Overview
It’s the roadmap. Without a curriculum, a teacher is just a person talking in a room. A good curriculum ensures that students learn the right things in the right order.
Core Idea
Backward Design: Start with the end in mind.
- Identify desired results (What should they know?).
- Determine acceptable evidence (How will I know they know it?).
- Plan learning experiences (How will I teach it?).
Formal Definition (if applicable)
Alignment: The degree to which the learning objectives, assessments, and instructional activities match. If you test on B but taught A, you have poor alignment.
Intuition
Planning a trip.
- Destination: Paris (Objective).
- Evidence: Photos of the Eiffel Tower (Assessment).
- Plan: Buy tickets, pack bags (Instruction).
Examples
- Spiral Curriculum: Revisiting the same topics at increasing levels of complexity over time (Bruner).
- Project-Based Learning (PBL): Learning by doing a big project.
- Common Core: A set of national standards in the US.
Common Misconceptions
- “Curriculum is just the textbook.” (The textbook is a tool; the curriculum is the plan.)
- “Coverage is king.” (Teaching everything shallowly is worse than teaching a few things deeply.)
Related Concepts
- Scope and Sequence: What is taught (scope) and in what order (sequence).
- Hidden Curriculum: The unwritten rules and values students learn (e.g., punctuality, obedience).
- Differentiation: Tailoring instruction to meet individual needs.
Applications
- School Districts: Creating pacing guides.
- Corporate Training: Onboarding new employees.
- Online Courses: Designing a Coursera class.
Criticism / Limitations
Standardized curricula can stifle teacher creativity and ignore local needs.
Further Reading
- Wiggins & McTighe, Understanding by Design
- Tyler, Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction