This book has been written to provide a current, practical, Australian-based approach to designing and developing curriculum. The demands of schools and educational systems today are such that teachers with practical curriculum skills are highly valued and this book provides a vital source for teachers who wish to build their skills in the field of curriculum design and development. The book addresses the needs of curriculum developers by examining the nature of the curriculum process and how it can be applied in schools. A particular strength is the way in which the chapters are structured around a model of curriculum development. As the model unfolds the reader is familiarised with the various elements of curriculum including situational analysis, intent, content, learning activities and evaluation. Teachers will appreciate the value of understanding these elements and in so doing will acquire valuable skills of curriculum design and development. A feature of this book is that it addresses the issues of curriculum implementation and curriculum change. To devise a curriculum document in these times is tough enough. Those who wish to see their curricula succeed must be involved with implementing that curriculum and the curriculum change that results. This important new book is particularly appropriate to classroom teachers, system developers and student teachers studying curriculum.

Curriculum and curriculum issues are at the heart of current debates about schooling, pedagogy and learning. This book will enable practitioners, scholars and academics to understand how to re-design or to suggest changes to curriculum structure, shape and content. Grounded in theory and philosophy, the book also offers practical help in grasping this controversial area. Inside, the authors: provide practical planning templates support and provoke analysis, discussion and experimentation include definitions of key terms and reflective questions incorporate practical examples and case material based on their work worldwide on curriculum design and evaluation.

What is understanding and how does it differ from knowledge? How can we determine the big ideas worth understanding? Why is understanding an important teaching goal, and how do we know when students have attained it? How can we create a rigorous and engaging curriculum that focuses on understanding and leads to improved student performance in today's high-stakes, standards-based environment? Authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe answer these and many other questions in this second edition of Understanding by Design. Drawing on feedback from thousands of educators around the world who have used the UbD framework since its introduction in 1998, the authors have greatly revised and expanded their original work to guide educators across the K-16 spectrum in the design of curriculum, assessment, and instruction. With an improved UbD Template at its core, the book explains the rationale of backward design and explores in greater depth the meaning of such key ideas as essential questions and transfer tasks. Readers will learn why the familiar coverage- and activity-based approaches to curriculum design fall short, and how a focus on the six facets of understanding can enrich student learning. With an expanded array of practical strategies, tools, and examples from all subject areas, the book demonstrates how the research-based principles of Understanding by Design apply to district frameworks as well as to individual units of curriculum. Combining provocative ideas, thoughtful analysis, and tested approaches, this new edition of Understanding by Design offers teacher-designers a clear path to the creation of curriculum that ensures better learning and a more stimulating experience for students and teachers alike.

Crystal-clear and comprehensive yet concise, this text describes the steps involved in the curriculum design process, elaborates and justifies these steps, and provides opportunities for practicing and applying them. The description of the steps is done at a general level so that they can be applied in a wide range of particular circumstances. The process comes to life through plentiful examples of actual applications of the steps. Each chapter includes: examples from the authors’ experience and from published research tasks that encourage readers to relate the steps to their own experience case studies and suggestions for further reading that put readers in touch with others’ experience Curriculum, or course, design is largely a 'how-to-do-it' activity that involves the integration of knowledge from many of the areas in the field of Applied Linguistics, such as language acquisition research, teaching methodology, assessment, language description, and materials production. Combining sound research/theory with state-of-the-art practice, Language Curriculum Design is widely applicable for ESL/EFL language education courses around the world.

Research-based course design involves processes of needs assessment, course development and testing. This book presents a curriculum design study in the field of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) which aims to link curriculum theory to educational practice through research-oriented course development activities. It is a practical guide for teachers and curriculum designers primarily in languages, but also provides perspectives into curriculum design processes in other areas.

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The need for a cohesive and comprehensive curriculum that intentionally connects standards, instruction, and assessment has never been more pressing. For educators to meet the challenging learning needs of students they must have a clear road map to follow throughout the school year. Rigorous Curriculum Design presents a carefully sequenced, hands-on model that curriculum designers and educators in every school system can follow to create a progression of units of study that keeps all areas tightly focused and connected.

This book presents an ambitious model for how educators can design high-quality, challenging, and supportive learning opportunities for English Learners and other students identified to be in need of language and literacy support. Starting with the premise that conceptual, analytic, and language practices develop simultaneously as students engage in disciplinary learning, the authors argue for instruction that amplifies—rather than simplifies—expectations, concepts, texts, and learning tasks. The authors offer clear guidance for designing lessons and units and provide examples that demonstrate the approach in various subject areas, including math, science, English, and social studies. This practical resource will guide teachers through the coherent design of tasks, lessons, and units of study that invite English Learners (and all students) to engage in productive, meaningful, and intellectually engaging activity. “This book offers the most detailed guide available for designing instruction for students categorized as ELLs. Theoretically grounded and informed by years of implementation and study, this work is without equal in the field. I recommend the book enthusiastically as required reading in all teacher preparation programs.” —Guadalupe Valdés, Bonnie Katz Tenenbaum Professor of Education, Stanford Graduate School of Education “Reflecting its title, this book is an amplification of what it means to provide the best learning opportunities for English Language learners. Drawing on classroom-based research, Amplifying the Curriculum offers many practical examples of intellectually engaging units and tasks. This innovative book belongs on the bookshelves of all teachers.” —Pauline Gibbons, UNSW Sydney “This timely book is a call to educators across the nation to integrate language, literacy, and disciplinary knowledge to improve the education of our new American students.” —Tatyana Kleyn, The City College of New York

With the publication of the National Science Education Standards and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, a clear set of goals and guidelines for achieving literacy in mathematics and science was established. Designing Mathematics or Science Curriculum Programs has been developed to help state- and district-level education leaders create coherent, multi-year curriculum programs that provide students with opportunities to learn both mathematics and science in a connected and cumulative way throughout their schooling. Researchers have confirmed that as U.S. students move through the grade levels, they slip further and further behind students of other nations in mathematics and science achievement. Experts now believe that U.S. student performance is hindered by the lack of coherence in the mathematics and science curricula in many American schools. By structuring curriculum programs that capitalize on what students have already learned, the new concepts and processes that they can learn will be richer, more complex, and at a higher level. Designing Mathematics or Science Curriculum Programs outlines: Components of effective mathematics and science programs. Criteria by which these components can be judged. A process for developing curriculum that is structured, focused, and coherent. Perhaps most important, this book emphasizes the need for designing curricula across the entire 13-year span that our children spend in elementary and secondary school as a way to improve the quality of education. Ultimately, it will help state and district educators use national and state standards to design or re-build mathematics and science curriculum programs that develop new ideas and skills based on earlier onesâ€"from lesson to lesson, unit to unit, year to year. Anyone responsible for designing or influencing mathematics or science curriculum programs will find this guide valuable.