desired learning outcomes and experiences, product of culture and an agenda to reform society.

Pratt (1980) defines curriculum as a written document that systematically describes goals planned, objectives, content, learning activities, evaluation procedures and so forth.

Key phrases in the definitions

Written document Systematic Specific time frame Objectives Learning goals Concepts and tasks (knowledge and

skills) Learning activities Evaluation procedures

GLPS Definitions A curriculum is a written document that

systematically describes the objectives, learning goals, knowledge and skills, learning activities and evaluation procedures for a unit of study.

A curriculum map is a visual method for projecting yearly and monthly plans for the classroom that describes what is taught. A map includes the objective, learning goal, knowledge and skills, learning activities and evaluation procedure for each unit of study.

Why map the curriculum? A curriculum map allows teachers to

“chart the course” for instruction across the year spending neither so long on certain topics that the full curriculum for the grade level or subject is not covered, nor going so fast that key concepts are only covered superficially.

A New ParadigmCurriculum Assessment Instruction

“Then”… Textbook as curriculum

Assessments aligned to text and “what was taught”

Text focused instruction

…”and now”

A map guiding curricular decisions

Assessments aligned to state and national standards

Instruction focused on achieving the learning goals in the map.

A good curriculum map…. Is designed by teachers working collaboratively Enables all parties to focus on essential and significant

learning goals. Helps teachers, students, and parents clarify the

specific knowledge and skills that students should acquire at each class or grade level.

Emphasizes curriculum guidance instead of prescriptive pacing

Provides links to exemplary curriculum materials, lessons, and instructional strategies

Chunks the year, puts it in a sensible order, determines what resources to draw on and develops a good sense of how long different elements take.

Questions to be answered

What does every student need to know and be able to do?

What would students benefit from knowing if we have time to teach it?

What is insignificant enough that we simply should not spend the time to teach it?

Adapted from Dufour (1998) “Building Professional Classroom Learning Communities”

What do we cut?

What do we keep?

What do we create?From Heidi Hayes Jacobs presentation “Curriculum 21: A new essential curriculum for a new time”.

Curriculum mapping requires us to make choices about what is essential now to help our learners for their future

Types of Curriculum Maps Consensus Map

The agreed upon curriculum identified by teachers and administrators that determines which elements must be consistently taught by all teachers in a course/subject.

Projected Map A map that is created prior to teaching a course or

subject and then revised on an ongoing basis as the school year progresses.

Diary Map A map where data are entered on an ongoing basis.

Periodically, such as every few weeks or once a trimester, you stop and reflect on your work with learners and make an entry.

Year-at-a-glance

Consensus Map Template

Mapping Process End goal is the creation of:1. A Year-at-a-Glance Map for each core subject at each

elementary grade level and each secondary course 2. Four vertically aligned consensus maps:

K-12 ELA aligned with CCSS

K-12 Math aligned with CCSS

K-12 Science aligned with NGSS and CCSS for literacy in science and social studies

K-12 Social Studies aligned with the GLCE’s, HSCE’s CCSS for literacy in science and social studies.

Your Task Create a “Year at a Glance” projected map

before the first day of the 2012-13 school year. Revisit this map each month and note adjustments to the projected time frames.

Create a map for your subject/course (i.e. 2nd grade science, 9th grade English).

The time You have 30 hours allocated to work on your

map (3 hours are today). That leaves 27 hours. Majority of those 27 hours (80% or 21-22 hours)

should be spent working with grade level partner/course partner. This collaboration can be done in person or electronically (email, Google docs, Wikispaces, Blogspot, etc.)

Remaining 20%(5-6 hours) should be spent meeting with a larger workgroup to ensure vertical alignment (i.e. k-2, 3-6, 7-9, 10-12)

The ScheduleSet up a schedule that works for you and your partner/work group

Meeting Options for the vertical alignment (5-6 hours) with the larger group could include:

Meet in August, December, and May for 2 hours each time Meet once next June for 5 hours Meeting 3 hours today and meet 3 hours next June

Meeting Options for the 80% (21-22 hours) could include (but are not limited to):

Meet 8 hours this summer, 2 hours at the end of each trimester and 6 hours next June

Meet 1 hour after school 22 times Meet 2 hours after school each month at the end of the month with the remaining

time in June One full day each trimester (sub would be funded in place of a stipend for that time)

Resources Curriculumcrafter.org Oakland Atlas Maps Common Core Standards Michigan Social Studies GLCE’s and

HSCE’s Next Generation Science Standards

(when they become available, fall 2012)