CURRICULUM MAPPING: Getting Started with the Review Process

1
CURRICULUM MAPPING Getting Started with the
Review Process
2
Our Essential Questions

• How can curriculum mapping improve
  student performance?
• How can we take apart assessment data and merge
  our findings into our maps?
• How can we assist our teachers and administrators
  in developing an implementation plan for carrying
  out curriculum mapping?

3
What Is Curriculum
Mapping?

• Calendar-based curriculum mapping is a procedure
  for collecting and maintaining a data base of the
  operational curriculum in a school and/or
  district.
• It provides the basis for authentic examination
  of the data base.

4
Mapping is a coin with two sides

• One side is the documentation the maps
  themselves
• One side is the review process examining and
  revising map cumulatively between teachers

5
Targeting Needs Discussions, debates,
and decisions will be based on

• What is in the best interest of our specific
  clients, the students in our educational setting?
• Their ages
• Their stages of development
• Their learning characteristics
• Their communities
• Their aspirations
• Their needs
• The need for cumulative learning

6
What information do we collect initially on a map?

• CONTENT
• SKILLS
• ASSESSMENT

7
How can we set the stage before launching our CM
work?

• Setting up leadership groups (teams) in each
  building (or district level) to create the
  conditions for success
• Structuring conditions that will make a
  difference in your planning and initiating
• Creating meaningful roles for cadres
  participants
• Carrying out effective R D for technology and
  long-term plans

Prologue Establishing a Leadership Cadre
(District or School Site, Dependent on the Level
of Initiative
8
The First Charge for the Lead
Mapmakers

• Become knowledgeable about, and comfortable with,
  the mapping basics
• Identify and choose a technology format and
  template
• Identify most valuable forms of assessment.
• Draft an Action Plan (Timeline) for introducing
  the mapping process to the faculty.

9
In order to motivate and engage staff

• Best Practice
• Introduce CM as a tool to solve a specific
  teaching and learning problem at the school.
• Best Practice
• Introduce CM as a hub for integrating building
  and district initiatives.

10
The Hub Effect

• Identify initiatives that would be better served
  through the use of the CM review process, for
  example

11
Establishing Purpose for Curriculum Mapping

• The Use of the Empty Chair
• Examining Beginning and Future Mapping Tasks

12
Potential tasks to address school/district/complex
problems

• Gain information
• Avoid repetition
• Identify gaps
• Locate potential areas for integration

• Match with learner standards
• Examine for timeliness
• Edit for coherence

13
To Gain Task Information On Maps

• Underline (or conduct a search using a key word)
  every place in a series of maps wherein you learn
  something new about the operational curriculum.
• When sharing with colleagues, this process
  expands a teachers or group of teachers
  understanding of his/her/their students
  experience(s).

14
Edit for Repetitions

• Recognize the difference between meaningless
  redundancy and powerful spiraling.

15
Edit for Gaps

• Examine maps for gaps in
• Content
• Thinking Processes Skills
• Assessments

16
Locate potential areas for integration

• Peruse a map or series of maps and circle/note
  potential areas for integration of content,
  skills, and assessment
• These can serve as the springboard for integrated
  curriculum planning and conversation.

17
Validate State, District, Site, Power Standards

• Search the maps for places where students are
  completing Performance Tasks related to Skills
  and Content that match your Standards.
• Identify gaps or repetitions of intensity of
  Standards.

18
Edit for timeliness

• Review the maps for timely issues, breakthroughs,
  methods, materials, and new types of assessments.
• Be vigilant about technology in all aspects of
  learning.

19
Edit for Coherence

• Scrutinize the maps for a solid match between
  the choice of Content, the featured Skills
  Processes, and the variety of Assessments.

20
THE CM REVIEW AND REVISION PROCESS

• The procedures for mapping are best presented in
  a seven-phase model for teachers.

21
The CM Seven-Step Review Process

• 1. Collecting the Data
• 2. First Read-Through
• 3. Small Like/Mixed-Group Review
• 4. Large Like/Mixed-Group Comparisons
• 5. Determine Immediate Revision Points
• 6. Determine Points Requiring Some Research and
  Planning
• 7. Plan for Next Review Cycle
• (from Mapping the Big Picture Integrating
  Curriculum and Assessment K-12 1997, ASCD,
  Jacobs, HH.)

22
1. Collecting the Data

• Each teacher in the building completes a
  first-draft of a projected or diary map
• The format is consistent for each teacher, but
  reflects the individual nature of each
  classroom
• Important Note Technology simplifies the
  publishing of data collection

23
Define...
QUALITY
What do exemplary maps
look like?
24
What do quality maps look like?
The quality of your school/districts
conversations and collaborations
can only be as good as the
quality of its maps.
25
Key Initiative Points for First
Experiences
Red Flag!

• Do not overwhelm teachers with an initial task
  entry that is too large!
• One discipline in an elementary school
  preferably one in need of attention given student
  performance.
• One prep per secondary teacher.

26
Remember When Collecting The Content Data May Be
Listed

• Configuration
• Discipline-Field Based
• Interdisciplinary
• Student-Centered

• Type of Focus
• Topics
• Issues
• Works
• Problems
• Themes

27
Recording and Collecting Skill and Assessment
Data

• Enter the Skills and Assessments fore grounded
  for each unit of study or course
• Precision is the key

• Enter the Skills and Assessments that are
  on-going through the course of a year
• Portfolio Checks
• Early Childhood Assessments

28
Coaching for Quality

• Focus on developing units that include Content,
  Skills, Assessments, and if ready for it,
  Essential Questions
• Use simple coaching questions to ensure quality
  as teachers think through each component/element
• Align the Elements with State Standards,
  Benchmarks, Indicators

29
Coaching for Quality (cont.)

• If you feel it will not overwhelm your teachers
  too much to start with
• Re-visit Assessments to check for alignment/need
  for Evaluations
• Integrate cross-curricular skills (i.e. problem
  solving, writing, reading, etc.)
• Incorporate Resources and practice
  Activities/Lesson Plans

30
Skill Entries

• Many teachers find this element to be the most
  challenging aspect of mapping.
• The skills are what the kids do to learn the
  content!
• Have a list of measurable action verbs available
  for teachers to use. Download Blooms List of
  Verbs, or contact Engine-Uity for a color-coded
  list of Verbs and Products for Independent
  Study, based on Blooms Taxonomy.

31
Is Honesty an Issue? Questions
Frequently Asked
Huge Red Flag!

• How will the maps be used?
• Who will see the maps?
• How will my peers react to my map?
• Does my name need to be on my map?

32
Plausible Time Frames for a projected map with
enough initial understanding and training.

• Elementary Approximately 1 hour for Content 2-3
  hours for Skills and Assessment per course.
• Secondary Approximately 45 minutes for Content
  2 hours for Skills and Assessments per prep.

33
How do we set up our data review teams for
the first year of CM ?

• Identifying the best grouping patterns for
  review.
• Using productive communication for feedback and
  decision making.

34
Plausible time frames for an initial draft of a
map

• Elementary Approximately 1 hour for Content 2-3
  hours for Skills and Assessment per course.
• Secondary Approximately 45 minutes for Content
  2 hours for Skills and Assessments per prep.

35
Initial Read-Through 1) Read
the provided set of teachers diary maps on your
own. You are to study them compared to the
sample Exemplary Map. Make notes
on your provided recording sheet. 2) Meet with
your team and share your findings Positives
about each others maps Confusions about
readability of each others maps.
36
2. First Read-Through

• Each teacher reads the entire grade-level,
  discipline, or school-wide maps as an editor and
  carried out the prescribed tasks.
• Places where new information is gained are
  noted/recorded (underlined).
• Places requiring potential revision are also
  noted/recorded (circled).

37
3. Mixed or Like
Small-Group Review

• Groups of 5 to 8 faculty members are formed
• Groups should be from diverse configurations
  (i.e., different grade levels and departments)
• Meetings should run approximately 1-1/2 hours
• The goal is to simply share individual findings
• No revisions are suggested at this time

38
What are Like-Group (Horizontal Teams) and
Mixed-Group (Vertical Teams) Reviews?

• Like-groups
  consist of teachers and support staff within a
  given discipline or same subject and/or grade
  level.
• Mixed-groups
• consist of teachers and support staff across
  grade levels /or different disciplines.

39
What is one of the most important purposes for
having mixed-group vertical team
reviews/discussions?

• To get away from the every teacher (or every
  grade level or discipline) is an island concept
• To gain necessary perspectives that would
  otherwise not be achievable by asking those
  outside of our box to look in

40
What are the purposes of the Mixed-Group
(Vertical Teams) and Like-Group (Horizontal
Teams) Reviews?

• Horizontal Vertical
• To identify the areas or priorities in need of
  monitoring or changing
• To examine maps for gaps, absences, and
  redundancies
• To raise central or extended questions and/or
  issues concerning on-going mapping
  discoveries

A reviews key purpose is to put Chris back in
the picture! S/he is
really the only one who knows a school/districts
vertical curriculum
(unless it is
truly and honestly mapped out)!
41
4. Large-Group Review

• All faculty members come together and examine the
  compilation of findings (based on recorded
  notations) from the smaller group meetings
• Session is facilitated by principal and/or
  teacher-leader(s)

42
5. Determine areas for immediate revision

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

43
Teachers return to original grouping mixed
teams, grade levels
Curricula or Curricula-Related Red
Flag

• Begin the sorting process
• Which of the items/issues appear to be solved
  with relative ease?
• Who might be the right people on staff to resolve
  these items/issues?
• Which items/issues will take extensive R D?

44
6. Determine those areas requiring
long-term planning

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

45
Setting Up Your Initial
Targeted Review
Teams

• Laying out time options for organizing reviews of
  mapping data
• Determining who should be in the group(s)
• Creating tuning protocols to enhance
  communication
• Who will be facilitating the group(s)?

46
Using the Maps to
Impact Learning (cont.)

• Review maps to determine where and how skills are
  taught
• Review timeline to determine when they are taught
• Make needed changes or revisions
• Develop goal plan(s) and timeline(s)
• Develop staff-development plan(s) and timeline(s)

47

• 7 The Cycle Continues As you transition
  to new decision making structures

• Once CM is established, the District CM Cabinet
  meets approximately three to four times annually
  for review updates.
• Task forces report on their timetables.
• The site-based CM Councils continue their
  personal review of the maps through the course of
  the year and into the next.

48
Long-Term Time Frames

• Data Collection Within 3-5 months of initially
  learning the mapping elements and process of map
  recoding
• First Reviews Try to have within 2 months after
  initial data collection
• First Minor Revisions Immediately after first
  reviews
• Major R D Review Planned within first year
• Begin On-going Review Site Councils Second year

49
Differentiating Staff
Development

• Adult learners in professional settings have
  various needs for different types of work.
• We fall prey to ruts in staff development.
• Randomness does not serve Jose.
• We should expand and consider matching the venues
  for staff development!

50
Staff Development Contrasts

• The Rut
• Random
• Initiative du jour
• One size fits all
• Pulse test for credits
• Assessment via attendance
• Sweeping
• External to building

• Integrated
• Diagnosed
• Based on student data
• Results assessed through targeted student gains
• By building and
• Cumulative decision making patterns

51
Please remember

• Staff development should focus on your specific
  teachers as learners, as well as students as
  learners.
• Staff development should emanate from site-based
  examined data
• Site, District,
  State Assessments
• Diary Maps
• Demographics
• External events

52
Site-Based Staff
Development

• Cumulative decision-making patterns
• Targeted groups of teachers building on-going
  assessment review collectively
• Based on a range of assessment data

53
Differentiated for Staff

• According to experience with curricula and
  technology
• According to demonstrated/voiced competence
• According to what will best help the learners

54
1 High Technology High CM. Language
2 Low Technology High CM. Language
HIGH
CM. LANGUAGE
4 Low Technology Low CM. Language
3 High Technology Low CM. Language

LOW
LOW
HIGH
TECHNOLOGY
55
Consider a Range of
P.D. Venues

• Various Groupings
• Hands-On Labs
• Small Workshops
• Work Sessions
• On-line Courses
• Staff Development Days Based On Data
• Observing Mentors
• Peer Coaching
• Video Conferencing

56
How do we integrate Assessment Data
into the maps?

• Diagnosing what our learners needs from the
  assessment data
• Revising our maps collaboratively to respond to
  those targeted needs

57
Using the Diary and Projected Maps to Impact
Learning

• Trend analysis in general
• from district and state assessments
• Look for celebrations to sustain
• and targets for growth
• Gap analysis in the specific
• Identify the targets for growth and pinpoint
  specific skill sets and knowledge gaps

58
Balanced Assessment What is value,
reviewed, and analyzed to assist your learners?
59
ENGAGE SPECIFIC COGNITIVE OPERATIONS
60
Bi-Level Analysis We examine student work and
performance data in terms of

• The subject matter concepts and skills needing
  attention.
• The requisite language capacity necessary to
  carry out tasks
• Linguistic patterns
• High-frequency words
• Specialized terms
• Editing/revising strategies

61
We will inform and revise our maps on two levels

• The needed areas to be addressed in the Content
  and Subject-Area Skills
• The Cross-Disciplinary Literacy strategies
  needing attention.

62
Prioritize Standards
63
Select Appropriate Assessment

• Traditional quizzes tests
• Paper/pencil
• Selected response
• Constructed response
• Performance tasks projects
• Open-ended
• Complex
• Authentic

64
A Fact Every teacher is a language teacher

• Upgrading language skills across all. curriculum
  areas
• Interdependence of the four language skills.
• EVERY test we give in EVERY subject is language
  based.

• reading
• writing
• speaking
• listening

65

• Reaching New Ground
• Guiding a staff to establishing
  Benchmark Assessments

66
Mapping Benchmark
Assessments

• Benchmarks can be designed on multiple levels
  state tests, district, classroom tasks.
• A school establishes a common set of skills
  needing development.
• An internally generated benchmark assessment task
  is developed by teachers with the same protocols
  the same timetable.

67
Mapping Benchmark
Assessments (cont.)

• The task should merge with the on-going
  curriculum naturally.
• Student products can then be evaluated both
  vertically and horizontally.
• Revisions in the curriculum map should reflect a
  few targeted skills needing help.
• Revisions should be applied thoughtfully to
  developmental characteristics of the learner.

68
Three Tiers of Assessment

• Assessment is evidence of learning.
• Clarify the differences between
• Drill Practice
• Rehearsal Scrimmage
• Authentic Performance

69
Improving Assessment Design

• Editing the maps for a thoughtful application of
  developmental perspectives on the maps.
• Generating Benchmark Assessments based on item
  analysis of a sites specific student
  population.

70
Assessment is a demonstration of learning

• The focus should be on feedback
• Designed to reveal knowledge and insight
  concerning incorporated essential questions
• Designed to reveal skill acquisition in the
  examination of those questions

71
Assessment is evidence!It can take on
two fundamental forms
72

• Tangible Products
• a piece of writing
• a picture
• a spread sheet
• a model
• a photograph
• a puppet
• a blueprint

73

• Observable Performances
• a speech
• a recital
• a debate
• a game
• a dance
• a reading
• a routine

74
DEVELOPMENTAL GENRE

• Matching Types of Work
  with the Characteristics of the Learner

75
Developmental Stages Your Learners Growth
Patterns

• Cognitive
• Affective
• Moral
• Social Role Taking
• Physical

76
K-2

• Sculptures
• Models
• Observation notes
• Captions
• Story boards
• Joke-telling
• Murals
• Diorama
• Graphs
• Charts
• Checklists
• Symbol systems
• Speech to persuade

77
Grades 3-5

• Artifact analysis
• Comparative observation
• Play performance
• Newspaper articles
• Math matrix design
• Extended research
• Reports
• Note cards
• Interview questions
• Short stories
• Photo essaytext

78
Grades 6-8

• The essay, the essay, the essay...
• Hypothesis testing and telling
• Issue-based forums
• Blueprints
• Models
• Museum text/captions
• Four note-taking forms
• Organizational templates
• Original playwriting
• Simulations

79
Grades 9-10 and 11-12

• Position papers
• Legal briefs
• Business plans
• Anthologies
• Choreography
• Game strategy books

• Film criticism
• Policy statements
• Literary criticism
• Professional journals
• Senior defense project
• Work-study analysis

80
Integrating Cross-Curricular

• Identify grade-level benchmarks
• Use maps to identify where skills are being
  taught
• Add appropriate benchmarks that may be missing
• Align with classroom assessments
• Utilize feedback from assessments to modify
  instruction if needed

81
Developing an CM
Implementation Plan and Timeline

• Start by creating a Professional Development
  Projected Map!
• What will the steps be and who will be
  responsible along the way?
• What is the mapping goal(s) for the first year,
  second year, etc.?
• What skills will the staff need to be successful
  at completing the goal(s)?
• What products/evidence will they produce?
• What resources will be incorporated in the
  process?
• How will the mappers and staff developers get
  feedback?
• How will you ensure quality?

82
How do we shift to Site-based Councils
and District Cabinets to sustain the CM
initial and long-term processes?

• Streamline decision making with mapping by
  shedding existing structures
• Set-up site-based teaching and learning councils
  to replace existing structures
• Create bridges and on-going communication between
  buildings, grade levels, and departments.

83
Technology is necessary to create a new type of
paradigm for successful educational planning!
84
Task Decision Making for Curriculum-The Status
Quo

• Create a flow chart that reflects the current way
  curriculum decision making occurs in your setting
  (school and/or district).
• Note all external and internal influences on the
  choices that finally reach the classroom teacher
  and our students.
• Identify if and how assessment data impacts
  decisions.

85
The Role of the School Curriculum (CM) Councils
86
Building Your Curriculum CM
Councils

• Meets regularly with diary and projected (and
  eventually, essential) maps
• Focus on school-based curriculum, assessment, and
  instruction
• Open to all members of school faculty
• Representatives selected via a job description
• Determine future focuses for individual/corporate
  staff development

87
Site-Based Councils Some Ideas

• Rotate council membership
• Create a job description
• Look at the issue of time
• Plan for future staff development
• Train new staff members on process of mapping,
  etc. (on-going)
• Note The principal is a sitting member on the
  council.

• Consider having teachers serve 1, 2, and 3 years
  so no one is on the council for ever
  (rotation-style)
• Determine times for meetings lengths of meetings
• Generate agendas for all to see Remember,
  meetings are always open
• Determine how teachers will be rewarded for time
  on the council

88
Relationship Between Inter-Schools Curriculum
(CM) Councils
Consider Your Feeder Patterns!
89
Receiving and Feeder School Sites

• It is critical that you focus on the actual
  pattern of students in a K-12 continuum.
• Larger districts should keep communication
  regularly channeled within specific feeder
  patterns.
• In school districts set up with short-grade
  spans, feeder patterns can also play a critical
  role (i.e., K-2 3-5 grade levels in one
  building).

90
The Role of the District Curriculum (CM) Cabinet
These representatives play a crucial role in your
CM success!
91
Creating The District-Level Curriculum (CM)
Cabinet

• After the initial pre-curser Exploration of CM
  Process year (if this can feasibly be done,
  please know it is well worth it!), the CM Cabinet
  usually meets three to four times per year
• There needs to be a balanced number of
  representation from each sites CM Council

92
Creating The District-Level Curriculum (CM)
Cabinet (cont.)

• It is recommended that the district-level
  technology person(s) are involved in the CM
  Cabinet as well, especially when utilizing an
  Internet-based Curriculum Mapping system
• Focuses on district-level curriculum, assessment,
  and instruction questions and concerns
• When more R D is needed, the CM
  Cabinet sets up Task Force(s).

93
The CM RD Task Force(s)
94
Do the Task Forces always stay alive and
together?

• No! Only bands for specific purposes with an
  action plan and timeline
• A time frame is followed to keep on course
• When the Task Forces work is complete, that Task
  Force is dismantled.
• The Task Forces final results
  are then shared with the
  CM Councils via the CM Cabinet
  members who also sit on the
  CM Council at their school site.

95
Forming Site-Based Expert Groups

• As you process your diary, projected, and/or
  essential maps, what do you do when you find
  areas of need or concern?
• Form study groups who will become the experts
• The experts will eventually (based on a
  pre-planned timeline) corporately share their
  study groups insights with the entire staff and
  design an Improvement Plan
• Everyone will need to come to consensus on the
  Implementation Timeline(s), which may have an
  instant, short- or long-term implementation
  process

96
Re-thinking Your
Current Support Structure(s)

• Principal
• Teacher leaders
• Department chairs/grade level leaders
• Building Improvement Teams
• District Improvement Teams
• Technology Support
• Central Office