Master's Notes Unit 3

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Western Governors University *

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Jan 9, 2024

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Understanding the characteristics and benefits of an aligned curriculum is critical for you as an administrator, curriculum developer, or classroom teacher. One distinct advantage of an aligned curriculum is the impact on student achievement. In this module, you will learn that developing an aligned curriculum depends on understanding how the curriculum is aligned to the standards and the instruction. You will also learn how the types of alignment, external and internal, support the alignment of the curriculum with instruction. As you complete this module, consider the following questions: What are the characteristics of a coherent, aligned curriculum? What are the characteristics of an incoherent curriculum? What is the difference between external and internal alignment? Benefits and Characteristics of a Coherent Curriculum Describing and identifying the characteristics of a coherent, aligned curriculum provides educators a foundation to achieve true alignment in the curriculum. As you read the definition of coherent curriculum from The Glossary of Education Reform and watch the video "Aligning Curriculum within and across Grades" (7:29) below from Teaching Channel, reflect on how aligned curriculum can benefit your students. As you learn about the benefits and characteristics of a coherent curriculum, consider the following questions: Would you describe your curriculum as coherent or incoherent? How are your students benefiting from (or how could they benefit from) a coherent curriculum? An Aligned Curriculum Determining the degree to which curriculum is aligned is an integral step in improving curriculum alignment. One of the characteristics of an aligned curriculum is that it addresses the skills of standards required for students. " Consideration 2: Alignment to Standards " from Ensuring High- Quality Curriculum: How to Design, Revise, or Adopt Curriculum Aligned to Student Success presents a framework used to evaluate the degree of curriculum alignment. Another aspect of curriculum alignment is an awareness of external and internal alignment. Understanding the purpose and importance of these two types of alignment helps educators effectively evaluate and design curriculum. Read pages 51–53 ("Alignment" to the end of "Internal Alignment") in Chapter 4 of Meeting Standards Through Integrated Curriculum to learn more about this type of alignment.
As you read these selections, consider the following: What are the different degrees of alignment (i.e., weakly aligned, moderately aligned, or strongly aligned)? What is the difference between internal and external alignment? Curriculum Alignment and Student Achievement Can the alignment of the curriculum improve student achievement? " Curriculum Alignment Research Suggests That Alignment Can Improve Student Achievement " from The Clearing House shows a relationship between taught curriculum and tested curriculum. As you read this article, consider how the findings in this study support your understanding of the benefits of an aligned curriculum. Understanding how to interpret state and national standards is fundamental to understanding how to teach content to students. The information in this section will present strategies to interpret and analyze standards by identifying their parts and describing how the pieces fit together. This information is important because curriculum leaders, administrators, and teachers are required to ensure curriculum alignment. Knowing how to proficiently analyze standards and determine learning targets is essential for achieving positive student learning outcomes. Consider these questions while reading this section: What is the process of deconstructing or unpacking a standard? What are the parts of a standard, and how do they fit together? Interpreting and Analyzing Standards The ability to interpret standards requires knowing how to analyze standards. Pages 55– 56 from Meeting Standards Through Integrated Curriculum provides a framework for analyzing existing standards. The framework for analyzing standards introduced in this section involves identifying the nouns, verbs, attitudes, or beliefs to determine the intent of the standard. As you read, specifically focus on the process used to unpack the standard, and consider the following: How does unpacking standards help identify what students should know and be able to do? How can a know/do/be chart help you in unpacking the standards you teach? Unpacking Standards Unpacking a standard is often done with a team of teachers. "Best Practices: Unpacking Standards" (4:04) from Fairfax County Public Schools shows how a group of teachers works on aligning instruction to standards.
As you watch the video, consider the following questions: How can you collaborate with your peers to interpret the standards in your content area? What method do the teachers use in the video to interpret the standards? Deconstructing the Standards When standards are effectively analyzed, the alignment of the curriculum is better supported. Review the steps in the tool "Deconstructing Standards Practice" from Educational Impact, which you can use in your own practice to interpret standards. As you read through the steps, compare the steps to the previous process described in this section. Review each step in the process, practicing deconstructing standards as you do so. As you review these pages, consider the following questions: How does this compare to the process you have used in the past to interpret standards? How can effectively deconstructing the standards help your students? Teachers play a critical role in horizontal and vertical curriculum alignment. Teachers must have in-depth knowledge of their curriculum, an understanding of the grades or courses above and below their own grade, and a familiarity with the material taught by colleagues. Knowledge of connections between standards and subjects facilitates effective planning for student progress. Consider the following questions as you explore the readings and videos: How well are your lessons aligned to standards, objectives, and assessments? What are the characteristics of horizontal and vertical alignment? How can you collaborate with your peers to ensure alignment? Horizontal and Vertical Curriculum Alignment Why are vertical curriculum alignment and horizontal curriculum alignment critical? Watch "Horizontal and Vertical Curriculum Alignment" (5:09) below from The Teaching Channel . Consider the need to align the curriculum while viewing the video, and observe the role of coaches and best practices in facilitating the alignment process. Consider the following questions while viewing the video: How does curriculum alignment benefit both educators and students? What is the role of coaches in the process? How do teachers in the video create a safe space for open dialogue and collaboration? Vertical Alignment
The alignment of district curriculum to state standards is vital. Vertical alignment is needed to ensure the teaching in each classroom allows students to meet the standards and succeed on corresponding assessments as they progress through the grade levels. Read " Vertical Alignment: Ensuring Opportunity to Learn in a Standards-Based System " from the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement to learn more about vertical alignment. As you read the article, consider the following questions: How does your district currently implement vertical alignment practices? How can you facilitate critical conversations among colleagues as part of the vertical alignment process? What barriers do you encounter when performing vertical alignment activities? Performing a Vertical and Horizontal Scan Now that you have read about vertical and horizontal alignment, and the benefits of ensuring curriculum is aligned, read about how to conduct a review of curriculum to ensure it is aligned. " Step-by- Step Vertical Alignment " from Maneuvering the Middle provides steps for conducting a vertical scan of a curriculum. Horizontal scans are completed to ensure that what you are teaching aligns with what other same-grade teachers are teaching at your school and district. The " Elementary – Kindergarten Horizontal Alignment Planning Guide " from Houston Independent School District shows how kindergarten teachers in this district record their horizontal alignment for reference throughout the year. As you read these articles, consider the following: What are the steps in conducting vertical and horizontal alignment scans? What are the benefits of these scans for the teachers and the students? This example shows how a teacher might perform a scan using colors to indicate alignment.
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