Letting Students KNOW, DO and BE: Curriculum Development

How can teachers implement a culture of learning and apply 21^st Century skills while still being accountable to formal curriculum?

Accountability is a major aspect of being a teacher. Teachers are not only accountable for WHAT their students learn but also HOW they learn and WHO the students become (the Know, Do and Be). Teachers must keep in mind their accountability to the school board’s regulations, the principal’s expectations, and expectations of the parents of their students, while at the same time they try to facilitate student learning in preparing students to be active citizens with 21^st Century skills.  It can be easy for teachers to be caught up in teaching the goals outlined to them in curriculum documents as a checklist they must get through in the short amount of time they have to teach each unit. This however makes education linear, and students can lose interest very quickly. By focusing on just the KNOW of curriculum, we are perpetuating the OLD story of education

The “Backward Design” of curriculum development presented in our textbook, Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment, I see as a very effective way to incorporate the NEW story of education. By first focussing on the Big Ideas and identifying the most important things for students to KNOW, DO and BE (KDB), a teacher can make sure that curriculum, instruction and assessments align and inform each other to reach the overall learning goals of a unit.

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By implementing this Backward Design, it is easier for teachers to implement student-centred inquiry learning to reach the overall expectations of the curriculum documents. Furthermore, interdisciplinary skills can better be applied. As our textbook points out, many subjects in the K-12 curriculum share the same ultimate goals of learning. With Backward Design, the similarity of the goals will be evident from the beginning of curriculum development and will thus better inform the everyday activities and methods of assessment that the teacher decides on. Ultimately, with Backward Design, collaboration on all levels is possible and assessment FOR learning can better be applied. By putting curriculum first, assessment becomes an integral part of curriculum development that can seamlessly be connect to instruction. 

How can focusing on the KNOW, as well as, the DO and BE of education prepare students for the future? 

In my last blog, I expressed concern on how the development of a learning culture instead of a mark-obsessed culture could prepare students for future post-secondary education. After reading and discussing the goals of Backward Design and its ability to allow the KNOW, as well as the, DO and BE to be addressed in curriculum development, I can see how this learning culture can be very beneficial to students. Backward design allows teachers to better focus on applying approaches to education that allow for student directed learning, which is the type of environment that students find themselves in post-secondary education. By allowing students to study a topic that interests them, while at the same time applying interdisciplinary skills, this type of curriculum better prepares students for the “real world.”

 

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How easy will it be to apply this theory of what students need to KNOW, DO and BE within the classroom? 

Throughout my education so far as a prospective teacher, most of what I have learned is all theory. We are presented with various theoretical teaching methods to help us form our own pedagogy and opinions on how we think we will develop as teachers. From what I have learned about educational theory, however, is that there is a gap between the theory we are taught in school and actual teaching practices we will apply in the real world. The ideas of the Backward Design however have shown me a practical application of teaching methods. Through learning about curriculum expectations and development, I finally feel as if I am getting information that I will be able to apply into a classroom setting.  The easiness of applying this theory, however, is still obscure.

When we were looking at old curriculum documents in class last week, I thought about the assignments that I had done in high school and how they applied to the Backward Design model of reaching curriculum expectations. Thinking back to grade 10 history I can see how my teacher had tried to implement this technique. Our major assignment was to write an essay on Canadian "defining moments." Through out the semester we learned about what could be considered a defining moment, what were the proper techniques to writing an essay and we were able to choose whichever defining moment we though the most interesting. Furthermore, thinking back to the day to day activities of the semester, I can see how they connected to this final assessment of the essay. My teacher was able to reach the curriculum goals in a way that gave the students some choice of method. Thinking about this gives me hope for being able to bridge the gap of theory and practice in applying the Backward Design and letting my students KNOW, DO and BE, in the future.   

As professor Drake has said in lecture, Backward Design is like a puzzle and can be difficult to work through. It is about willingness to work through the difficulties to create a more enriching environment not only for the students, but for the teacher as well. Thus, the question is not about how easy it is to apply theory or the practicality of the Backward Design, but about how willing teachers are to shift to the NEW story of education and better engage their students. It is about knowing your curriculum, knowing your students, and being willing to allow them KNOW content, as well as DO the skills required of them and BE active and informed citizens.

“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.” – Theodore Roosevelt

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Reference:

Drake, S. M., Kolohon, M., & Reid, J. L. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21st-Century Learner. Don Mills, Canada: Oxford University Press.