Teach or aspire to teach.

A curriculum map (or guide) helps to initially frame a course. The mapping process can continue
throughout a semester if a teacher continues to provide updates to reflect what is actually taught. The
video by Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs in the module discusses how this might be accomplished through online
mapping tools that facilitate collaboration across a school.
In this exercise, the overarching goal is to develop a course that challenges students to apply their learning
in ways that promote transfer. This involves designing a performance-based curriculum as articulated by
McTighe and associates, although ideas from the Learning That Transfers course textbook are also highly
relevant. The course should be standards-based, organized around big ideas (e.g., disciplinary literacy
goals), and designed to promote inquiry as students investigate essential questions/problems.
This assignment is inspired by the graduated difficulty strategy from Silver, Strong, and Perini (2008). It
invites you to develop (or refine) a curriculum map, and possibly a blueprint, for a course you currently
teach or aspire to teach. The goal of this exercise is improvement and success will primarily be
measured through reflection and evidence of collaboration. The documents/tools you create (maps,
blueprints) will be submitted as supporting evidence of engagement with the task of curriculum design.
As a result of this exercise, you should be able to:
• identify overarching course transfer goals and strategically plan for instruction that will target
these goals
• prepare a course map that reflects a logical sequence of topics organized into units of
instruction, essential or “compelling” questions, standards, and performance-based
assessments
• apply curriculum design concepts (e.g., backwards-planning, looping, teaching for deep
understandings) while conceptualizing a course
• collaborate with peers to deepen your understanding of design concepts and refine planning
artifacts (as specified by the level selected in the activity)
• reflect on strengths and opportunities for further growth in the design process.
Instructions:
1. Select a desired focus for curriculum design from the options listed below.
• A course in your discipline/subject area at the elementary or secondary level.
• An intervention course to address challenging standards for a particular grade level or band of
grades (e.g., 6-8). This option is best for candidates in the ESOL program or those that have a
special education focus.
• An extended professional development series with a specific purpose (e.g., to support new
teachers). This option might appeal to candidates in the IL program.
• A training course designed to achieve industry standards and/or further a corporate mission (other
non-corporate contexts might apply for this option).
2. Reflect on your level of expertise in designing a course map and blueprint. Then, choose an entry
point for the exercise from the options below. If you find the exercise too easy, you can move up a
level after you get started. If it is too hard, you can also drop a level without penalty.
Level 1 – Beginner design challenge. Create a curriculum map based on one of the templates
provided in the module (see the resources page). If you are preparing a course for a school setting
(P-12), it should cover a semester or school year. This isn’t a pacing guide, so you don’t need to provide dates to correspond with the various topics of instruction. However, you will need
to make some decisions regarding the level of depth required for each topic in order to determine
what might reasonably be taught in the designated timeframe.
The templates are organized into two types (Problem-Based and Concept-Based) with two
versions of each type. Fill out every section on the template you select except the final column
(labeled N/A for Level 1).
Level 2 – Intermediate design challenge. This is the same as Level 1 with the added element of
completing the final column of the template. Work on coming up with transfer tasks or projects
(products, performances) to correspond with your various units. The specific requirements for the
final column will vary slightly depending on the template you select.
Level 3 – Advanced design challenge (for experienced teachers). Revise and upgrade an existing
curriculum map based on design concepts discussed in the course readings and modules. Focus
particularly on integrating high quality essential/compelling questions and performance-based
transfer tasks into the course.
Develop a corresponding curriculum blueprint (1-2 page matrix) that clearly illustrates the
relationship between key course assessments and valued learning goals. The course blueprint
should help you to describe the course to a broader audience and justify design decisions.
Level 4 – All of level 3, plus develop a course trailer video.
3. Collaborate. You will be organized into a small group for collaboration. Most groups will include at
least one practicing teacher and/or teacher leader that can provide mentorship on aspects of the design
process. Additionally, each person will provide their own unique talents and insights.
• Meet in the provided discussion forum. Use the discussion board as the primary space for
collaboration. It is acceptable to follow-up with phone or Zoom conversations, as needed, to
discuss ideas further. However, collaboration beyond the discussion board is optional.
• Provide your group members with some context for your work (e.g., the level you selected,
what is going well, specific areas where you want feedback).
• Share your work by attaching relevant files (curriculum map, blueprint, etc.).
• Contribute to the discussion and provide targeted feedback as requested by your peers.
4. Refine your work. Consider the feedback from classmates in your group and refine your work
accordingly.
Additional things you might consider:
• Does your course integrate the concept of looping to allow students to revisit big
ideas/concepts in greater depth during the semester?
• Does your course provide students with opportunities to demonstrate growth in specific areas
(e.g., disciplinary literacies and/or modern literacies)?
• To what extent do you leverage the learning potential of technology and help students acquire
new technology skills?
• How do you incorporate flexibility in the design to better meet the needs of diverse learners?
• Have you considered any ideas you might have learned from your field experience interviews. Reflect. Write an individual reflection following the prompts below:
• Identify the entry point you selected (Level 1, 2, etc.).
• Provide a description of your curriculum map.
o Discuss strengths and areas that could still be improved
o Explain how you designed aspects of your curriculum map to incorporate
curriculum design concepts discussed in your ED 605 course textbooks and/or
modules. For example, you might discuss how you crafted quality questions to
organize units of instruction.
• Discuss your collaboration on this assignment and what you were able to learn from a
classmate(s).
• Reflect on the design process itself. What went well? What was the most challenging
part of the exercise? What goals can you work towards in the future in order to become
more proficient in conceptualizing courses?
6. Submit your work to the assignment dropbox.
• Upload your reflection as an attached document (MS Word or similar). Spend some time on
this part of the assignment since this is a major way I am evaluating your performance on this
task.
• Upload any products you developed as part of this exercise. This will vary depending on the