In my last post, I discussed the distinction between a school's curriculum and its textbooks. The curriculum is the content of what the school teaches, while the textbooks are tools used to teach that curriculum. It's similar to the distinction between the subject of a photograph (a landscape, for example) and the tools used to produce that photograph (a particular brand of camera, for example).
So how does a school go about designing a curriculum? Multitudes of books have been written about this, but let me summarize the steps I have used in the various schools with which I have been involved. I'll use the math curriculum as an example.
First, we set forth our philosophy of the subject. We produce a statement which outlines a Christian perspective on mathematics in general, and then summarizes a Christian approach to math education (how the Bible applies to the methods we use to teach math). This document provides the bedrock, the foundation, for all other work we do. It will guide us as we decide what is important in math and as we work that out into textbook analysis.
Second, we develop standards and goals for the subject. What do we want students to learn about math? What level of proficiency should they have at the various grade levels? This also includes, to some degree, a scope and sequence - what do we teach in each grade level? It is helpful here to examine existing sets of standards, such as the Common Core State Standards (gasp!) and standards established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Do we slavishly follow those standards? Of course not - each school needs to determine what it is going to teach students. But if the general math-teaching world says, for example, that first-graders should be able to add two-digit numbers together, then we should seriously consider that for our own school. If we do something different, we need to be able to explain why we are taking a different approach. If there are valid reasons for having different standards and goals, that's fine - we just need to take a well-reasoned, informed position.
Finally, we examine textbooks. But notice that this is the last step in the process. We take our philosophy of math instruction and the standards we have established and we then examine existing textbooks to see which ones best align with those statements. There is going to be some give-and-take here. When we look at textbooks, we might see that none of them teach two-digit addition in first grade, but that most of them teach factoring of polynomial equations in first grade. So we could reconsider and change our standards if we believe that would, in fact, be a better approach. But the main thing is that the textbooks do not ultimately determine our goals, but the goals we select need to govern our textbook selection.
As I said, there is a lot that goes into this whole process, and I hope I haven't gotten too much into the weeds here! But I think it's helpful for all of us involved in education to think clearly about curriculum design.
So how does a school go about designing a curriculum? Multitudes of books have been written about this, but let me summarize the steps I have used in the various schools with which I have been involved. I'll use the math curriculum as an example.
First, we set forth our philosophy of the subject. We produce a statement which outlines a Christian perspective on mathematics in general, and then summarizes a Christian approach to math education (how the Bible applies to the methods we use to teach math). This document provides the bedrock, the foundation, for all other work we do. It will guide us as we decide what is important in math and as we work that out into textbook analysis.
Second, we develop standards and goals for the subject. What do we want students to learn about math? What level of proficiency should they have at the various grade levels? This also includes, to some degree, a scope and sequence - what do we teach in each grade level? It is helpful here to examine existing sets of standards, such as the Common Core State Standards (gasp!) and standards established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Do we slavishly follow those standards? Of course not - each school needs to determine what it is going to teach students. But if the general math-teaching world says, for example, that first-graders should be able to add two-digit numbers together, then we should seriously consider that for our own school. If we do something different, we need to be able to explain why we are taking a different approach. If there are valid reasons for having different standards and goals, that's fine - we just need to take a well-reasoned, informed position.
Finally, we examine textbooks. But notice that this is the last step in the process. We take our philosophy of math instruction and the standards we have established and we then examine existing textbooks to see which ones best align with those statements. There is going to be some give-and-take here. When we look at textbooks, we might see that none of them teach two-digit addition in first grade, but that most of them teach factoring of polynomial equations in first grade. So we could reconsider and change our standards if we believe that would, in fact, be a better approach. But the main thing is that the textbooks do not ultimately determine our goals, but the goals we select need to govern our textbook selection.
As I said, there is a lot that goes into this whole process, and I hope I haven't gotten too much into the weeds here! But I think it's helpful for all of us involved in education to think clearly about curriculum design.