Module 6

TED 356

Curriculum in Sec. Ed.

Module 6

Explain how teachers use standards-based curriculum to develop courses, supported by professional development resources (including technological resources) recommended or described by professional organizations.

Explain how teachers use standards-based curriculum to develop courses, supported by professional development resources (including technological resources) recommended or described by professional organizations.

Reading

• Read the following in the Duplass textbook:– Topic 19: “Planning Efficient Instruction”

• Refer to the following as needed:– Unit 8 (Topics 41-45)

Introduction

• Congratulations! You have a teaching job!!! You start in 3 weeks.

• You are informed that you will teach 4 courses your first year. You need to plan the courses.

Introduction

• How do teachers plan courses?• If a teacher knows how:

– He/she will plan the courses.• If a teacher does not know how:

– He/she will rely on the textbook to form the structure of the course.

Step 1: Assemble Materials

• Assemble the following materials:– State standards.– Professional standards.– Test specifications (PSSA).– Textbook(s).

• Publisher’s ancillary materials and other resources for both background knowledge and materials that you could use in class.

Teacher Preparedness

• Do I have the background knowledge to teach this topic?

– If not, where and how can I get up to speed, fast?– How much time am I going to have to commit to

learning the content to teach it well?

• What resources are available to teach it well?• Are there resources for the students so that

this can be an active learning experience?

Step 2: Develop Key Topics

• Ideal:– Read through the materials you have

gathered.– Determine and list down the key topics.

• Realistic:– Use the textbook units/chapters to assist in

organizing.• Review result. Add, subtract, move as

necessary.

Develop Key Topics

• Conceptualize the following:– Big Ideas.– Identify Procedural and Information

Knowledge related to the state Standards.– Identify the Basic Skills and Academic

Disposition that can be developed using the Information Knowledge you will teach.

Step 3: Name and Description

• Course Name:– List the name of the course.

• Course Description:– What is the course about? Write a brief

description that could describe what the course is about to the students.

Step 4: Course Questions

• Course Questions:– List critical questions that the course will

answer. By the end of the course, every student will be able to answer these questions.

– Develop approximately 6-12 questions.

At this point, you can build a final in essay format. Use big questions (maybe suggested by sections of your textbook).

Step 5: Course Expectations

• Course Expectations:– Delineate learner expectations. What must

students to do to earn grades?– Answer: What? Value?

What Value

5 Units (projects, homework, quiz)4 quarterly tests1 Major project1 Final exam

5 units @ ? Pts = ?

4 tests @ ? Pts = ?1 project @ ? Pts = ?1 exam @ ? Pts = ?

Setting Course Expectations

5 Unitsprojectshomeworkquiz

4 quarterly tests

1 major project

1 Final exam

50

50

@ 10 pts

@ 5 pts

@ 10 pts

@ 20 pts

100 Convert to Letter grade

Setting Course Expectations

5 Unitsprojectshomeworkquiz

4 quarterly tests

1 major project

1 Final exam

40

60

@ 8 pts

@ 5 pts

@ 20 pts

@ 20 pts

100 Convert to Letter grade

Typical Scenario

Unit12345

Projectsxxxxx

Homeworkxxxxx

Testxxxxx

Participation

Final Exam

Course Project

xxx

As You Work, Consider…

• What tasks can I have students complete to ensure that they reconstruct the knowledge?

• Design homework that is project-based.

Remember that class participation is not an effective measure of student achievement.

Step 6: Critical Concepts

• Critical Concepts:– List critical concepts that will be emphasized

throughout the course, that relate to course questions, and that cut across more than one unit.

Step 7: Units

• Units:– Name the units in which the critical concepts

will be learned.– Draw a course map.

Step 8: Community Principles

• Community Principles:– List principles or “rules of the road.”– Students, while we work through these units,

we will…– In 7-12, you can work with students to

establish these rules.

Step 9: Performance Options

• Performance Options:– Consider performance options (universal

design).• For example, if a student cannot read, what will

you do regarding text, materials, quizzes/tests for this student?

– Determine whether options exist for all or just some students.

Step 10: Learning Rituals

• Learning Rituals:– List the teaching routines, learning strategies,

and communication systems related to learning that will be used throughout the course to enhance learning.• Examples: Assignment planners, paraphrasing,

self questioning, feedback sessions, class problem solving, mnemonics.

Address These Questions

• Is there Procedural Knowledge that can be the focus of the lesson? If not, are there Basic Skills that could be the focus? Are there both?

• How can I make the topic relevant to students’ lives?

• What instructional approaches should I use to ensure that I am accommodating individual differences among the students and using a variety of methods?

• Will this change the way students think in the future (create a new Academic Disposition)?

Step 11: Create Syllabus

• Title:• Description:• Objectives (learner-oriented):• Implementation Plans:• Evaluation/Grading:• Policies:• Contact Information:

MODULE PROJECT

• Using information presented in class about how to plan and organize a course, and a textbook that might be available in your field placement (or textbook material supplied at our course textbook’s Web site):

a) Use the course organizer presented in class to organize and build a course.

b) Then, write a course syllabus that you might share with students in high school.

• Submit both the organizing document and the course syllabus.