Mapping Our Path to Success for All Learners!
Curriculum maps are valuable planning tools for our teachers across the district,
helping them to begin with the end in mind and chart a course for the
year. Curriculum Mapping is the structure that involves all educators
(including vertical and horizontal teacher study groups) in this ongoing
process. The curriculum maps provide the sequence of standards,
content, skills, and the time periods for teaching the content. The
district’s curriculum map template is a combination of two concepts:
Heidi Hayes Jacobs’ concept of curriculum mapping from her book, Mapping
the Big Picture: Integrating Curriculum & Assessment (1997) and
Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe’s backward design model from Understanding
by Design (1998).
Beaufort County’s curriculum maps are
organized by units of study, months or marking periods and provide a
calendar-based overview of:
- the enduring understandings and essential questions
- the standards-based essential skills and content
- the methods of
assessment that the teacher and students will be working on throughout
the year (e.g., major assignments, projects, performances)
- the major content resources
A meta-analysis of 35
years of educational research indicates ‘a guaranteed and viable
curriculum (Marzano, “What Works in Schools: Translating Research into
Action)” is the school level factor with the most impact on student
achievement.
Rubicon Atlas
Atlas is a Web-based
curriculum management tool that electronically incorporates curriculum
mapping, tracks gaps and repetition in instruction, addresses the “Why”
in performance testing, aligns curriculum to benchmarks and standards,
produces updated reports to encourage partnerships, facilitates sharing
of ideas and communicating them rapidly across buildings, schools and
grades and shares requirements with students.
Curriculum Mapping Tools on the Web or in Print
Beaufort County School District Rubicon Atlas website for parents, click HERE. For teachers, click HERE.