When I sat down to start working on the biology curriculum I started to realize that I did not know much about what other teachers where covering within my own subject area let alone the whole scope of science in the building. So I talked with our curriculum coordinator and she said I have just the tool for you to use to see the science curriculum at a glance. She sent me the curriculum mapping guide. What is a curriculum mapping guide you might ask...well it is all of the standards laid out with boxes for each division of science from 9th through physics and honors sections verse basic sections. It is a tool that is so great because you can sit down with your department and start from point A and move through giving each teacher a chance to say "hey that is what I do."
The next thing that is so great that it is a conversation starter as far as assessments go. You have a way to ask co-works what they are doing and what they are having success with without insulting or being awkward. Face it sometimes when you ask for resources or questions you feel like you are either questioning their abilities or seeming like a slacker and stealing their ideas. In high school the sharing environment is not always as friendly as some lower grades.
I am rolling out my first mapping session in March and I am a little nervous and hoping everyone in my dept. will be as excited!!!
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Good for you for taking this initiative! I have had the opportunity to sit down and have these discussions a number of times and it is always helpful to not only look at what comes before and after you but to be able to fill in the gaps that always seem to exist. I wish you luck in your first mapping session!
ReplyDeleteThanks it is helpful that I have such a dedicated department to work with on this project.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the explanation, Kelley. Do you have a resource for curriculum mapping that you could point us to?
ReplyDeleteGood points about the issues that can arise with this type of work...and the curriculum mapping piece gives you a professional way to look at what you are doing.
Good luck and hope you will report back on how it goes.
This one resource I was pointed towards when I began this undertaking:
ReplyDeleteCurriculum Mapping by Katherine Tuchman Glass, Bena Kallick
This is another resource by Heidi Jacobs that is really great:
The Curriculum Mapping Planner : Templates, Tools, and Resources for Effective Professional Development by Heidi Jabobs