As I look back on all the readings, discussions and projects completed for this course, the one I value the most is the Curriculum Mapping assignment. The reasons for this are multifold. First, I am foremost a kinesthetic learner—I learn by doing. Even though this assignment did not require a level of physicality, I believe any learning style which requires activity (even if it is mental) is kinesthetic learning. Concepts often don’t make sense to me until I can put them to some concrete use. In the case of the curriculum map, the assignment required putting to practical use all the theory and best practices techniques learned to form a cohesive plan of study for a kindergarten class.
In addition, this project above the others, in my opinion, helped to reinforce the core course competencies for this class. For example, the first competency requires an understanding of “diverse learners” and a heightened commitment to students and their learning as evidenced by our ability to “formulate sound pedagogical decisions based on individual and social learning theory and on child and adolescent development theory.” This is what curriculum mapping is all about—taking what you know about your community of learners—and the content you wish to cover—and formulating a plan of action for teaching. Different types of learners require different approaches. For example, learners like me need action to concretize theoretical concepts. However learners of other types require different approaches to function at their best (see the first blog entry on learning modalities). Current learning theory also mandates an understanding of how children construct meaning (constructivist theory).
To my mind, this is what should be meant by having more teacher accountability in the classroom. Each teacher needs to formulate lessons or units of lessons based on the needs of her students formulated within a construct of the standards required by her state or national educational body. Ideally, the teacher would not be in this alone; her school or district would be active in creating curriculum that would trickle down into each classroom. However, if that is not the case, an individual teacher can do his best to examine their own lesson plans to better align them with the needs of the students and the state standards where they live. In completing the curriculum mapping assignment, I had the opportunity to revisit lessons I had taught to strengthen them in terms of structure and content and to ensure they were aligned with my state’s standards, since the last time I was in the classroom this was not required.
The curriculum mapping assignment also addresses the second competency—to strengthen knowledge of the content area. In completing the map, it was essential to review each of the subjects covered in the map to uncover the essential questions of what students should know in order to master the content area. How can you know what is essential to teach (or form essential questions) if you do not have a complete understanding of the material yourself? These days, this means going beyond the confines of whatever textbook is provided to search out additional resources in the content area.
When you look at the four performance goals listed under this competency, you can see that each is met by the act of curriculum mapping. For example, in composing my science units for Kindergarten, I had to know standards for a variety of disciplines. I had to be aware of how students construct knowledge in order to plan for activating prior knowledge, building on that with the most effective materials and learning techniques. Another of the competencies is designing plans across the content area, which is obvious here.
One deficiency I noticed was a lack of planning for gifted children in the classroom. I have addressed learners of different modalities and even learners who may need a bit more help. However the last unit of study in this course made me aware this was one group I was not planning for. In future I will take ALL learners into account in my classrooms.
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