Transforming Student Learning: Mapping the Curriculum

Classrooms are changing. They are vibrant and filled with the noise of student engagement and learning - driven by personal goals and interests - not just scheduled curriculum plans. One of the first ways that you can join in on this refreshing style of education is to "Map the Curriculum" with your students. Giving them control of their learning by choosing the learning vehicle, product, success criteria, and level of support will boost self-confidence and intensify interest - in what you need to teach them anyway. This approach would especially benefit students in Junior, Intermediate, and Senior divisions.


*You can find a downloadable Microsoft Word copy of this "Curriculum Mapping Template" on my "Teaching Resources and Ideas" website here. It is yours to alter and use as you see fit in your classroom. This copy has an area beside each numbered question for groups to fill in as their plan while in their "think tanks."


*This is a link to a "Multiple Intelligences Product Grid" (source: Dr. T. Roger Taylor, 2002) that should be attached to the back of the Group Planning Sheet for students to consult when considering the "vehicle" choices for their projects.


First, divide your students into groups that will function as "think tanks" to determine the way that the subject is best taught given the needs and interests of the groups discussing.
Guiding Questions for Groups to Discuss and Plan:


*Hand them a copy of the curriculum "Specific Expectations" for the subject chosen (e.g., language, math, science, geography, history, arts, physical education)


1. How can we learn the information needed for each topic?
*textbook, library books, movies, internet, personal interviews, what else?


2. What environments could we use to learn in?
*classroom, library, around the school, other classes (class pairing/tutoring), in the schoolyard, in the community, at home/outside of school hours, field trips, what else?


3. How should we accomplish the learning?
*whole class lesson, small group instruction (guided), individual learning/discovery, peer/paired learning, what else?


4. What products or created-activities will demonstrate the learning to others?
*use of multiple choice intelligence grid, consideration of preferred learning styles (auditory, visual, kinesthetic), consideration of individual student learning needs (from special education plans, parent communications, student conferencing), what else?


5. How will we share our learning of the material?
*written projects, oral presentations (to teacher, to whole class, in small groups), demonstrations (computer presentations, working models, puppet shows, physical activities/games), what else?


6. How will we assess our learning? What checkpoints and processes should we follow before, during and after the learning process?


*Schedule key dates for checkpoints (what often should students "check in" to measure progress and get feedback on how project is coming along?)


*What kinds of self, peer, group, parent, and teacher formative (or "assessment as learning") options to support the learning process should we use?


*What "success criteria" have we created for this project that can be used to clearly measure our success in the learning goals? What will you know when your project has been successful in its completion?


**After each "think tank" session has finished, schedule time for the groups to each share and/or present their discussions and plans for moving forward. This should help spur new ideas for future sessions on other subjects targeted.


**Choose 1 lesson a day in the first few weeks of school (or any other time) to cover a number of different subjects using this approach.


Under these conditions, the learning has shifted from your complete direction to their discovery and an increasing accountability. This is a starting point in "flipping the classroom" from one ruled by you at the blackboard to one facilitated by you and driven by student needs, interests and motivations.


Do you already hand over the planning and "curriculum reins" to the students in your classroom? If so, what strategies do you use to increase both student engagement and accountability in their learning decisions?

Making a Case for Education

This blog is in defense of my profession. This post attempts to draw you in and hold your attention. These words should summon memories and feelings about schools and education. This is a call to educators, and society, to recognize what matters.

Reading media headlines such as "Schools Under Attack," and "More Cuts to Education Funding" should be a canary. These stories suggest that schools are places to be drained, minimized and altered. Society, and the global economy, is in tough right now. There is a battle playing out in our newspapers and on our television screens that wages war on public services like education and health care - in an attempt to 'balance' budgets or secure a better economic position.

To me, little more than education and health care matters. Society should be driven and improved through its public sector. We can debate about whether today's schools are successful in their endeavors of preparing students for the future; we can argue about whether hospitals and medical staff are performing their jobs in an efficient manner - but, we should not be having a conversation about whether these services are anything but vital.

The world economy did not crash and "re-adjust" itself on the actions of educators. Our current economic situation is not the result of cushy salaries or generous sick-bank programs. Capitalism, at its very nature, is an ebb-and-flow. Money needs to be lost in order to be made. Jobs depend on many things - some of which are needless and obsolete. Our system was not working and it finally caught up with us. But let's focus on what matters now. Through education we can prevent the inefficiencies and traditional economic model from working in a cyclical way. Our students have the potential to design a new system and plan - one that is sustainable and addresses our global needs.

Teaching needs to change - and I will be the first person to, not only acknowledge this, but also to help achieve it. There are many things that we can try in education to better reach students that are not being done as we speak. There are countless strategies and new ideologies about the nature of learning that can be implemented in a way that brings about real change. Teachers, like anyone, fear change when it compromises their security, well-being and comfort. We need to find ways to better educate our teachers about the future of teaching - without attacking the economics of their livelihood and causing resentment.

Most of this lasting change should begin in the Faculty of Educations across our province. Many of these new educational lenses must be adopted by our leaders as exemplars. And above all else, our efforts should focus on improved learning for students. With so many obstacles and challenges in the classrooms of today (i.e. student behaviours, minimized support), many teachers are getting by and doing the job they can do - not the one they should be doing.

Whether we are 'flipping the classroom,' teaching through differentiated instruction, or delivering inquiry-based programming, we, teachers, will drive the change and shift the face of the classroom from us to them. Except, how many teachers are willing to shift their practice and experiment with their pedagogy when they feel their job is under attack?

Grassroots change - real change - will only be possible through visionary leadership and careful planning. The potential of transforming student learning into meaningful, relevant and powerful experiences is at our grasp. We must not stay the course, but rather, venture on the other paths to truly discover our profession and purpose. What an exciting time to be an educator.