A Guide to Curriculum Mapping: Planning, Implementing, and Sustaining the Process

by Janet A. Hale

Overview

This practical, step-by-step guide examines the stages of contemplating, planning, and implementing curriculum mapping initiatives that can improve student learning and create sustainable change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412948920
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	12/13/2007
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Janet Hale is an educational consultant and trainer who is passionate about supporting educators in making curriculum decisions that ensure, enhance, and enrich learning and teaching experiences. She works with schools, districts, and higher-ed programs in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. She specializes in curriculum mapping; standards literacy and alignment; and documenting learning.

Her Masters in educational leadership and curriculum development; elementary, secondary, and special education classroom experiences; and working alongside teachers and administrators for over 20 years enable Janet to provide unique insights that aid the learning organizations she has the pleasure of assisting.

She has written an assortment of educational resources, including three titles for Corwin, and enjoys presenting at national and international conferences.

Janet resides in Tucson, Arizona, with her husband, Johnny, and their four-legged Schnauzer children. Visit Janet’s consulting website: Curriculum Decisions.com and documenting learning website: documenting4learning.com. You can follow her on Twitter @janet_hale, as well as @doc4learning. She can be contacted via e-mail at [e-mail] or by phone at 520.241.8797.

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Table of Contents

List of Figures
Foreword by Heidi Hayes Jacobs
Preface
A Resource for Teachers and Administrators
Overview of the Contents
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1. How Do We Need to Think, Act, and Meet Differently?
Thinking Differently: Planned Versus Operational Curriculum
Acting Differently: Verification Versus Speculation
Meeting Differently: A Collegial Forum
Conclusion
Review Questions
2. What Are the Four Types of Curriculum Maps?
Four Types of Curriculum Maps
Curriculum Map Elements: An Overview
Conclusion
Review Questions
3. What Should We Consider Before Developing Curriculum Maps?
First Consideration: Exploring Personal and Collaborative Understanding of Curriculum Design
Second Consideration: The Ongoing Nature of Mapping Reviews
Third Consideration: A Mapping Sequence That Is Right for Your Learning Organization
Conclusion
Review Questions
4. What Elements Are Commonly Included in Curriculum Maps?
Curriculum Map Alignments and Elements
Writing the Elements
Conclusion
Review Questions
Descriptive or Not Descriptive? That Is the Question! (Math Focus)
Descriptive or Not Descriptive? That Is the Question! (Language Arts Focus)
Skill Versus Activity (Math Focus: Primary Grades)
Skill Versus Activity (Various-Discipline Focus: Upper Grades)
Assessment Versus Evaluation
5. What Should We Know Before Creating Diary Maps or Projected Maps?
Points to Ponder
Implementation Considerations
Conclusion
Sample Projected/Diary Maps
Review Questions
Conducting an Initial Read-Through: Facilitator Explanation and How-To Guide
Conducting an Initial Read-Through: Team Member Explanation and How-To Guide
Initial Read-Through: Collaborating to Create Quality Maps
Initial Read-Through Card Shuffle Debrief
6. What Should We Know Before Creating Consensus Maps and Essential Maps?
Map Type Differentiation
Developmental Considerations
Conclusion
Sample Consensus Maps and Essential Maps
Review Questions
7. How Should We Be Using Our Created Curriculum Maps?
Conducting Data-Driven Reviews
Investigating the Curriculum
Conclusion
Review Questions
8. What Data Is Often Incorporated When Refining Curriculum Maps?
Additional Map Data
Essential and Supporting Questions
Conclusion
Review Questions
9. How May Standards Influence Our Curriculum Design?
Standards and Curriculum
Breaking Apart Standards
Determining Power Standards
Conclusion
Review Questions
10. What Should We Consider Regarding Technology?
Commercial Online Mapping Systems
Mapping System Considerations
Conclusion
Review Questions
11. What Should We Focus on When Planning Our Implementation?
Systemic Change and Curriculum Mapping
Vision
Skills
Resources
Incentives
Action Plans
Conclusion
Review Task
12. What Roadblocks and Brick Walls May We Encounter Along the Way?
Practical Advice From Practitioners
Glossary of Terms
Curriculum Mapping
Types of Maps
Map Elements
Alignments
Seven-Step Review Process
Common Review Focuses
Curriculum Mapping Intra-Organizations
Miscellaneous Terms
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Janet Hale has captured the layered foundation of curriculum mapping. She makes the journey through the how’s and what’s of mapping an easier and more understandable experience. This book is a great resource for teachers beginning or already on the path of developing individualized maps. "

Donna Bateman

"An essential, easy-to-follow guidebook. Hale has done an excellent job in outlining the step-by-step process of curriculum mapping. As a classroom teacher, I couldn’t imagine a better tool for planning and implementing my lessons. Curriculum mapping has helped me better plan for instruction and make certain that I have covered the necessary state standards. As I continue my journey on the road to developing more effective maps, this book will be a resource I will refer to and recommend to my colleagues. "

Monica Duvall

"Provides very practical strategies for designing and implementing a successful curriculum mapping initiative. Hale offers specific illustrations to help move teachers away from writing activities to designing curriculum. The concrete examples included throughout are easy to understand and will be used as guides by our teachers as we move forward with consensus map design. "

Jeffrey Dolce

"Curriculum mapping has been a stepping stone for our faculties to become professional learning communities. It has provided a vehicle for our teachers to engage in professional conversations for the benefit of our students. Janet Hale has given us the road map for this journey. "

David Woolwine

"An essential, easy-to-follow guidebook. Hale has done an excellent job in outlining the step-by-step process of curriculum mapping. As a classroom teacher, I couldn't imagine a better tool for planning and implementing my lessons. Curriculum mapping has helped me better plan for instruction and make certain that I have covered the necessary state standards. As I continue my journey on the road to developing more effective maps, this book will be a resource I will refer to and recommend to my colleagues."--Monica Duvall, Fifth-Grade Teacher (10/4/2007 12:00:00 AM)

"An excellent guide for schools and districts interested in implementing curriculum mapping. The author was honest in her approach, emphasizing that this process is not a ′quick fix′ and that key components must be in place for it to be successful. After reading the book, I am ready to ′saddle up′ and start preparing for a prologue year."--Vanessa Eugene, Administrator (10/4/2007 12:00:00 AM)

"Curriculum mapping has been a stepping stone for our faculties to become professional learning communities. It has provided a vehicle for our teachers to engage in professional conversations for the benefit of our students. Janet Hale has given us the road map for this journey."--David Woolwine, Associate Superintendent (10/4/2007 12:00:00 AM)

"Janet Hale has captured the layered foundation of curriculum mapping. She makes the journey through the how's and what's of mapping an easier and more understandable experience. This book is a great resource for teachers beginning or already on the path of developing individualized maps."--Donna Bateman, Teacher (10/4/2007 12:00:00 AM)

"Provides very practical strategies for designing and implementing a successful curriculum mapping initiative. Hale offers specific illustrations to help move teachers away from writing activities to designing curriculum. The concrete examples included throughout are easy to understand and will be used as guides by our teachers as we move forward with consensus map design."--Jeffrey Dolce, Curriculum and Staff Development Coordinator (10/4/2007 12:00:00 AM)

"An outstanding survey for putting data-based decision practices into real-world teaching experiences. Hale's work with thousands of educators offers steps for mapping efforts that can fuel school cultures."--The Bookwatch, May 2008 (6/12/2008 12:00:00 AM)

From the Publisher

"An excellent guide for schools and districts interested in implementing curriculum mapping. The author was honest in her approach, emphasizing that this process is not a 'quick fix' and that key components must be in place for it to be successful. After reading the book, I am ready to 'saddle up' and start preparing for a prologue year. "

Vanessa Eugene

“An outstanding survey for putting data-based decision practices into real-world teaching experiences. Hale’s work with thousands of educators offers steps for mapping efforts that can fuel school cultures.”

The Bookwatch