Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Spring 2009
Course Description
An overview of school curriculum design and instructional strategies for K12 teachers.
Emphasis is placed upon the process of curricula design for k12 classrooms;
identification of the basic principles of teaching and learning and their application for
effective instruction; application of those principles in k12 classrooms; micro teaching
using various instructional strategies.
Course Concepts (Themes, Big Ideas)
Curriculum: The term comes from the Latin meaning “to run a course.” In general, it is
thought of in American education as a course of study. There are, however, a number of
different types of curriculum including:
• The overt or written curriculum: This may refer to a curriculum document,
texts, films, and supportive teaching materials that are overtly chosen to support
the intentional instructional agenda of a school. Thus, the overt curriculum is
usually confined to those written understandings and directions formally
designated and reviewed by administrators, curriculum directors and teachers,
often collectively.
• The taught curriculum: This refers to what is actually taught in classrooms. For
example, a teacher’s written lesson plan may be quite different from what is
actually taught by that teacher
• The hidden curriculum: This refers to the kinds of learning children derive from
the very nature and organizational design of the public school, as well as from the
behaviors and attitudes of teachers and administrators. Examples of the hidden
curriculum might include the messages derived from the mere organization of
schools the emphasis on: sequential room arrangements; the sequential, timed
segments of formal instruction; an annual schedule that is still arranged to
accommodate an agrarian age; disciplined messages where concentration equates
to student behaviors: students sitting up straight and continually quiet; students
getting in and standing in line silently; students quietly raising their hands to be
called on; the endless competition for grades, and so on.
• The null curriculum: That which we do not teach, thus giving students the
message that these elements are not important in their educational experiences or
in our society.
• The received curriculum: Those things that students actually take out of
classroom; those concepts and content that are truly learned and remembered.
Instruction: In the broadest sense, instruction refers to the ways we teach the
curriculum. The term Pedagogy, from the Greek term meaning “to lead the child,” refers
to the effective use of instructional strategies. Vygotski argued that instructional strategies
are tools (mediating devices) that allow novices to approximate the practice of experts.
Curriculum Mapping & Curriculum Design: Curriculum maps and Curriculum design
are valuable planning tools for teachers, helping them to begin with the end in mind and
chart a course for the year. Typically, annual curriculum maps are organized by month or
grading period and provide an overview of: the enduring understandings and overarching
goals; the standardsbased essential skills and concepts; the methods of assessment that
the teacher and students will be working on throughout the year (e.g., major writing
assignments, projects, performances); the major content resources. Unit curriculum maps
include all of the above with the following additions: the unit’s theme, essential
question(s), and enduring understandings; more detailed notes on the formative and
summative assessments to be used throughout the unit; the strategies and best practices
used to explicitly teach the standardsbased essential skills and concepts; a list of the
multigenre resources that will be used throughout the unit.
Teaching: Teaching is a complex, situated, and illdefined activity. Thus, teaching
strategies that seem to work for some students may not work for others, and different
learning goals, different subjects, and different levels of learning all may lend themselves
to different approaches to teaching. What one person sees in one classroom or in the work
of a teacher may be quite different from what others see. Complicating matters further,
the longterm outcomes of teaching are unclear. Even with higher standards and better
tests, teachers cannot be sure exactly what students will be doing in the future or whether
what students do in the classroom one day (or in one year) will necessarily lead them to
behave appropriately or act successfully in related situations in the future.
The Three “Rs” (the cyclical teaching process)
• Receptive Teaching: This phase of the teaching process is often narrowly
described as “planning.” We call this phase “Receptive Teaching” because the
teacher is flexible, open to new and creative ideas. Receptive teachers are good
collaborators. They share ideas with colleagues and bring their students into the
planning process so that learning goals are shared.
• Responsive Teaching: This phase of the teaching process refers to the teaching
event or episode. Responsive teachers interact with their students, modifying and
adjusting the lesson as appropriate. Sometimes responsive teaching means moving
away from the written lesson to “seize the teaching moment.” Responsive
teachers are perceptually and cognitively aware of what is going on in the
classroom at all times. Responsive teachers must know their students: their
backgrounds, prior knowledge, interests, etc. and adjust their lessons accordingly.
• Reflective Teaching: This phase of the teaching process refers to the ability of
teachers to think analytically, synthetically and evaluatively about their teaching
practice. What worked and what did not work during the lesson? What needs to be
retaught, reinforced or enriched? How can instruction be differentiated to meet the
needs of all students? The results of reflection inform the new Receptive cycle of
the process.
Course Objectives
• To apply the concepts of curricula design to a course of study
• To conceptualize curriculum based upon the "Understanding by Design" process
• To plan and construct teaching units based upon the "Understanding by Design"
process
• To determine curriculum standards at the national and state and local levels and
incorporate those standards into a course of study
• To plan and teach lessons based upon appropriate instructional models and
strategies
Required Texts
All students are required to keep a reflective field journal of their field experience.
Because many of you are taking EDU430 Teaching in a Diverse Society at the same time
as this class, you may use the same journal for both courses.
Grading Policy
Schedule
Week 9 (4/27-5/1)
Week 10 (5/4-5/8)
Week 11 (5/11-5/15)
Week 12 (5/18-5/22)
Other Items
ADA Compliance: Students who have special conditions as addressed by the Americans
with Disabilities Act and who need any test or course materials to be furnished in an
alternative format should notify me immediately. Reasonable efforts will be made to
accommodate your needs.
Plagiarism: Plagiarized work will result in a failing grade. Plagiarism, as defined by the
Standard College Dictionary, is "to appropriate and pass off as one's own the writings,
ideas, etc. of another." Students may utilize information from any source as long as the
reader is provided with full and proper acknowledgement of the source. Be sure to use
proper notation when using another's words and ideas. Do your own work and document
where you got your words and ideas and plagiarism is easily avoided. (This statement is
an adaptation of the statement from the The College of Idaho English Department)
The College Honor Code: The College of Idaho is a community of integrity; therefore,
we, the students, seek to promulgate a community in which integrity is valued, expected,
and practiced. We are honor bound to refrain from cheating, stealing, or lying about
College-related business. We are obligated to examine our own actions in light of their
effect on the community, and we are responsible to address any violations of these
community standards.