Curriculum Development and Implementation Curriculum Development When

Curriculum Development and Implementation

Curriculum Development

When developing curriculum for a particular course, which comes first: the determination of learning objectives or the identification of necessary content?

According to Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe (2005) the process of backward design begins with the end in mind. One starts with the end, the desired results, or learning objectives, and then designs the curriculum for the evidence of learning as measured against the goals and standards called for and the tasks needed to ensure student understanding. The design process involves three planning stages each focused on a question: 1) What is worthy and requiring of understanding? 2) What is the evidence of understanding? 3) What learning experiences and teaching promote understanding, interest and excellence?

In the first stage, teachers focus on learning goals. These are the enduring understandings that they want their students to have developed at the completion of the learning sequence. There is also a focus on a number of essential, or guiding, questions. Enduring understandings go beyond facts and skills to focus on larger concepts, principles or processes. The second stage involves how students will demonstrate their understanding. The authors describe six facets of understanding. They contend that students truly understand when they, can explain, can interpret, can apply, have perspective, can empathize, and have self-knowledge. The challenge for teachers is to develop each of these facets in all students. Student will be stronger in some facets than in others. In the third stage teachers design the sequence of learning experiences that students will undertake to develop understanding. Experiences must blend depth and breadth, and may require choices and compromises. Those experiences that are undertaken for depth might require students to unearth, analyze, question, prove and generalize. Those giving breadth require students to make connections, to picture and to extend. The emphasis is on an inquiry-based approach that requires uncovering the chosen content.

Thinking about a course you have recently taken or taught, how was the course content related to the overall program objectives? Was this relationship easily identified? If not, what was needed to enhance your ability to connect the course to the overall program objectives?

This earth science unit was designed to teach to elementary grade students to facilitate understanding of the causes and effects of natural disasters. Learning objectives: Students will learn how to differentiate between specific natural disasters and understand the developmental processes associated with these natural phenomena. Skills utilized in this unit in order to ensure understanding included: accessing the Internet, mapping, creating a volcano, and oral presentations.

Both formative and summative assessments were utilized in order to monitor student learning during the individual lessons as well as the course of the unit, adjust accordingly, and measure academic achievement. A pre-assessment of content and vocabulary knowledge was used to establish baseline knowledge for each student. These results were also utilized to inform strategies and methodologies most conducive to favorable student outcomes. Assessments such as concept maps, multiple choice tests, knowledge surveys, exams, oral presentations, poster presentations, peer review, portfolios, and written reports were utilized to ascertain student understanding of content. Comprehensive reviews of key vocabulary and key content concepts were regularly scheduled throughout the course of the unit. In addition a variety of quick reviews utilizing thumbs up-down, numbered wheels, small dry white boards, and student self-assessments during individual lessons assisted in ongoing monitoring of student comprehension of learning. All of these teaching and assessment strategies were modified throughout the course of the unit to meet the needs of each student. These assessments helped to provide information to ensure that course content was strongly linked to unit objectives.