November 1 & 8

1. November 1 & 8 • Curriculum implementation and curriculum alignment • Curriculum mapping introduction • Developing core maps • Sharing of maps within teams and across grade levels • Principal’s role as curriculum leader • Using technology to chart progress, view lesson plans, etc.

2. Curricular Change Influences • Leadership – Superintendent and leadership team’s vision and mission of teaching & learning • District policies • Available resources and revenue to run programs • School board politics • Climate of community – what’s important to them is often pushed in a school to happen

3. Curricular Leadership & Curriculum Councils • Requires planning and organization • REVIEW: Programming and curriculum driven by leadership (Instructional Leadership) • Using feedback looping to determine needs and aspirations each year • Remaining future-focused on new initiatives, trends, and innovations • Laying out proposed solutions to identified problems

4. Curriculum Implementation • Must provide appropriate PD to all staff involved • Report/communicate to parents, school board, faculty about progress of initiative • Include weekly or bi-monthly PD to staff, who can then share with others where necessary (train the trainer). EX: PLN, LFS, etc. • Inspect what you expect • Provide summative feedback after first year

5. Curriculum Alignment • Purpose: to ensure that the planned (written), taught, and assessed curricula are as parallel as possible. • Begins with standards to be assessed as a baseline (PA’s former standards & now the Common Core). • Want to eliminate gaps and any overlaps in curriculum • Want to align horizontally & vertically in a spiral format

6. Curriculum Alignment • A backwards-design approach is crucial • Design curriculum based assessments (CBAs) that will summative assess content and skills (final exams, unit exams, quarterly assessments, etc.) • Determine content and skills to be learned • Determine big ideas and essential questions for each unit • Design experiences and activities to approach the content and skills (lessons)

7. Curriculum Alignment • Assessment drives everything • Pre-assessments (that help determine correct placements), formative, and summative are keys to making major decisions about effectiveness of teacher instruction • Use of best practice and research crucial to alignment process

8. Curriculum Alignment • Assessment drives everything • Pre-assessments (that help determine correct placements), formative, and summative are keys to making major decisions about effectiveness of teacher instruction • Use of best practice and research crucial to alignment process

9. Implementing Curriculum Mapping • Ideally, a common template should be used by all in order to sustain cohesiveness and coherence so that… • Any two or more teachers, teaching the same course, have the same maps that are horizontally articulated • A teacher also knows for a fact what is being taught before and after the given grade level / content of a given course (vertical articulation)

10. Implementing Curriculum Mapping • Some software has built in mapping already (Story town) • Because software is web-based, using it can occur from anywhere • Having carefully planned professional development to implement mapping is key • Stipulation: mapping is NOT a glorified lesson plan • It is a holistic method for designing content, skills, learning plan, and assessment

11. Mapping & the Principal • Curriculum mapping is like any other initiative • REMEMBER: Goal is to design it as an evolutionary process that is never over • Course sequencing, resources, programs, and a pulse on best practice, state mandates, etc. is important • Mapping (and doing it well) requires the necessary time, support and resources • Must be viewed as something that will ALWAYS be around, regardless if it is mapped electronically or otherwise • It cannot be viewed as another fad

12. Mapping & the Principal • Teachers will look to principal for guidance, to lead discussion and training on it… • Principal must encourage staff to look for gaps and overlaps and make necessary changes • Principal must also be the lead cheerleader for staff • Principal and core group of teachers need to be well trained in mapping process before training staff

13. Planning & Implementation of Mapping • If using computerized mapping system, principal should give folks plenty of time to feel comfortable with the technology itself • Reinforce why technology is more efficient than traditional ways of sharing curriculum • Be creative with time during each day/week in which PD time could be used to map… • Use subs on various days so departments/teams can meet • Principal: insist that they map it correctly; otherwise, it is a waste of time

14. Planning & Implementation of Mapping • Principal and key group of staff who are training others must... • Ensure trust in the process • Ensure that no person’s ideas are invalid • Not allow key staff to monopolize time of others using sarcasm, irrational dissent, or flat out ancient reasoning • Encourage a positive attitude where SHARING is key component to the horizontal and vertical process necessary in mapping

15. Planning & Implementation of Mapping • All maps must be made available to all staff (this is still quite different from what some veteran teachers are accustomed to…) • Staff must discover for themselves through entering information and then discussing it where potential gaps and overlaps exist • Teachers within a department/grade level must come to consensus (hopefully aligned to standards and big ideas…) on content, skills, and assessments

16. For next time… • Task: Talk with a principal about what he/she believes is his/her role in curriculum mapping OR in supervising the instructional design and experiences of teachers. • Respond to this: As a principal, what would you use to review prior to entering a teacher's classroom to observe or complete a walkthrough on? Consider researching the types of tools available to do so, and/or inquiring with an administrator in your district.