Prior to my 2285 experience, my understanding of curriculum development was based on my first year teaching Kindergarten with a lot of support from my grade level team. We'd all meet once a month to share resources, which for me meant being handed exemplars for a ton of activities and fed explanations of how to make them, with no connections to any standards. Whenever I asked about using standards, my mentor would tell me, "You have enough on your plate. Basically everything you do in Kindergarten addresses a standard--you can worry about that later." I would see references to standards in the other teachers' lesson plans and newsletters, and the "power standards" were posted in my room, but I was intimidated by the vast number of the standards and confounded by their abstruse diction. I certainly had no idea how to connect them to learning other than to take an activity and try to match it to a standard. While the team employed a global thematic approach tied to the seasons and holidays, I felt that I never had a big picture of what I was doing. I'd choose a picture book for the week, plan activities around it, and write about them in my newsletter. I'd draw smileys on the children's work when they were done and, perceived of assessment primarily as a an evaluation of learning in order collect information to shape my teaching or to impart to parents.
In my process, I improved in my abilities to extract meaning from the state standards and to use them as the linchpin to my curricular axle. I came to perceive the integral place of assessment for learning and assessment as learning within a curriculum; and I improved in my ability to collaborate using the internet.
In my process I realized that as a learner, I am motivated by the knowledge that my work will be public and that I find models to be helpful referents.
Given the process I have been through, and what I've experienced in reflecting on myself as a learner, the following objectives will guide me in my next phase as a curriculum developer:
learn how to develop rubrics the children can use to assess their own work
learn how to incorporate and record ongoing informal assessment efficiently and effectively
develop a critique center
discuss use of portfolios with colleagues
collect samples of children's work to use as models
In my process, I improved in my abilities to extract meaning from the state standards and to use them as the linchpin to my curricular axle. I came to perceive the integral place of assessment for learning and assessment as learning within a curriculum; and I improved in my ability to collaborate using the internet.
In my process I realized that as a learner, I am motivated by the knowledge that my work will be public and that I find models to be helpful referents.
Given the process I have been through, and what I've experienced in reflecting on myself as a learner, the following objectives will guide me in my next phase as a curriculum developer: