Curriculum
Tenets of Curriculum Design and Mapping
- Curriculum design and mapping is a multifaceted, ongoing process designed to improve student learning.
- All curricular decisions are data-driven and in students’ best interests.
- Curriculum maps represent both the planned and operational learning.
- Curriculum maps are created and accessible using 21st century technology.
- Teachers are leaders in curriculum design and curricular decision-making processes.
- Administrators encourage and support teacher-leader environments.
- Curriculum reviews are conducted on an ongoing and regular basis.
- Collaborative inquiry and dialogue are based on curriculum maps and other data sources
Curricula Standards
All curricula are based on:
- National professional standards
- Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Frameworks and Grade-level Expectations/Grade-span Expectations
Curricula Understanding Principles of Learning for Understanding
| 1. Learning with understanding is facilitated when new and existing knowledge is structured around the major concepts and principles of the subject. |
| 2. Learners use what they already know to construct new understanding. |
| 3. Learning is facilitated through the use of metacognitive strategies that identify, monitor and regulate the cognitive processes. |
| 4. Learners have different strategies, approaches, patterns of abilities and learning styles that are a function of the interaction between their heredity and prior knowledge. |
| 5. Learners’ motivation to learn and sense of self affects what is learned, how much is learned and much effort will be put into the learning process. |
| 6. The practices and activities in which people engage while learning shape what is learned. |
| 7. Learning is enhanced through socially supported interactions. |
Principles of Curriculum for Understanding
| 1. Structure the concepts, factual content and procedures that constitute the knowledge base of the subject around organizing principles (big ideas) of the domain. |
| 2. Link new knowledge to what is already known by presenting concepts in a conceptually and logically sequenced ordered that builds upon previous learning within and across grade-levels. |
| 3. Focus on depth of understanding rather than breadth of content covered by providing students with multiple opportunities to practice and demonstrate what they have learned in a variety of contexts. |
| 4. Include structured learning activities that, in a real or simulated fashion, allow students to experience problem solving and inquiry situations that are drawn from their personal experiences and real-world applications. |
| 5. Develop students’ abilities to make meaningful applications and generalization to new problems and contexts. |
| 6. Incorporate language, procedures and models of inquiry and truth verification to new problems and contexts. |
| 7. Emphasis interdisciplinary connections and integration and help students connect learning in school with issues, problems and experiences that figure prominently in their lives outside the classroom. |
Principles of Assessment for Understanding
| 1. Designed in accordance with accepted practices that include considerations for reliability, validity and fairness of the inferences that will be drawn from the assessment results. |
| 2. Aligned with curriculum and instruction that provides factual content, concepts, processes and skills the assessment is intended to measure |
| 3. Designed to include important content and process dimensions of performance in a subject and to elicit the full range of desired complex cognition including metacognitive strategies. |
| 4. Multifaceted and continuous when used to assist learning by providing students multiple opportunities to practice and receive feedback. |
| 5. Designed to assess understanding that is both qualitative and quantitative in nature and to provide multiple modalities with which a student can demonstrate learning. |
Source: National Research Council
Curriculum Renewal Cycle
| Area | Grade Levels | Dates/Timelines |
| Reading (review and finalize) | K-5 | School Year 2011-12 |
| Mathematics | 6-12 | School Year 2011- 2012 |
| Mathematics | K-8 | School Year 2012-13 |
| Reading | 6-12 | Summer 2012 |
| Writing | K-12 | School Year 2012-13 |
| Science | K-12 | Summer 2013 |
| Social Studies- *RTTT Grant support | K-12 | School Year 2012-14 |
| Art | K-12 | In progress |
| Physical Education/Health | K-12 | Summer 2012 |
| Music | K-12 | In progress |
| World Languages | 6-12 | Completed |
| Computer Science/Industrial Technology | 6-12 | In progress |
| Business Education | 9-12 | In progress |
| Family and Consumer Science | 9-12 | In progress |
| Library Science | K-12 | In progress |