A Successful Curriculum Mapping Initiative

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A Successful Curriculum Mapping Initiative
An Administrative Perspective
Debra J. Sheard, Ed.D. sheardde_at_shu.edu
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What is Mapping?

• Calendar based curriculum mapping is a procedure
  for collecting a data base of the operational
  curriculum in a school or district.
• It provides the basis for authentic examination
  of that data base.
• It replaces curriculum committees with a site
  based cabinet.

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Essential Questions

• How Can Curriculum Mapping Improve Student
  Performance?
• What Are Initial Mapping Tasks?

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Essential Components

• Time
• Training
• Goals
• Monitoring
• Emphasize the professional development aspect of
  mapping.

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Time

• Teachers are already overworked
• Providing time sends the message that mapping is
  a priority
• Allows teachers to collaborate
• Allows administrators to monitor and coach

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Time

• 45 min. every 3-4 weeks
• Encourage communication and collaboration (is
  this skill understandable?)
• Some teachers may leave.mapping may be done at
  home if progress is monitored and teachers are
  held to deadlines.

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Training

• Teachers need to be trained in the art of
  mapping
• How to build an effective curriculum map
• Common language so that inter-school maps are
  understandable by all
• Working with skills

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Training

• Teachers need to understand how mapping improves
• Teaching
• Learning
• Student Performance

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Training

• Teachers need a common method to incorporate
  state standards into the maps
• Beginning with skills is fundamental
• Emphasize that data must be authentic
• Remember that maps are fluid and always change to
  reflect the dynamic curriculum

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Obstacles

• The skeptic
• My textbook is perfectly good.
• The passive aggressors (all standards are
  covered every month
• The eager but clueless (e.g. maps are verbose
  restatements of the lesson plan)
• I dont believe in this method

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Obstacles

• We dont have time for this
• Were already overworked
• We tried this in the past and it didnt work
• This is all very nice, but my weekly lesson plan
  changes by Wednesday
• We already know what were doing

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Obstacles

• I dont want anybody telling me what to teach
• The independent contractor mentality
• Fear of evaluation/punishment
• Union / contractual issues
• We dont have a problem with our curriculum
  were a good school

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Procedures

• PHASE 1 collecting the data
• PHASE 2 first read-through
• PHASE 3 small mixed group review
• PHASE 4 large group comparisons
• PHASE 5 determine immediate revision points
• PHASE 6 determine points requiring some research
  and planning
• PHASE 7 plan for next review cycle

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PHASE 1 Collecting the Data

• Each teacher in the building completes a map
• The format is consistent for each teacher, but
  reflects the individual nature of each classroom
• Technology simplifies data collection

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Collecting Content Data

• Types of focus
• Topics
• Issues
• Works
• Problems
• Themes

• Configuration
• Discipline field based
• Interdisciplinary
• Student centered

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Collecting Skill and Assessment

• Enter the skills and assessments FOREGROUNDED for
  each unit of study or course.
• Precision is the key.

• Enter skills and assessments that are ongoing
  through the course of a year.
• Portfolio checks
• Early Childhood assessments.

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PHASE 2 First Read-Through

• Each teacher reads the entire school map as an
  editor and carries out the tasks.
• Places where new information was gained are
  underlined.
• Places requiring potential revision are circled.
  (repetitions, gaps, etc.)

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PHASE 3 Mixed Small Group

• Groups of 5 to 8 faculty members are formed.
• Groups should be from diverse configurations
  (I.e. different grade levels and departments)
• The goal is to simply share individual findings.
• No revisions are suggested.

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PHASE 4 Large Group Review

• All faculty members come together and examine the
  compilation of findings from the smaller groups.
• Session is facilitated by principal and/or
  teacher leader.

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PHASE 5 Determine areas for immediate revision

• The faculty identifies those areas that can be
  handled by the site with relative ease.
• The specific faculty members involved in those
  revisions determine a timetable for action.

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PHASE 6 Determining those areas requiring long
term planning

• Faculty members identify those areas that have
  implications beyond the site with other sites.
• Faculty members identify those areas where
  research is needed.

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PHASE 7 The Cycle Continues

• The district cabinet meets 3 times annually for
  review.
• Task forces report on their timetables.
• The site based council continues its review of
  the maps through the course of the year and into
  the next.

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Goals

• Clear, with deadlines from the start
• Dont overreach plan on a 3-4 year startup cycle

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Goals

1. Create authentic, diary-based maps
2. Create/designate Master Maps as the ideal or
   consensus map for each course/grade/strand
3. Allow public access to master maps (optional)
4. Incorporate standards into the maps
5. Develop essential questions
6. Refine assessments to match skills

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Goals Year 1

• Develop accurate, authentic, diary-based maps for
  each teacher
• Focus on clear, assessable skills
• If teachers are ready, allow them to integrate
  standards into their skills
• If master curriculum maps exist, these may be
  entered as well.
• Focus on the professional development aspect of
  mapping change the paradigm
• Work with teachers to create effective maps

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Goals Year 2

• Summertime.
• Departments/grade levels/strands meet to analyze
  existing maps
• Compare with master maps (if applicable)
• Look for gaps and redundancies
• Create (or revise existing) master map to reflect
  this data (i.e. a data-driven curriculum)

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Goals Year 2

• Allow public access to master maps
• Teachers continue to build diary-based maps (that
  can be compared to the master maps at the end of
  the school year)
• A good time to focus on assessment
• Are our assessments valid?
• An F or a Zero
• Grading policy
• Diverse assessments (learning styles, etc.)

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Goals Year 3

• Summertime
• Compare diary maps with master maps. Revise
  master map as needed.
• In light of test results, search maps for
  coverage of standards
• Analyze maps for gaps, redundancies

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Goals Year 3

• Focus on content
• Develop essential questions to guide learning
• Teachers should routinely be viewing and
  searching others maps to better plan their
  curriculum
• Teachers continue to build diary-based maps.

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Monitoring

• Key to keeping mapping efforts on track
• Work with individual teachers each month whose
  maps obviously need work.
• Watch not only for slackers but especially for
  those who enter maps consistently that do not
  communicate effectively
• Show maps to students now and then and get
  feedback
• Remove names from some maps and use them as basis
  for discussion at a faculty meeting.

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Monitoring

• Teachers need to know that you are reading their
  maps.
• One month, have teachers of different
  subjects/grades trade maps and read them simply
  for clarity. Do I understand what this means?

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Activity and Simulation in Small Groups

• What is possible with these data?
• What would you be able to do if you had these
  data?
• How would your school be different if you had
  these data available now?
• What are the implications for administrators?
• What are the challenges for administrators?

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A Successful Curriculum Mapping Initiative
An Administrative Perspective
Debra J. Sheard, Ed.D. sheardde_at_shu.edu