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A Guide to Curriculum Mapping
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A Guide to Curriculum Mapping
Planning, Implementing, and Sustaining the Process

Foreword by Heidi Hayes Jacobs



December 2007 | 328 pages | Corwin

"With imagination and serious reflection, the author has generated a detailed resource with exercises, worksheets, staff development activities, and sample maps to assist any staff developer or curriculum designer. This book particularly connects to those who are at the beginning levels of their mapping journey."
—From the Foreword by Heidi Hayes Jacobs

A step-by-step guide to successful curriculum mapping initiatives!

While curriculum mapping is recognized as a highly effective method for serving students' ongoing instructional needs and creating systemic change, the means for putting this data-based decision-making process into practice may not always be clearly understood. This in-depth resource speaks to teachers and administrators with varying levels of curriculum-mapping experience and describes how teacher groups drive the process by engaging in collaborative inquiry as they review one another's curriculums for gaps, redundancies, and new learning. The collected data assist in designing month-to-month instructional plans for all grade levels and subjects, resulting in a curriculum that is coherent, consistent, and aligned with standards.

Drawing on her experience in working with thousands of educators across the country, Janet A. Hale offers specific steps for coordinating and sustaining strong mapping efforts that become embedded in school culture. The author explores the stages of contemplating, planning, and implementing a curriculum mapping initiative and helps the reader examine critical components that affect a learning organization's progress through each phase. The book presents powerful tools and features that significantly enhance curriculum mapping efforts:

  • Samples of four types of curriculum maps—Diary, Projected, Consensus, and Essential
  • Guidelines for deciding what type of map to use to begin the process
  • Assistance for selecting a Web-based mapping system
  • Reflective questions at the end of each chapter
  • A complete glossary of terms

A Guide to Curriculum Mapping includes extended coverage of the challenges of curriculum mapping, offers encouragement and advice from educators who have successfully implemented a mapping initiative, and provides the necessary clarity to put curriculum mapping into action.


 
List of Figures
 
Foreword by Heidi Hayes Jacobs
 
Preface
A Resource for Teachers and Administrators

 
Overview of the Contents

 
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
1. How Do We Need to Think, Act, and Meet Differently?
Thinking Differently: Planned Versus Operational Curriculum

 
Acting Differently: Verification Versus Speculation

 
Meeting Differently: A Collegial Forum

 
Conclusion

 
Review Questions

 
 
2. What Are the Four Types of Curriculum Maps?
Four Types of Curriculum Maps

 
Curriculum Map Elements: An Overview

 
Conclusion

 
Review Questions

 
 
3. What Should We Consider Before Developing Curriculum Maps?
First Consideration: Exploring Personal and Collaborative Understanding of Curriculum Design

 
Second Consideration: The Ongoing Nature of Mapping Reviews

 
Third Consideration: A Mapping Sequence That Is Right for Your Learning Organization

 
Conclusion

 
Review Questions

 
 
4. What Elements Are Commonly Included in Curriculum Maps?
Curriculum Map Alignments and Elements

 
Writing the Elements

 
Conclusion

 
Review Questions

 
Descriptive or Not Descriptive? That Is the Question! (Math Focus)

 
Descriptive or Not Descriptive? That Is the Question! (Language Arts Focus)

 
Skill Versus Activity (Math Focus: Primary Grades)

 
Skill Versus Activity (Various-Discipline Focus: Upper Grades)

 
Assessment Versus Evaluation

 
 
5. What Should We Know Before Creating Diary Maps or Projected Maps?
Points to Ponder

 
Implementation Considerations

 
Conclusion

 
Sample Projected/Diary Maps

 
Review Questions

 
Conducting an Initial Read-Through: Facilitator Explanation and How-To Guide

 
Conducting an Initial Read-Through: Team Member Explanation and How-To Guide

 
Initial Read-Through: Collaborating to Create Quality Maps

 
Initial Read-Through Card Shuffle Debrief

 
 
6. What Should We Know Before Creating Consensus Maps and Essential Maps?
Map Type Differentiation

 
Developmental Considerations

 
Conclusion

 
Sample Consensus Maps and Essential Maps

 
Review Questions

 
 
7. How Should We Be Using Our Created Curriculum Maps?
Conducting Data-Driven Reviews

 
Investigating the Curriculum

 
Conclusion

 
Review Questions

 
 
8. What Data Is Often Incorporated When Refining Curriculum Maps?
Additional Map Data

 
Essential and Supporting Questions

 
Conclusion

 
Review Questions

 
 
9. How May Standards Influence Our Curriculum Design?
Standards and Curriculum

 
Breaking Apart Standards

 
Determining Power Standards

 
Conclusion

 
Review Questions

 
 
10. What Should We Consider Regarding Technology?
Commercial Online Mapping Systems

 
Mapping System Considerations

 
Conclusion

 
Review Questions

 
 
11. What Should We Focus on When Planning Our Implementation?
Systemic Change and Curriculum Mapping

 
Vision

 
Skills

 
Resources

 
Incentives

 
Action Plans

 
Conclusion

 
Review Task

 
 
12. What Roadblocks and Brick Walls May We Encounter Along the Way?
Practical Advice From Practitioners

 
 
Glossary of Terms
Curriculum Mapping

 
Types of Maps

 
Map Elements

 
Alignments

 
Seven-Step Review Process

 
Common Review Focuses

 
Curriculum Mapping Intra-Organizations

 
Miscellaneous Terms

 
 
References
 
Index

"Curriculum mapping has been a stepping stone for our faculties to become professional learning communities. It has provided a vehicle for our teachers to engage in professional conversations for the benefit of our students. Janet Hale has given us the road map for this journey."

David Woolwine, Associate Superintendent
Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, MO

"Janet Hale has captured the layered foundation of curriculum mapping. She makes the journey through the how’s and what’s of mapping an easier and more understandable experience. This book is a great resource for teachers beginning or already on the path of developing individualized maps."

Donna Bateman, Teacher
Fowler Elementary School District #45, Phoenix, CA

"Provides very practical strategies for designing and implementing a successful curriculum mapping initiative. Hale offers specific illustrations to help move teachers away from writing activities to designing curriculum. The concrete examples included throughout are easy to understand and will be used as guides by our teachers as we move forward with consensus map design."

Jeffrey Dolce, Curriculum and Staff Development Coordinator
Orchard Park Central School District, NY

"An essential, easy-to-follow guidebook. Hale has done an excellent job in outlining the step-by-step process of curriculum mapping. As a classroom teacher, I couldn’t imagine a better tool for planning and implementing my lessons. Curriculum mapping has helped me better plan for instruction and make certain that I have covered the necessary state standards. As I continue my journey on the road to developing more effective maps, this book will be a resource I will refer to and recommend to my colleagues."

Monica Duvall, Fifth-Grade Teacher
Sunridge Elementary School, Phoenix, AZ

"An excellent guide for schools and districts interested in implementing curriculum mapping. The author was honest in her approach, emphasizing that this process is not a 'quick fix' and that key components must be in place for it to be successful. After reading the book, I am ready to 'saddle up' and start preparing for a prologue year."

Vanessa Eugene, Administrator
Dibert Elementary School, New Orleans, LA

“An outstanding survey for putting data-based decision practices into real-world teaching experiences. Hale’s work with thousands of educators offers steps for mapping efforts that can fuel school cultures.”

The Bookwatch, May 2008
Midwest Book Review
Key features
  • Breaks the complex curriculum mapping process down into manageable steps
  • Presents examples of different kinds of curriculum maps
  • Offers flowcharts, figures, and a glossary to help explain the mapping process
  • Includes encouragement and advice from actual teachers and administrators

Sample Materials & Chapters

Foreword by Heidi Hayes Jacobs

Preface


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