June 15, 2014
I've had a variety of experiences with using and developing various curricula, all of which have been shallow. As a classroom teacher in the 90s I taught content through themes. During dental health month it was all about teeth. I used a variety of texts both fiction and non-fiction to drive home the why and the how of good dental hygiene. Some activities-writings/readings worked well, while others just had teeth in the title. Shallow. As a special educator and interventionist (Title 1), I supported classroom instruction while providing the skills and strategies students needed-through those themes again. At one point my school was a Reading First school. I had to wrap my head around a basal program for the first time. The ultimate in shallow experiences! It was ridiculously scripted and didn't interface at all with student needs. The scope and sequence held some merit at "stacking" skill and strategy. That was it!
I was then "invited" to participate in a district wide attempt to look at the CCSS and formulate curriculum to meet those standards. I was on the ELA committee and my group was focused on grades K-2. We looked at what other districts across the country had done to meet the demands of CCSS and we drafted our own version. It took almost 2 years and by the time it was in teachers' hands it was outdated by the newest thinking around CCSS. It's "on the shelf" with other documents from 25 years ago collecting dust. Shallow, shallow, shallow.
I have since trained as a literacy coach, looking at the "how" of explicit teaching through the framework of the partnership and sociocognitive theory. The "how" to teach is a bit clearer to me. What I now spend a great deal of time doing is planning the "what" to teach with teachers. We aren't using any of the dusty relics on the shelf. Every teacher is flying by the seat of their pants-daily. The evidence is in the outcome. I have embarked on planning units of study this past year with 3 teachers independent of each other, 1 team of teachers, and 1 unit on my own through a grad course I am currently taking-Literacy Across the Curriculum. It's been quick learning, driven by a serious daily need. At this point, I think I'm looking for a common "theme" that involves depth of study across various disciplines, process and purpose with lots of talk! I think I'm in the right place at the right time.
Interesting background! You definitely have more experience with curriculum planning than I. I appreciate your questions of the "how" when wondering what to include in your curriculum and how to teach concepts. I came into a very out-dated curriculum and did some updating myself. Each year we have new students, why shouldn't we make changes to fit those new students? Good thoughts :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kelly. An interesting curriculum journey, no doubt. I'll be interested to hear more about the "common theme" you talk about at the end of your post. I really believe that you are onto something...with a common theme that does all the things you mention. Hmmm...wonder why it is so difficult for schools to find that common theme?
ReplyDeleteKelly, it sounds like you've done a lot in your career already! In the last paragraph when you talked about working closely on unit plans with teachers and teams of teachers I was envious! In my career I've felt pretty isolated. Last year my school moved to a teaming concept with the hopes of so common theme work, and we have found implementing that nearly impossible! We meed three times a week, but it seems like what we constantly need to talk about it student behavior and achievement. That time then gets used to call in parents and students. It would be great if as our new team progresses someone would work with us on using the time for both interventions and commonly themed units.
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