Curriculum Design

 I

 Unit: Curriculum

Theme: Curriculum Design


Introduction

 

 Allow me to introduce you to Doug Neill, a curriculum designer who has decided to share publicly his creative process when designing a curriculum. He emphasizes defining and understanding his audience in order to create an empathy map in order to build something useful for them. Based on this, the course material will be not only more meaningful to students, but transforming, consistent and relevant.

 

II

 

Learning Objectives 


III

 

Main Lesson 

 

 1


Curriculum Design Part 1: The High-Level Planning (9:17)

Part 1 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neill’s “Verbal to Visual” series.

Part 1 explores the questions that must be considered prior to detailed curriculum planning: Who’s your audience? What is the transformation sought? What is the mode of this curriculum? Using his own thinking about the “Verbal to Visual” series, Neill models how answers to these questions shape curriculum design.

 

 (1:58 - 8:24)

 The Verbal to Visual Classroom (Adapting it to the Moving Body)

Pieces to Have in Place Before Designing the Curriculum

1.  Understand who is your audience and what sort of situation they are currently in, who your students are and where they are in their particular stage of development.

2. What is the transformation that those students (your audience) will go through as a result of engaging with this curriculum you are designing.

3. What is the container for this curriculum (are writing a book?; are you teaching in a high school semester long class? are you producing a set of online videos? Thus, understand the container or context surrounding the learning experience.

 

 Question 1

1. When planning on writing your own  curriculum:

Who’s your audience? 

What is the transformation sought? 

What is the mode of this curriculum? 

 

2

Curriculum Design Part 2: The Clothesline Method (6:59)

Part 2 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neill’s “Verbal to Visual” series. 

Part 2 shows how Steven Pressman’s “Clothesline Method” can be used to sequence and plan learning activities to effect transformation and support curriculum goals. Neal emphasizes the creative potential and inherent flexibility of this method.

 

(0:30 - 4:29)

Curriculum Desing / Part 2: The Clothsline Method 

Step 1

a. Where students art at

b. Transformation

c.Where you want them to end

Step 2

a. Add some depth (details) to each unit (explain what will happen in each of them).

b. Fell free to move ideas around

c. Plan the mechanics of the course


Question 2

 

2. In which way is Neill's method creative?

 

3


Curriculum Design Part 3: Producing The Material

Part 3 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neal’s “Verbal to Visual” series.

Part 3 details a visual note-taking technique for creating course materials based on “empathy maps” of  students and their learning needs.



(0:40 - 2:11)

 

 

Producing the Learning Materials

 

Creating the empathy map

 

 

 Question 3

 

 3. Why are empathy maps important to develop the curriculum?

 

4

 

Curriculum Design Part 4: Iterate Over Time (8:36)

Part 4 of 4 episodes on Curriculum Design in Doug Neal’s “Verbal to Visual” series.

Part 4 reflects on how to make effective adjustments and improvements to curriculums over time.


 

 

 

Students gather in groups and discuss the article "Elementary Education." (10 main groups: 1) History of, 2) Colonial Period, 3) Early National Period, 4) Public Schools, 5 & 6) The Common School, 7) African American, Native American & Non-Public, 8) Goals, 9) Curriculum & Organization, 10) Standards


Question 4


4. Why are adjustments and improvements to the curriculum necessary?

 

IV

A Note to Remember

 The curriculum has to reflect the mores, values and principles of the community for which it is developed. The “Clothesline Method” can be used to sequence and plan learning activities to effect transformation and support curriculum goals. One way of putting this into practice is by creating empathy maps, which allow us to know our students' needs. Since the curriculum is a living document, improvements and adjustments should be made to make it current.


V

Case Study

 

 Collaboration Days for Curriculum Design



 

VII

Discussion Questions

 

1. When planning on writing your own  curriculum:

Who’s your audience? 

What is the transformation sought? 

What is the mode of this curriculum? 

2. In which way is Neal's method creative?

3. Why are empathy maps important to develop the curriculum? 

4. Why are adjustments and improvements to the curriculum necessary?

 

VIII

Activity

 

 Share your work with the rest of the class. Create your group portfolio and create your first post.


IX

Journaling

 

X

Glossary

 

mores 

empathy maps


 

XI


Sources

 

Elementary Education  

https://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1950/Elementary-Education.html

 

XII

 

Students' Work 

1

Janice, Gema, Krystelle, Laralyn

1. When planning on writing your own curriculum:

Who’s your audience? 

  • Special education 3rd graders from Hoboken, New Jersey.

What is the transformation sought? 

  • We want them to learn new and healthy ways in which they can fully express themselves. It is typically harder for special education students to express themselves and communiate with others.

What is the mode/container of this curriculum? 

  • We will be offer this curriculum in a public school for the entire academic year. We would make picture books that teachers can use to structure their lesson plans and make learning more effective within this context.

2. Clothesline

  • They all start in different places and levels due to their disabilities. Esssentially, they would all start off with skill sets regarding expression and communication that are less than ideal.
  • They will end up with effective basic skills for expression and communication.

Iterate over Time

  • Make an adjustment
    • Introduce groups and partner activities earlier.
  • Is it better now?
    • Yes
  • Yes or No?
    • Yes
  • Keep it or ditch it?
    • Keep it 

Group's Portfolio  

https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/7482653368849137802 

 

2

 Paola, Kayla, Gabrielle, Julia 

QUESTION 1

a. We are teaching an after school dance program to elementary children (grades K-2) with little-to-no experience dancing. The intersection will be learners and movers. The school is located in a low-to-middle class area in downtown Miami and is public. 

b. We want our students to be able to learn basic dance techniques (and the history behind it), and learn how to express themselves through dance, in hopes of gaining self-confidence to successfully complete a recital at the end of the course. 

c. We plan to teach a (school) year long course for the after school students in grades K-2. We plan to create YouTube videos so that the students can practice what they learned in class at home. These videos will be completely optional.

Step 1:

a. Our students at the beginning are not aware of how to express themselves using their body, don't have any knowledge of modern dance, and some may be reluctant to dance and performing due to low self-confidence

b. Out students will be exposed to different styles of dance and will have the opportunity to move in a way that is aligned with their current feelings.

c. We want our students to end the course feeling confident with themselves and their dance capabilities. We hope that our students will be able to willingly choose to perform in a recital at the end of the year, and go on to continue to take dance classes in the future. 

Adjustments:

- Make an adjustment --> Is it better now? ---> Yes ---> Keep It ----> Make an adjustment 

                                                               l-------> No -----> Ditch It -----> Make an adjustment 

Group's Portfolio

https://afterschoolelementarydanceprogram.blogspot.com/2023/01/curriculum-planning.html 

 

3 

Maddie, Mickey, Tatiana, Julianna

Question1

1. Understand who is your audience and what sort of situation they are currently in, who your students are and where they are in their particular stage of development. Who is your audience?

   -Public elementary school in Coral Gables focusing on 2nd or 3rd graders. 

   -low/middle income

   -learners

2. What is the transformation that those students (your audience) will go through as a result of engaging with this curriculum you are designing.  What is the transformation sought?

 -more well rounded

 -more confident/be able to express themselves

 -actually learning the material instead of memorizing. It is important to start this at a young age so they can continue to build on their knowledge in the future.

3. What is the container for this curriculum (are writing a book?; are you teaching in a high school semester long class? are you producing a set of online videos? Thus, understand the container or context surrounding the learning experience. What is the mode of this curriculum?

 -more hands on activities (games they like to play or activities they like to do)

 -more group work so they can successfully work with their peers and learn from each-other

Question 2

-Students may start with little peer connection and little confidence in front of their peers. By the end of the course the students hopefully will be confident in expressing themselves in front of their peers and create connections with people around them. 


Adjustments

-Direct class towards what the students like

-Focus on some topics longer if needed

-If they are not cooperating in smaller groups delay until they are ready

 

Group Portfolio 

 https://secondthirdgradedance.blogspot.com/2023/01/planning-our-curriculum.html

 

4

 Dibe, Caro, Nonii, Okera, Calliegh

Audience: High School Dance

Situation: Public School 

Developmental Stage: Mix of advanced students and students below the average skill set

Transformation they will go through: socratic mindfullness - mind body connection, spatial awareness, what feels good and what doesn't

Context: Arts elective classes

Things to do: Do a survey to see what the students want to get out of the class - see what they like and how to make it meaningful for them 

Transformation: to push yourself out of your comfort zone with movement 

Producing materials:

empathy map

- feelings: teen angst, hormonal, resistant, rebelious, insecure, prideful

- thinking: think they are adults but everyone treats them like children, judgy towards others and themselves,

- seeing: what they should look like and live like - social media, trying to fit in, seek validation, want to be a part of something

- hearing: grow up, need to go to college, what their future needs to look like

- saying: tik tok quotes, mean things, inappropriate things, selfdepricating things, fears

 

 Reflection

What to do if it doesn't work: 

If it doesn't work you need to think about how to make it better for the students. They need to feel comfortable to express themselves and feel safe in the environment so you need to fix what is happening that is making them upset so you can make their experience a good one. 


Group's Blog

https://dconc.blogspot.com/2023/01/130.html 

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