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Welcome to The Harley School Curriculum Committee Wiki.


 * __Our Goal:__ to build a database of information that provides a description of our actual curriculum. This database will ultimately serve as a school-wide resource for future review and revision of our curriculum. The process of mapping will provide an opportunity for reflecting upon already-existing curriculum, as well as a resource for developing new ideas and encouraging creative collaboration between teachers and departments.**

Hello everyone! This is the online home for our curriculum mapping project. It should be easy to navigate: Begin with the "curriculum mapping" link on the left. If you click on your division, you should see a list of courses organized by grade level or department. Clicking on a specific course title will bring you to a table where you may record units, content, skills, and assessments. Any teacher can look at any other teacher's map, and it should be understood that the maps are works-in-progress, not final, polished pieces.

Please note that we will be using our maps as the basis for conversations within departments and with interdivisional and interdepartmental groups of colleagues. It is important to keep in mind that one goal in recording our curriculum is to //communicate clearly with others//. Once our global map is complete, we will be meeting as departments to share our maps, revise where needed, and discuss the process. The maps will allow us to see the real strengths in our curriculum, as well as any gaps or overlaps that should be addressed. Remember, curriculum mapping is replacing the old curriculum review process that each department used to undertake on a regular basis.


 * __HOW TO BUILD A MAP:__** Please keep in mind that these maps should be considered drafts - we will continue to refine them when we share and discuss them as departments. You may find that the four-column approach is a little constraining - when we have those department meetings, we can discuss better ways to organize the information. (For example, in English, it would make sense to have a "resources" column, where we could record the books, films, and other materials that we teach. The English department will consider making that change in a future version of our department's maps.)


 * UNITS:** The first column can be used to organize your approach to the course into coherent blocks that make sense to you.


 * CONTENT:** The second column should record the knowledge, topics, concepts, or techniques that you expect students to learn in each unit. To put it simply, what should students **know and understand** when they have finished the block?


 * SKILLS:** This includes the transferable cognitive tasks and abilities that students should be able to demonstrate by the end of the unit; for example, specific types of problem solving, critical thinking, structuring an argument, or analyzing data. Again, to put it in simple terms, what should students **be able to do** when they have finished the unit?


 * ASSESSMENTS:** Finally, you should record the specific activities or tasks you assign students in order to determine whether or not they have acquired the knowledge or skills taught in the unit. How do you evaluate whether or not the projected learning outcomes have been achieved?

I have uploaded my English 11 map as an example. Please feel free to look at it! I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have as we get this project underway. You may click on the "Curriculum Mapping" link on the left to get started.

Thank you for participating in this important work.

Pat Malone for the Curriculum Committee