THE PURPOSE OF CURRICULUM IS TO ENSURE THAT AS EDUCATORS WE ARE TEACHING WHAT IS NECESSARY FOR STUDENTS TO HAVE A HIGHER LEVEL OF THINKING AND BE SUCCESSFUL POST GRADUATION. EVERY STATE AS WELL AS DISTRICT HAS THEIR OWN IDEA AS TO WHAT CURRICULUM IS AND HOW IT WILL BE PRESENTED TO STUDENTS. AS AN EDUCATOR I SEE THE NEED AND IMPORTANCE FOR CURRICULUM, IT IS WHAT KEEPS MY CLASSROOM IN A CONSTANT FLOW FROM ONE UNIT TO THE NEXT WITH SKILLS BEING MASTERED AND ON TO THE NEXT NEW SKILL. IN THE ARTICLE "BACKWARD DESIGN" IT WAS STATED THAT CHILDREN NEED THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WHAT THEY ALREADY KNOW WITH NEW INFORMATION DONE THROUGH THEIR OWN THOUGHT PROCESSES. SCAFFOLDING IS VERY IMPORTANT TO CURRICULUM, IT IS THE IDEA THAT THERE IS A GRADUAL BUILDING OF SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE AND STUDENTS CAN BE SUPPORTED TO MOVE BEYOND ROTE KNOWLEDGE AND DEVELOP DEPTH AND UNDERSTANDING.
AS AN EDUCATOR I REALIZE THE IMPORTANT OF EFFECTIVE CURRICULUM. MY DISTRICT SENDS OUT MANDATED CURRICULUM THAT MUST BE COVERED IN MY ROOM. I HAVE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE IN THE FACT THAT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE CREATIVE ABILITIES AS A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER IN MY BUILDING TO MODIFY CURRICULUM AND PRESENT IT TO MY STUDENTS IN AN "INDIVIDUAL" MANNER THAT FITS THEIR LEARNING STYLE. I LOVE MY JOB IN THE FACT THAT EVEN AS DIFFICULT AS IT MAY BE TO FOLLOW THE CURRICULUM IN A SPECIAL EDUCATION RESOURCE CLASSROOM, THE CURRICULUM HAS BEEN SET AND I KNOW WHAT I MUST COVER AND WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR MY STUDENTS KNOWING THAT MATERIAL.
HOW MUCH CONTROL DO WE HAVE IN THE DESIGNING OF CURRICULUM?
CURRICULUM DESIGN VARIES FROM DISTRICT TO DISTRICT. THE STATE OF KENTUCKY HAS ESTABLISHED CORE CONTENT. THIS INCLUDES SKILLS AS WELL AS CONCEPTS THAT STUDENTS MUST KNOW AND IS DIVIDED BY GRADE LEVEL. DISTRICTS VARY IN TERMS OF THEIR DESIGN OF THE CURRICULUM. IN MY SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE ARE GIVEN A CURRICULUM MAP FROM THE BOARD AND THEN AS A DEPARTMENT WE ARE TO SIT DOWN AND MAKE DECISIONS AND DECIDE AS A TEAM WHAT THE RESPONSIBILITIES ARE OF EACH TEAM MEMBER IN IMPLEMENTING THE CURRICULUM. AS FAR AS DESIGN, THERE IS LITTLE GOING ON AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL, MOST CURRICULUM DESIGN IS OCCURRING AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL. HOWEVER, IN MY BUILDING THE SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN DIVIDED AND WE ARE ASSIGNED TO INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS TO HAVE AN INPUT INTO WHAT WILL WORK FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. THIS HAS BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL AND WE ARE SHARING APPROPRIATE ACCOMMODATIONS TO THE GENERAL EDUCATION STAFF (THIS MAKES MY JOB A LOT EASIER ;) EVERYONE IS INVOLVED IN THE LEARNING PROCESS, WE MAY NOT BE DESIGNING THE CURRICULUM BUT AT BCHS WE ARE MODIFYING AND MEETING OUR STUDENTS NEEDS.
HOW MUCH SHOULD WE HAVE?
AS A NEWBIE TO EDUCATION I DO NOT FEEL THAT I HAVE THE EXPERIENCE NOR KNOWLEDGE TO BE MAKING DISTRICT WIDE CURRICULUM DECISIONS. I THINK KEEPING THE CURRICULUM DESIGN AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL ALLOWS TEACHERS TO BE CREATIVE, THERE IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO MODIFY AND BE CREATIVE IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CURRICULUM WITHOUT ALL THE EXTRA LEGWORK OF DESIGNING THE CURRICULUM.
HOW DOES THE CURRICULUM THAT YOU HAVE LOOK LIKE IN YOUR CLASSROOM IN A DAY TO DAY ENVIRONMENT?
WORKING WITH STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT MY CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT IS CONSISTENT AND ROUTINE, MY STUDENTS ROCK WHEN THEY HAVE THEIR ROUTINE DOWN!! I WRITE STUDENT FRIENDLY OBJECTIVES ON THE WHITE BOARD EVERYDAY. WE GO OVER WHAT SKILL WE WILL BE WORKING ON FOR THE DAY AND WHAT THEY WILL KNOW WHEN THEY WALK OUT OF MY ROOM 90 MINUTES LATER. THE CURRICULUM METHOD THAT I MOST FOLLOW IN MY ROOM IS BACKWARD DESIGN. I AM CONSTANTLY USING SCAFFOLDING FOR STUDENTS TO BUILD OFF ONE SKILL TO AQUIRE THE NEXT. WHEN I AM MODIFYING UNITS I ALWAYS START WITH THE FINAL ASSESSMENT AND WORK MY WAY BACK. THE BACKWARD DESIGN ARTICLE MENTIONED WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CLASSROOM WHEN YOU ENGAGE STUDENTS AND RESPOND TO THEIR SPECIFIC NEEDS.... FEWERE DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS AMONG THE SPECIAL EDUCATION POPULATION. I FIND THIS TO BE VERY TRUE. ENGAGING MY STUDENTS IS KEY TO THEIR SUCCESS, IF I STAND IN THE FRONT OF THE ROOM WITH VERY LITTLE ENGAGEMENT I HAVE LOST MY STUDENTS BEFORE I EVEN BEGIN. WIGGINS ARGUES THAT YOU CANNOT PLAN HOW YOU'RE GOING TO TEACH UNTIL YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS THAT YOU WANT YOUR STUDENTS TO KNOW. THAT IS WHY I FIND IT MAKES THE MOST SENSE TO USE THE BACKWARD DESIGN IDEA OF KNOWING WHAT WILL BE ASSESSED AND THEN TEACH ACCORDING TO WHAT IT IS YOU WANT THEM TO KNOW.
I think that it is great that you have the ability to individualize the curriculum at your school. As a regular ed teahcer, it is definately harder for me to individualize the information. I think that using some of the ideas that were presented in the articles would defiantely help in making learning more meaningful. I am lucky though that my school is not as rigid and allows for some wiggle room regarding curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that you are new to teaching can bring a fresh look at the curriculum design, since you have many new ideas about what and how a curriculum should be. Most school districts don’t really nake any changes unless new people come up with new ways of doing things or complain about some rigid and unteachable things in the curriculum
ReplyDeleteNote: unteachable is a made up word :)
Like Leman's comment about working with special populations you mention that you too have a flexibility to adapt curriculum to meet the needs of your students. I also like how you work in teams where you area all responsible for students' learning. I really like this notion that you are all responsible. I think we need to really keep pushing for the learning communities that Robyn talks about- they offer the most support for both teachers (especially new ones like you) and students-- who are all of our responsibilities.
ReplyDelete