A Successful Curriculum Mapping Initiative An Administrative Perspective Debra J. Sheard, Ed.D.

What is Mapping?  Calendar based curriculum mapping is a procedure for collecting a data base of the operational curriculum in a school or district.  It provides the basis for authentic examination of that data base.  It replaces curriculum committees with a site based cabinet.

Essential Questions  How Can Curriculum Mapping Improve Student Performance?  What Are Initial Mapping Tasks?

Essential Components  Time  Training  Goals  Monitoring  Emphasize the professional development aspect of mapping.

Time  Teachers are already overworked  Providing time sends the message that mapping is a priority  Allows teachers to collaborate  Allows administrators to monitor and coach

Time  ~45 min. every 3-4 weeks  Encourage communication and collaboration (“is this skill understandable?”)  Some teachers may leave….mapping may be done at home – if progress is monitored and teachers are held to deadlines.

Training  Teachers need to be trained in the “art” of mapping –How to build an effective curriculum map –Common language so that inter-school maps are understandable by all –Working with skills

Training  Teachers need to understand how mapping improves –Teaching –Learning –Student Performance

Training  Teachers need a common method to incorporate state standards into the maps  Beginning with skills is fundamental  Emphasize that data must be authentic  Remember that maps are fluid and always change to reflect the dynamic curriculum

Obstacles  The skeptic  “My textbook is perfectly good.”  The passive aggressors (“…all standards are covered every month”  The eager but clueless (e.g. maps are verbose restatements of the lesson plan)  “I don’t believe in this method”

Obstacles  “We don’t have time for this”  “We’re already overworked”  “We tried this in the past and it didn’t work”  “This is all very nice, but my weekly lesson plan changes by Wednesday”  “We already know what we’re doing”

Obstacles  “I don’t want anybody telling me what to teach”  The “independent contractor” mentality  Fear of evaluation/punishment  Union / contractual issues  “We don’t have a problem with our curriculum – we’re a good school”

Procedures  PHASE 1: collecting the data  PHASE 2: first read-through  PHASE 3: small mixed group review  PHASE 4: large group comparisons  PHASE 5: determine immediate revision points  PHASE 6: determine points requiring some research and planning  PHASE 7: plan for next review cycle

PHASE 1: Collecting the Data  Each teacher in the building completes a map  The format is consistent for each teacher, but reflects the individual nature of each classroom  Technology simplifies data collection

Collecting Content Data  Types of focus: –Topics –Issues –Works –Problems –Themes  Configuration: –Discipline field based –Interdisciplinary –Student centered

Collecting Skill and Assessment  Enter the skills and assessments FOREGROUNDED for each unit of study or course.  Precision is the key.  Enter skills and assessments that are ongoing through the course of a year.  Portfolio checks  Early Childhood assessments.

PHASE 2: First Read-Through  Each teacher reads the entire school map as an editor and carries out the “tasks”.  Places where new information was gained are underlined.  Places requiring potential revision are circled. (repetitions, gaps, etc.)

PHASE 3: Mixed Small Group  Groups of 5 to 8 faculty members are formed.  Groups should be from diverse configurations (I.e. different grade levels and departments)  The goal is to simply share individual findings.  No revisions are suggested.

PHASE 4: Large Group Review  All faculty members come together and examine the compilation of findings from the smaller groups.  Session is facilitated by principal and/or teacher leader.

PHASE 5: Determine areas for immediate revision  The faculty identifies those areas that can be handled by the site with relative ease.  The specific faculty members involved in those revisions determine a timetable for action.

PHASE 6: Determining those areas requiring long term planning  Faculty members identify those areas that have implications beyond the site with other sites.  Faculty members identify those areas where research is needed.

PHASE 7: The Cycle Continues  The district cabinet meets 3 times annually for review.  Task forces report on their timetables.  The site based council continues its review of the maps through the course of the year and into the next.

Goals  Clear, with deadlines from the start  Don’t overreach – plan on a 3-4 year startup cycle

Goals 1. Create authentic, diary-based maps 2. Create/designate Master Maps as the “ideal” or consensus map for each course/grade/strand 3. Allow public access to master maps (optional) 4. Incorporate standards into the maps 5. Develop essential questions 6. Refine assessments to match skills

Goals – Year 1  Develop accurate, authentic, diary-based maps for each teacher –Focus on clear, assessable skills –If teachers are ready, allow them to integrate standards into their skills  If master curriculum maps exist, these may be entered as well.  Focus on the professional development aspect of mapping – change the paradigm  Work with teachers to create effective maps

Goals – Year 2  Summertime…. –Departments/grade levels/strands meet to analyze existing maps –Compare with master maps (if applicable) –Look for gaps and redundancies –Create (or revise existing) master map to reflect this data (i.e. a data-driven curriculum)

Goals – Year 2  Allow public access to master maps  Teachers continue to build diary-based maps (that can be compared to the master maps at the end of the school year)  A good time to focus on assessment –Are our assessments valid? –An “F” or a Zero –Grading policy –Diverse assessments (learning styles, etc.)

Goals – Year 3  Summertime –Compare diary maps with master maps. Revise master map as needed. –In light of test results, search maps for coverage of standards –Analyze maps for gaps, redundancies

Goals – Year 3  Focus on content  Develop essential questions to guide learning  Teachers should routinely be viewing and searching others’ maps to better plan their curriculum  Teachers continue to build diary-based maps.

Monitoring  Key to keeping mapping efforts on track –Work with individual teachers each month whose maps obviously need work. –Watch not only for “slackers” but especially for those who enter maps consistently that do not communicate effectively –Show maps to students now and then and get feedback –Remove names from some maps and use them as basis for discussion at a faculty meeting.

Monitoring  Teachers need to know that you are reading their maps.  One month, have teachers of different subjects/grades trade maps and read them simply for clarity. “Do I understand what this means?”

Activity and Simulation in Small Groups  What is possible with these data?  What would you be able to do if you had these data?  How would your school be different if you had these data available now?  What are the implications for administrators?  What are the challenges for administrators?

A Successful Curriculum Mapping Initiative An Administrative Perspective Debra J. Sheard, Ed.D.