KARLEY JONES EDU 511 Curriculum Analysis Presentation

Curriculum Philadelphia Public Schools- Elementary (K-8) Literacy, Math, Science, and Social Studies Selected Grade Level: 1 st grade Math “Good Instruction is the Best Test Preparation”

Foundations: Letter to Colleagues There was a letter addressed to the colleagues to inform them of how the curriculum was chosen and what resources will be used for instruction. It also stated that there are some changes with Year at a Glance but it still continues to high light objectives and teaching goals. No explanation of how curriculum was chosen Learning session 1 says curriculum is a collection of decisions regarding: Selection, Ordering, Emphases, Breath of treatment of the chosen content elements, Assessment of the selected content

Foundations: PST and YAG PST- Planning and Scheduling Timeline: ~breakdown of what is going to be taught and when YAG- Year at a Glance: ~summary and overview of the entire year which are broken into four cycles tied to McGraw-Hill Everyday Mathematics. In addition, teachers will incorporate Best Practice Suggestions and Multicultural Activities

Foundations: Developers Who is involved in the Planning and Scheduling Timeline (PST)? ~Superintendent ~Associate Superintendent ~School Reform Commission Learning Session 2: Evelyn Sowell (1996) Remove the dividing lines between the disciplines. Problems that need to be solved require information from people with diverse kinds of academic training.

Organization Learning Session 3: Standards-based curriculum  Establish clear statements about what students should learn  Develop valid and reliable assessment systems that can determine that desired learning has occurred. Overview of Mathematics Assessment Anchors Year at a Glance Planning and Scheduling Timeline

Organization Overview of Mathematics Assessment Anchors

Organization Year at a Glance 4 cycles: Number & Operations, Measurement, Geometry, Algebra, and Data Analysis/Probability Dates Days Units Lessons Assessment Cycle Midpoint

Organization Planning and Scheduling Timeline: “Good Instruction is the Best Test Preparation” During this cycle, the goal of my teaching is that students will learn... Cycles 1-4 Teaching Objective Content/Performance Descriptor(s) Pennsylvania Standard Statement Textual References Structured Lessons

Organization Cycle Schedule Supports for 21 st Century Learning Sample Assessment Items PSSA Connection to “what I will teach” Part-to-Whole Sequencing Learning Session 5: Academic subject design  The organization is strictly by subject matter and is subject- centered

Content The content is appropriate for student needs Includes 21 st Century Skills Applies to real life

Content Learning Session 4: Serves as a curriculum map:  Academic Content Standards  Enduring Understandings (The students will understand that…)  Essential Questions -encourages higher-level thinking in the assessment questions  Content Concepts- provides a clear vision of what content will be taught  Skills- shows what students need to know in order to demonstrate mastery or understanding of the content  Assessments- provides sample assessment questions  Learning activities- provides students with opportunities to master skills  Resources- provides a list of resources for each piece of content

Assessment This curriculum addresses very specific pieces of information of assessment by showing samples of what it looks like For each skill, an assessment example is provided Majority are multiple choice However, there is still hands-on learning that is required in order to answer correctly Formative assessments

Critique Learning Activities and Experiences:  Although the curriculum is aligned with PA’s content standards, the learning activities and experiences do not allow each student to learn in their own way.  The pace does not allow students to fall behind which is unrealistic  I am wondering if there is a special education program or a special curriculum for those students who need extra help Learning Session 6: Objective-based Tests- Learning objectives are developed and aligned with tests that measure the objectives.

Critique How does it cater to our Digital Natives? ~resources are provided which are technological and online Learning Session 7: Marc Prensky stated “…the single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age) are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language.” This curriculum requires ALL teachers no matter what generation they come from to use 21 st century based skills.

Conclusion Philadelphia Public School System seems to provide teachers, administrators, and all other colleagues with a great amount of information to work with Their curriculum seems up-to-date with technology advances, fits all student needs and learning styles, and builds off of what students know to prepare them for what is next.