Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs will be presenting how curriculum mapping changes with time at the Texas ASCD Annual Conference. What is Curriculum Mapping? Curriculum Mapping is a program that helps you see the whole curriculum picture. Curriculum Mapping is one way to assess curriculum in a school or district. Now the way a program can work is teachers enter information into an internet-based program. Each teacher writes about what they are teaching as they are teaching it, a daily account of what is taught in the classroom. The program allows teachers and administrators to view all entries. All personnel in the school/district have the access to map what students are learning across the grade level and throughout the entire school.
A united curriculum is what we should all be working towards in our schools, districts, states and nation. Curriculum mapping is not the only program to unite/link curriculum. Just think about the ability to link ideas and key components to what students have already learned. This process is essential for them to understand and to build on concepts. Curriculum Mapping allows teachers to see what others teachers are doing in their classrooms and the key elements on which they are focusing. They will then be able to compare and contrast what they are teaching in their own classrooms and adjust accordingly. Administrators can see what teachers find important and are teaching as well as what ideas are being repeated as children move grade levels. The decisions made on what to teach our youths will affect tomorrow’s world.
Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs will explore this idea during her keynote presentation at the Texas ASCD Annual Conference. She will present “A New Essential Curriculum: What to cut? What to keep? What to Create?” on Monday, October 20th. Follow the link to our website to find out more about the conference: http://www.txascd.org/development/index.html or check out Dr. Jacobs’ article in Leaders of Learners.
Please feel free to comment or answer any of the questions below.
1. What do you think of curriculum mapping and the need to change when necessary?
2. Have you been involved in curriculum mapping?
3. What kind of changes have you seen in your school during this process?
Attend Heidi Hayes Jacob’s presentation on “A New Essential Curriculum: What to cut? What to keep? What to Create?” on Monday, October 20th.
Upcoming Texas ASCD events:
June 2nd, 2008
Reading Strategies for Secondary Math Tutorials and TAKS Retesting
Beatrice Luchin
Amarillo ISD
EXCLUSIVE DISTRICT RETREAT
June 25 & 26th, 2008
Boot Camp for Curriculum Administrators
John Crain
Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD (Dallas/Fort Worth area)
June 26 & 27th, 2008
Successful Instructional Math Strategies for Students
CaLandra Pervis
Region 16 ESC (Amarillo)
