My mission is to prepare students to reach their highest potential, and to become productive, ethical and responsible citizens through rigorous educational programs which respect individual differences and diversity.
Actually, that's my school's mission .... just about the same as any other high school!
My mission, in short, is to develop the critcal thinking skills of my students. I want to develop a curiousity in my students that prompts them to wonder. This curiosity should be evident in my classroom through their questions and comments. In order to accomplish this goal, it is important that my classroom be a comfortable environment in which students are willing to take risks. Additionally, in order to accomplish my goals, I need to allow my students the time and support to develop their own thoughts and ideas.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
What is curriculum? Who should design it? Who should control it?
As I walked out of class last week, I said to a colleague “ Jeez, I don’t think I really know what ‘curriculum’ is.” I’ve viewed this term through two lenses: as a teacher and as a text book developer.
As a high school mathematics teacher, I view curriculum as a set of guidelines that indicate the topics to be covered in a given course at a given level. I’ve had the opportunity to revise the curriculum at my school. In doing so, I found that most of the curriculums follow the text accompanying the book exactly. The curriculum guides are, in essence, a detailed table of contents of the text (with some chapters left of course because of time constraints). As part of the revision process, I have made sure that the NJ standards as well as the NCTM standards were being met. This often required me to add “supplementary” items to the curriculum that were not found in the current text.
I assume that as I progress in this class, I’ll realize more and more what is lacking in my department’s approach to curriculum design. What results from our current process is a curriculum guide that no one ever looks at (no one!). I remember asking for a curriculum guide for each class my first year and my colleagues looked at me like I had two heads. I was told “Oh, we just make sure we are keeping pace with each other.” I’m sure that if the curriculum guides had a more solid foundation, they could be used as a valuable resource!
Now, on with my other hat! As a text book developer, I view curriculum design as a series of text books and the accompanying ancillaries. I have enjoyed working in a series that has an elementary component as well as a high school component. Part of the revision of the current edition is determining which concepts best fit in which books. A good curriculum has continuity. Each year, the skill level grows as a result of applying previous knowledge.
So, what really is ‘curriculum’? After reading the first couple chapters of Understanding by Design, I have come to the realization that curriculum is a very broad term that lends itself from anything from a curriculum guide to the development of a lesson. Any type of curriculum is best designed by users (i.e. teachers). It’s been my experience that the best curriculum is developed through the collaboration of teachers of all levels (from novice to veteran). The most important part of this collaboration is that all parties agree on a common goal (i.e. share the same “the big picture”). This common goal should be the driving force throughout the curriculum design.
The concept of ‘control’ over a curriculum is novel to me given that our department does not truly utilize the curriculum guides. Still, I can imagine that if curriculums were emphasized, there would be a struggle for control over them. I believe that curriculum should be revised on a regular basis. As mentioned above, I believe that the users (teachers) are the most qualified to revise curriculum. Still, content area specialists (which may include supervisors) should also play a role in the direction of the curriculum.
As a high school mathematics teacher, I view curriculum as a set of guidelines that indicate the topics to be covered in a given course at a given level. I’ve had the opportunity to revise the curriculum at my school. In doing so, I found that most of the curriculums follow the text accompanying the book exactly. The curriculum guides are, in essence, a detailed table of contents of the text (with some chapters left of course because of time constraints). As part of the revision process, I have made sure that the NJ standards as well as the NCTM standards were being met. This often required me to add “supplementary” items to the curriculum that were not found in the current text.
I assume that as I progress in this class, I’ll realize more and more what is lacking in my department’s approach to curriculum design. What results from our current process is a curriculum guide that no one ever looks at (no one!). I remember asking for a curriculum guide for each class my first year and my colleagues looked at me like I had two heads. I was told “Oh, we just make sure we are keeping pace with each other.” I’m sure that if the curriculum guides had a more solid foundation, they could be used as a valuable resource!
Now, on with my other hat! As a text book developer, I view curriculum design as a series of text books and the accompanying ancillaries. I have enjoyed working in a series that has an elementary component as well as a high school component. Part of the revision of the current edition is determining which concepts best fit in which books. A good curriculum has continuity. Each year, the skill level grows as a result of applying previous knowledge.
So, what really is ‘curriculum’? After reading the first couple chapters of Understanding by Design, I have come to the realization that curriculum is a very broad term that lends itself from anything from a curriculum guide to the development of a lesson. Any type of curriculum is best designed by users (i.e. teachers). It’s been my experience that the best curriculum is developed through the collaboration of teachers of all levels (from novice to veteran). The most important part of this collaboration is that all parties agree on a common goal (i.e. share the same “the big picture”). This common goal should be the driving force throughout the curriculum design.
The concept of ‘control’ over a curriculum is novel to me given that our department does not truly utilize the curriculum guides. Still, I can imagine that if curriculums were emphasized, there would be a struggle for control over them. I believe that curriculum should be revised on a regular basis. As mentioned above, I believe that the users (teachers) are the most qualified to revise curriculum. Still, content area specialists (which may include supervisors) should also play a role in the direction of the curriculum.
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