Curriculum and Differentiation
Research (including Wiggins and McTighe Backward Mapping by Design) suggests that curriculum should, at the very least, have 3 fundamental attributes;
- Goal Clarity. This is specifying precisely what we want students to know, understand, and be able to do as a result of participating in those segments of learning (KUDs).
- Focus on Understanding
- Engagement
Goal Clarity
What are KUDs?
KUDs mean:
- Facts
- Dates
- Definitions
- Rules
- Equations
- People
- Places
- Vocabulary Information
2. Students will UNDERSTAND that: (best stated as a sentence which includes concept-based thought)
- Essential questions Theories “Big” ideas
- Important generalizations
- Thesis-like statements
3. Students will be able to DO: (represented with verbs)
- Basic skills
- Communication
- Planning/Organisation
- Thinking skills
- Evaluation
- Working collaboratively
- Skills of the discipline: mapping, graphing, collecting data
Understanding vs. Knowledge
Essential Understandings
- Open; arguable
- Thought-provoking
- Higher order
- Require support
- Recur, possibly in other subject areas
Knowledge
- One right answer
- Factual
- Definition
- Prompt recall or the noticing “the” answer
- Meant to efficiently answered
Engagement
Proving is good, improving is better (James Nottingham) Provide a curriculum that is engaging.
Phil Schlechty (1997) even though this research is now considered older research, I believe it hit the nail on the head in terms of engagement:
He says that the first job of schools (and the 2nd and the 3rd) is to produce curriculum that is so engaging for students that they keep working even when the going gets tough, and that results in a sense of satisfaction and even delight when they accomplish what the work asks of them.
Consider – how are we developing ‘GRIT’ in the classroom, how are we developing ‘STICKABILITY’, how are we developing ‘RESILIENCE’?
An approach – Nottingham’s
Ready – now a short intro. Just enough to try it out. The bare bones. Fire – 1st attempt. 1st try
Aim – do you have a safe environment. What mistakes? Share work. What lead to that? What’s happening
Research – Designing for Productive Failure
- Direct Instructional Groups
- Productive Failure Groups (PFG) (Ready, Aim, Fire)
Teaching Up
In addition to: goal clarity, a focus on understanding, and the ability to engage students, quality curriculum has one additional characteristic that aligns with a sound philosophy of differentiation: the principle of “teaching up”.
When designing a task addressing students’ readiness, a teacher must decide on a starting point.
- Is it best to plan for the typical, grade level student? Then differentiate either side?
- Is it best to plan for those who struggle and then enrich the others?
- The most powerful option is to plan by developing tasks that will invigorate students who are advanced and then differentiate by providing scaffolding for others to work successfully in the advanced-level task.