Curriculum+Mapping+Approach

__**Curriculum Mapping Approach**__

__Description of the Approach__:

Curriculum mapping is a process that was developed in 1979 to discern the //actual// as opposed to the //desired// curricula being employed in schools. The Curriculum Mapping is based on the recognition that the curriculum act as a plan for teachers to follow. Mapping allows teachers to capture, in real time, what happens in their classrooms. With this information, groups of teachers (and ultimately the whole faculty) can meet to see where content and skills overlap or are missing, remove redundancies, create more meaningful vertical and horizontal curriculum plans, and identify opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration.

The procedure for creating the maps: 1. collecting the data 2. the first read-through 3. mixed-group review session 4. large group review 5. determination of areas for immediate revision 6. identification of areas that will require longer-term research and development 7. "rinse and repeat" -- repeat the review cycle

Once maps are created, analyzing the maps for next steps follows these steps: 1. reading the maps to gain information 2. identifying gaps 3. identifying repetitions 4. identifying potential areas for interdisciplinary study 5. matching assessments with standards 6. reviewing for timeliness and to keep material up-to-date

(From Hayes-Jacobs, H. (1997). Procedures for curriculum mapping. In //Mapping the big picture: Integrating curriculum & assessment K-12//, pp. 7-16. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.) (From Hayes-Jacobs, H. (1997). Reviewing, analyzing, and developing curriculum maps. In //Mapping the big picture: Integrating curriculum & assessment K-12//, pp. 17-23. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.)

__Information Resources__: Hale, J. A. (2007). //A guide to curriculum mapping: Planning, implementing, and sustaining the process.// Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Hayes-Jacobs, H. and Johnson, A. (2009). //The curriculum mapping planner: Templates, tools, and resources for effective professional development.// Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

__Strategies and Ideas for Implementation__: Clear communication from the outset will be essential. The usefulness of the maps as tools for creating a better curriculum to better serve the students needs to be communicated loudly and clearly.

Teachers need to understand what's expected of them, and having them look at sample maps will help. (I can attest first-hand that this is critical; our first year of mapping at our school was a disaster. We had no idea what our maps were supposed to look like and every teacher spent untold hours each week on his/her map. As a result, I now find myself, seven years later, finally understanding what my map needs to communicate, and I need to start over almost completely from scratch. But I'm looking forward to having a viable, useful map in the end.)

Teachers also need to understand the timeframe involved. Mapping can turn into an insurmountable "time-eater" if clear timetables aren't set.

It is also important for teachers to understand that the map is a snapshot of what's happening in their classroom in a given year; it is not an axe to be wielded to get them fired.

Time needs to be devoted to this project, preferably carved out of existing faculty meeting time in order to keep teachers from feeling that the map is not just another administrative paperwork burden on them.

Teachers need to understand that the more compnoents within the map the more time and more content there is going to be within the lessons.

My school uses the curriculum mapping approach along with the learning focus strategies. I think the two go hand in hand. Curriculum maps are designed to assist us in our teaching. I love curriculum maps they show us what our students need to learn and they give us what content is important to cover. I think it is what teachers need. The maps act as a guide to what we need to be teaching within our classroom and it gives us a timeline. I thinks this essures us that not only ar teachers within your school covering the same content, if a student transfers to your school that if we are all using curriculum maps then their school should also be taching somewhere about what we are teaching.

- My school uses the curriculum mapping approach, but I don't know that we've ever actually gone through the steps as listed here as an activity, or maybe I wasn't completely aware of what we were doing when we were doing it. As we worked on our curriculum mapping we did align tasks to standards and while our maps are useful, they aren't really used as effectively as they need to be. In addition to a general curriculum map, we had to put together a 180-day plan where we were supposed to lay out what we do on each day of the school year, to ensure we are covering all standards.

One area where we fall down is in revising and updating our maps regularly. I think that meeting on the maps even quarterly would be a good thing because each year, things change based on our current students. What worked one year may not work the next and so our curriculum maps need to be fluid enough to account for that variation. Additionally, teachers need to be given direction with curriculum maps and have them and the process explained to them as they work on them.

I'd also like to see curriculum mapping at my school take a more interdisciplinary approach. There are a number of opportunities, especially within reading and language, for classes to work together to achieve a goal. We need to have flexibility within our maps to create and plan those interdisicplinary units that would strengthen understanding in all areas that are combined. There are ample opporunities in the reading curriculum that could tie into the science and social studies curriculums and teachers could help students see those links. Our school needs to take a look at our curriculum maps and find those areas and bring them together.

__Additional Resources__ English, F. W. (2006). Curriculum mapping. //Encyclopedia of Educational Leadership and Administration//. Retrieved March 22, 2010, from @http://www.sage-ereference.com/edleadership/Article_n155.html

Curriculum Mapping Resources: Greece Central School System: []

Least Tern (2003). Curriculum Mapping PowerPoint: []