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COURSE NUMBER: EDUC 403
COURSE TITLE: Advanced Curriculum Design
NAME OF INSTRUCTORS: Dr Darlene Eerkes
CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION: credits 3 (hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 0)
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION: This course examines the history of curriculum development and alternative models of curriculum as represented by major schools of thought. It also addresses curricular issues arising from the EDUC 351 practicum experience, e.g., lesson pace, evaluation, discipline integration, faith/perspective integration, classroom management, critical thinking. Students will compose specific lessons using different lesson plan models. This course is open only to students in the B.Ed. (AD) program.

Prerequisites: EDUC 303
REQUIRED TEXTS: Occasional handouts will be posted on Moodle or given in the class as additional readings/references.
MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT:
Creating a Teacher (personal) story-line (life-song)5%
Develop a classroom story5%
Attendance & pre-reading prompts/question experiences10%
Through-line and Formational Learning Experience assignments10%
Prioritized Learning Objectives, curriculum development10%
One transformational, speed-build unit10%
Calendar map (overview of the year)15%
Visual, year-long learning plan (curriculum map)35%
100%
COURSE OBJECTIVES:Students will:
  • Examine principles inherent in developing authentic, formative curriculum, with an emphasis on Christian faith-based (transformational) curriculum. 
  • Grapple with the centrality of perspective/worldview in curriculum writing and year planning.
  • Create a teacher (personal) story that will influence your teaching and your student learning.
  • Through a speed-build process that models how to plan curricular overviews in a timely manner, design and build transformational teaching units, using the Alberta Program of Studies (POS), that includes an alignment of teaching/learning around key elements of: 
    • Worldview Story – deepest hope for students
    • Throughlines - themes
    • Essential Learning Outcomes/Essential Questions
    • Formative Learning Experiences, using authentic tasks/activities
    • Formative and summative assessments
  • Synthesize grade-level, curricular, essential learning into a learning plan with a “Subject at a Glance” for Social, Science, English Language Arts and Math.
  • Acquire an understanding and appreciation for peer coaching and feedback skills that enhance collaborative teaching practices.
  • Develop a year-long thematic, learning plan (curriculum map) and connect this plan to a year-long calendar map, aligning the key elements noted above. 
  • Reflecting on their teacher story and the learning plan developed for specific grade levels, create a classroom story while considering the competing stories and diverse worldviews. 
COURSE OUTLINE: Class 1
  • Introductions
  • What’s the Story? Curriculum Design Conversations
    • What kind of person do you want to be?
    • What kind of person do you want your students to be?
    • Core Practice  #1 - Worldview (Biblical) Story (CFRR)
    • In Defense of Public Education (Deborah Meier)
    • Design time:  creating your story line visual.  
Class 2
  • What’s the Story? Conversations continued…
    • Core Practice #2 - Throughlines
    • Reimagine a "deep hope" for student learning - Curriculum exemplars
    • Core Practice #3 – Formational Learning Experiences (FLEx)
    • What does good look like? Curricular Examplars and criteria 
    • Design time:  Assignments: Throughlines & Formational Learning Experiences
Class 3
  • Teaching for Transformation
    • Practicing, creating and reimagining transformational learning
    • Targeted learning: objectives and assessment (criteria and process)
    • Consider the Alberta Ministry of Education cross-grade competencies
    • What does good look like? Learning targets in action, exemplars
    • Essential Learning Outcomes, chunking/prioritizing curricular objectives
    • Design time: Practice POS objectives alignment
Class 4

  • Unit Design – Formational (Transformational) unit writing 

    • Speed-build process completed together
    • Peer coaching and feedback
    • Design time:  Refinement of unit design
Class 5
  • Unit Design Refinement and Peer Feedback/Coaching
    • Review of Speedbuild (last class) to understand benefits for year-long learning plan development (a method to quickly plan a year overview) 
    • The Feedback/Coaching Process: Reflection Toolkit and Resources
    • Design time: Improving the Speed-build unit to completion
Class 6
  • Celebrating Learning  Introduction to (Curriculum) Learning Maps
    • Approaches to curriculum mapping
    • Speedbuild units solo and in collaboration
Class 7-9
  • Year-long Curriculum learning plan: 
    • Using the Speed-build process build unit overviews for 4 core subjects.
    • Create  an overview of a “Subject at a Glance”
    • Build a visual learning plan (year-long curriculum mapping)
    • Design time: These classes will be mostly workshop based, working on a visual learning plan for one grade level: Social, Science, ELA and Math.
Class 10-11
  • Year-long (Curriclum) Learning plan & Classroom Story:
    • Create a calendar of your learning plan
    • Create a classroom story based on the learning plan
    • Design time: Calendar map and Creating your Classroom Story
Class 12
  • Celebrate learning:
    • Share visual learning plan: Year at a Glance, Subjects at a Glance…  
    • Share calendar plan
    • Share individual Classroom Stories
    • Wrap up this course
    • Class evaluations

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