Bill Parker

Tarek Razik
Intro to the course
Your cruise directors
Your cruise directors’ expectations
Course requirements
Why Learn Anything?
Activity #1
In your group please brainstorm what
curriculum means to you. Define it and
include as many components as you can
Curriculum Defined
Curriculum is “The explicit and
comprehensive plan developed to honor a
framework of standards. A curriculum is
the course or program of study composed
of numerous units.” (McTighe and
Wiggins).
Alternative: The sum of the
knowledge, skills and attitudes that
the school documents as goals for
student learning. ,
Written vs Un-written
curriculum
Written curriculum is that which is set on
paper. Written curriculum is traditionally
formally taught and assessed by teachers.
Un written curriculum refers to any goals and
standards which are not formally outlined in
daily plans. Generally, unwritten curriculum is
neither assessed nor evaluated.
What does curriculum
include?
 Academic knowledge
 ABCs
 Times tables
 Periodic charts
 History
 Etc.
 Desired skills
 Computation
 Writing
 Reading
 Etc.
 Desired attitudes
 Compassion
 Honesty
 Etc.
Where does curriculum come
from?
In your group please discuss and write where
you think curriculum comes from. Who, what,
when, where and how?
Sources of curriculum – written and
unwritten
School boards
School mission
Governments
Standards from organizations (NCTM), IBO,
universities
Accrediting standards
Other schools
Parent input
Teachers
Students/needs
What does a (good) curriculum
look like?
Conceptually what is included in a good curriculum:
 Clarity
 Can it be read and followed by all stakeholders?
 Utility
 Can it be used by all stakeholders?
 Comprehensiveness
 Does it include all of the objectives of the school organization?
 Are all objective linked developmentally?
 Including unwritten, yet important, objectives
 Assessable
 Can the goals and objectives outlined in the curriculum be measured in
terms of student achievement?
 Realistic
 Can school organization realistically expect to have each of their
students meet the goals outlined in the curriculum?
 Critical factors include time, money ( resources), expertise
 Can it be changed/reviewed? How?
 Should be reviewed and adjusted on regular basis.
How can a curriculum organized
and/or designed?
Some ways of organizing curriculum
include:
Text based
Standards based
“Backward by Design”
 Understanding by Design

Directed by external source

 National organization or government
 Franchise
Curriculum mapping
A combination of the above
Text based Curricula
Older than the hills
 Chaper one, chapter 2, etc…
Table of contents=curriculum
Generally dictates methods of instruction as
well as assessment
Highly dependent upon textbook companies
Not always the worst way to go when working
with experienced/untrained staff
“Teacher Proof”
Rarely speaks to any unwritten curriculum
Sometimes affected by politics as well as
profits.
Standards-based curriculum?
A program of study based upon a system
of behavioral-based expectations.
Essentially standards-based school programs
are focused on what students are able to
accomplish at specific times in their career.
Standards-based programs make no directives
in regards to teaching methodology or
resources.
Standards-based curricula is always written in
terms of what students will be able to do at the
completion of study
Some definitions
Standard: A general expectation for learning
documented for all students to learn in a
specific area of study and demonstrated by
each student
 A goal statement that identifies the knowledge and
skills to be learned in the content areas. Standard
specifies what we want students to no and to be able
to do.
Benchmark: Indicator of progress towards a
specific standard at a specific point in time. A
benchmark can serve as a minimum goal for
students to achieve at the end of the year. A
benchmark is developmentally appropriate
and can be used to anchor student
Standards
Serve as the core of most academic programs in
school
 Teaching materials and methods are determined by the
standards, not vice versa.
Are written by “experts” in the various fields of
study
Are not viewed as “negotiable” once they are
adopted.
Tend to ‘compartmentalize’ student learning
expectations
 Math worries about math
 Science worries about science
 Attitudes and some skills are outlined separately, if at all
(see McRel)
Benchmarks
Unlike standards, benchmarks for individual
grades are rarely offered by any “expert”
group
However, most groups offer general “banding”
Are generally determined by individual
schools or school systems based upon the
needs of specific students and their
capabilities
Benchmarks are negotiable
Time
$$$$
Where do standards come
from?
National organizations and governments
In the United States every state has its own set
of standards
 Other national/regional governments as well
Virtually every professional organization
dedicated to teaching specific subjects has
published standards
 NCTM
 NCSS
 NCTE

http://www.mcrel.org/standards-benchmarks/
The most comprehensive, yet confusing
collection of standards
Problem with standards--
-- --
The sum of the expectations is unrealistic
 Amazing overload on HS
None of the organizations speak to one
another
 Civics, history, geography, economics overlap
No concrete benchmarking
 “By the time the student reaches 3rd grade.
Samples to review
McRel (from web)
Math
Science
SAS
Math
Activity
Find a Partner (or 2)
Think about what it takes to be a teacher and
write standards for teacher behaviors that
could be used to design an assessment for us
by an outside appraiser
After writing standards, write at least one
benchmark:
A veteran teacher
A first year teacher
How to choose standards
Understand your vision and mission
It all starts with your mission
Understand your school population
Age
Culture
SES
Past experience
Understand the amount of time and
resources that are at your disposal to
implement standards
Pick a reputable source
Simple examples
Shanghai American school
American-based
College preparatory
 As opposed to comprehensive

All expatriate student body

No Chinese nationals
Concordian international school
Mostly Thai national
College preparatory
Trilingual with Mandarin/English immersion
Activity
By yourself write a mission statement that
someone else could use to write a curriculum
for.
Trade it with someone else.
Decide if the mission you have is specific
enough for you to use to write a mission
Backward Design
 Jay McTighe/Grant Wiggins
 “A process to designing a curriculum or unit
by beginning with the end in mind and
designing toward that end.” (M&W)
1. Identify desired results
2. Determine acceptable evidence
3. Plan learning experiences and instruction
3. This is more than ‘flavor of the month’.
Rationale for Backward
Design
Why is such a view backward when it seems
logical? Many teachers begin their unit design
with textbooks, favorite lessons, and time on
activities rather than deriving it from targeted
goals or standards. In backward design, one starts
with the end – the desired results – and then
identifies the evidence necessary to determine
what the results were achieved – the
assessments. With the results of assessments
clearly specified, one can determine the
necessary enabling knowledge and skill, and then
teaching needed to equip students to perform.
(M&W)
That’s it!!!
Note:
This conceptualization does not dictate
content. Specifically, no value is added for
specific learner outcomes.
Backward design is appropriate for lots of
different activity
Understanding by Design
An added set of beliefs by M&W related to
curriculum that speak to a philosophy
regarding the way curriculum should be
conceived and documented
“Understanding” is different
from “Knowing”
E=mc SQUARED
Aspirin will cure my headache
High Bad cholesterol is really bad, High Good
cholesterol doesn’t mean I get to eat
whatever I want.
Key principles of learning
underlying Understanding
by design
Patterns:
Interconnection:
Authenticity:
Experience:
The big picture
Understanding
Definitions related Understanding
by design
ENDURING understandings
Essential questions
Knowledge and skills
Enduring understandings
“The important ideas or core processes
that have lasting value beyond the
classroom. Such understandings are
generally abstract in nature, so they
require an coverage through sustained
inquiry. To determine enduring
understandings for unit or course, teachers
are encouraged to ask, “what do we want
students to understand and to be able to
use several years from now, after they
have forgotten the details?”
See also Postman and Weingartner
Samples of Enduring
Understandings
These are stated as full sentence statement.
The understandings specify what we want
students to come to understand about the big
ideas.
Numbers are concepts that enable people to
represent quantities, sequences, and rates.
The greatest artists often do away with
established traditions and techniques to better
express what they see and feel.
Movement can communicate ideas and feelings.
In a free-market economy, price is a function of
supply and demand.
continued….
Studying other languages and cultures offers
insights into our own.
All maps distort the earth’s representation of
area, shape, distance, and/or direction.
Democratic governments must balance the
rights of individuals with the common good.
Effective teaching and learning result from
careful and thoughtful planning.
The need for behavior management is
reduced when teaching is engaging and
meaningful to the learners.
Teachers job is not to cover textbook. The
Framing understandings:
Frame the understanding in a full sentence
generalization. Complete the phrase,
“students will understand that….”
Avoid understandings that are true or too
vague
Triangles have three sides
Musicians work with sounds
Fractions are important
Avoid “How to” statements
These tend to be skills, not understandings
Essential questions
A provocative question designed to engage
student interest and guide inquiry into the
important ideas in a field of study. Rather
than yielding pat answers, essential questions
are intended to stimulate discussion and
rethinking overtime.
Samples of essential
questions
Where do artists get their ideas?
When is it okay deviate from a recipe?
In what ways can motion evoke emotion?
How does where we live influence how we
live?
How should we balance the rights of
individuals with the common good?
How can a diet be healthy for one person and
not another?
Who is a winner?
Essential questions
summary….
Have no right answer
Designed to provoke and sustained student
inquiry, while also focusing learning.
Often address the conceptual or philosophical
foundations of the discipline.
Raise other important questions
Naturally and appropriately recur