Curriculum+Development

=How should I begin designing my courses? =

The best place to start is to consider the “essential questions” for each of your classes. What are the key concepts or skills that you think your students should grasp by the end of the year or semester? What do you really want them to remember or retain in future years as they continue their education and their lives?

The concept of “essential questions” is one of the basic tenets of the backwards design process, which is gaining a huge following in education circles these days. For more information, see [| __Principles of Backward Design.__] Another key idea to consider is Bloom's Taxonomy of cognitive thinking levels. A revised version of this classic, one that also focuses on 21st century learning, can be found at [|__"Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally."__] Some other good resources for beginning teachers include: “What to Expect of Your First Year of Teaching,” [|__http://www.ed.gov/pubs/FirstYear/foreword.html__] , and MiddleWeb's “The First Days of Middle School,” [|__http://www.middleweb.com/1stDResources.html__] .

Next, consult any information about your course that may be available at our curriculum wiki: [|__www.chinquapin.wikispaces.com__] .

Begin organizing your course into units of study based on your essential questions. Your syllabus can be developed from there. I recommend starting with an outline of the course by quarter and then breaking it down by weeks. You will probably not want to create a detailed or daily syllabus for more than the first few weeks – this will allow you to get a sense of your students and the daily rhythms of Chinquapin life. For more information on designing a syllabus, see “ [|__Syllabus: Organize Your Teaching"__]  and adjust to the appropriate grade level. In addition, I recommend browsing [|__Edutopia__] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> for ideas about any aspect of teaching you wish to explore.