Curriculum mapping is a process that focuses on the subject matter to be taught, the manner in which it is taught, the timeline involved, available resources, and ultimately the means of assessment. With the inclusion of technology into the mapping process, web-based curriculum management can bring vital information easily into the hands of all curriculum decisions makers.
Curriculum mapping invites all individuals who deal with curricular concerns to enter into the curriculum analysis process. The values present in a web-based curriculum mapping tool are plentiful. A collaborative web-based tool can provide a framework for organization and communication which is not available in a traditional face-to-face, schedule bound meeting session. The ability to flexibly disseminate information facilitates the task of managing curriculum and sharing instructional best practices across grades, subjects, and schools. Another benefit is it can help build on what students have learned in previous years to prepare them for future classes and achievement.
One of the most important players in the curriculum mapping game is teachers. Unfortunately they can be the most difficult group to get involved due to busy schedules and an already full plate of ongoing lesson planning and assessment. To help create “buy-in” teachers need to be given ample time during the school day to work collaboratively on the curriculum map. Professional development and training on the use of the tool must be provided early in the school year and then supported throughout the process. Furthermore teachers need to be informed of the importance of their role; that they are the ones in charge of how curriculum actually occurs in the classroom. Teacher input into collaborat...
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...jectives and instead giving equal weight to objectives as well as materials and activities. These freedoms for teachers can allow for creativity and exploration of the curriculum.
The naturalistic method can also be very student-centered taking into account student needs and differences. This approach allows the teacher to consider their own teaching style, but also allows for differentiation for the students within the learning activities. Additionally there is flexibility beyond the traditional assessment. This flexibility puts greater responsibility on the teacher to know the curricular material and fulfill the objectives. Finally, the naturalistic approach looks at the whole picture first, and then narrows down the process to details. Technological curriculum planning appears to begin with and focuses on details which can be confusing and unappealing to some.
Vars, F. G. (2001). Can Curriculum Integration Survive in an Era of High-Stakes Testing?. Middle School Journal, 33 (2), 7-17. doi: 10.2307/23043475
Different theories present own opinion of the most effective way through curriculum models. ‘Curriculum models are approaches or procedures for implementing a curriculum’. (Wilson, 2009: 522) Commonly curriculum are described as product, process and praxis. While curriculum as a product depends on the objectives as the learning goals and the measured means, a process model focuses on learning and relationship between learner and teacher. Chosen curriculum model depends on teaching and assessment strategies in some cases determinate by awarding bodies, organisational constrains, funding body and political initiatives. The dominant modes of describing and managing education are today couched in the productive form. Objectives are set, a plan drawn up, then applied, and the outcomes (products) measured. It is a way of thinking about education that has grown in influence in the United Kingdom since the late 1970s with the rise of ‘vocationalism’ and the concern of competencies. In the late 1980s and the 1990s many of the debates about the National Curriculum for schools did not so much concern how the curriculum was thought about as to what its objectives and content might be. (Wilson, 2009)
An educator must have the ability to notice the value of extending planning and subject matter. In addition, educators need to be flexible enough to change the curriculum based upon state standards and the student’s ability to absorb information.
curriculum for all: The universal design process. in J. Thousand r. Villa & A. nevin
...m while having freedom to choose how to teach it. This allows the curriculum to become more personable. Teachers currently associate curriculum with government mandates. They believe that curriculum is what they are told to teach instead of what is desired to learn. Curriculum in the educational setting, according to Pinar, is intended to be used to teach us to think intellectually, sensitively, and with courage to prepare us to be individuals committed to other individuals.
Technology enables students and teachers to have a fast and easy way to acquire unlimited access to tons of information. With all of the useful technologies, the curriculum is bound to change in endless ways, creating more opportunity for learning.
Cole, H., Hulley, K., & Quarles, P. (2009). Does assessment have to drive the curriculum?
When reviewing the literature regarding the past, present and future of educational curriculum, several main points seem apparent, namely that curriculum is cyclical, that a dilemma or paradox exists, and that curriculum must be looked at with a sensitive view.
Posner (2004, p. 36) discusses the importance of understanding the situational factors that lead to the development of a particular curriculum. This curriculum has been created as a response to the problem of technology skills and resources being typically isolated as a separate curriculum, rather than being integrated into the broader curricular areas. This leads to curricula that are often devoid of 21st century skills needed by students to ensure future success (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2004). The goal of the curriculum, therefore, is to focus on specific technology skills that can be readily integrated into other curricular areas without sacrificing critical objectives within those curricula and, in fact, enhancing the relevance and levels of engagement in those areas.
Posner, G. (1998) ‘Models of curriculum planning’. In Beyer, L. and Apple, M. (eds) The Curriculum. Problems, Politics and Possibilities (2nd edn). New York: State University of New York Press.
According to Glatthorn, Boschee and Whitehead (2006, p.74), a curriculum theory is a set of related educational concepts that affords a systematic and illuminating perspective on curricular phenomena. In a simpler term, a curriculum theory is an academic discipline devoted to examining and shaping educational curricula (Wikipedia, curriculum theory). One that would be a proponent of a structured-oriented curriculum would be concerned primarily with analyzing the components of the curriculum and their interrelationships. They will tend to be descriptive and explanatory in intent whereas, one that is a proponent of a value-oriented curriculum would be concerned primarily with analyzing the values and assumptions of curriculum makers and their
Curriculum is important being it’s the underlying factor that plays a role in determining ones growth, achievement and success. The majority of curriculum con...
In the classroom teachers need to be flexible to put in to practice many different
A curriculum is a compilation of study materials that are used at all grade levels, classroom and homework assignments and a set of teacher guides. It could also include a list of prescribed methodology and guidelines of teaching and some material for the parents etc. It is generally determined by an external governing body. However, there are some cases where it may be developed by the schools and teachers themselves.
Designing curriculum, instruction, and assessments are steps teachers use to help them make sense of the concepts they teach and helps drive instruction. These steps can take on many different forms and drive a classroom in a plethora of ways. These steps, when developed properly, can help a teacher utilize each moment in the classroom and help students gain more insight to the standards they need to become proficient.