Curriculum+Design

"...a guaranteed and viable curriculum has the greatest impact on student success." Robert Marzano (ASCD 2003)

-this is a way for teachers to work smarter not harder...will help teachers understand and design their curriculum to better meet students' needs.

-as educators study each subject area they will be able to identify connections within and across the disciplines. They will also become aware of possible themes, essential questions, or overarching ideas that can lead to units....the students learning experiences will not be segmented by subject area.

- curriculum design empowers teachers to make more efficient and effective decisions about specific concepts and ideas and how they are organized, taught, and assessed

__**Step 1**. - Meet pre-conditions__
 * identify the need
 * get sponsorship from the district and school leadership
 * ask admin. to participate in the design group
 * set a regualarly scheduled work time - needs to be accomplished during the summer
 * identify appropriate participants - reps from each grade level or subject - even parent liasons active with the school - best would be all teachers
 * have a facilitator


 * __ Step 2 - Identify the Curriculum __**
 * follow good meeting techniques - agendas, norms, warm-up activities
 * facilitator makes sure all participants have a copy of the curriculum they are using
 * groups of grade level teachers summarize their curric. on chart paper for the four core subjects - specialty area teachers work to write down their outcomes
 * each subject area and special area group makes a chart for easy reading across grade levels

***This step can take several hours.**
 * __ Step 3 - Share the Curriculum __**
 * the whole grp walks around reviewing the chart papers - a rep from each group stays and explains/answers - participants take notes
 * after, whole grp discusses how students develop skills and knowledge
 * facilitator guides teachers in focusing on gaps and repetitions across the grade levels
 * example, "how are the space units different in 4th and 5th grade? Does the second unit build on the first? or When do students learn about paragraphs?"
 * the facilitator asks participants to comment on what they see. Debating the essence of the curriculum, discuss terms, and clarify ideas
 * __ Step 4 - Address Gaps, Repetitions, and Assessments __**