Competency 8. Curriculum Planning & Development
a. Demonstrate the ability to enhance teaching and learning through curriculum and assessment and strategic planning for all learners - early childhood, elementary, middle level, and high school, special education and adult levels
b. Demonstrating the ability to provide planning and methods to anticipate trends and implications
c. Develop, implement and monitor procedures to align sequence and articulate curriculum
d. Identify instructional objectives and evaluate procedures to measure performance outcomes
e. Appropriately using learning technologies
f. Demonstrating the understanding of alternative instructional designs, curriculum, behavior management and assessment accommodations and modification
g. Demonstrating an understanding of urgency of global competitiveness
Reflection: Curriculum Planning and Development
Ruth Paisley, Spring 2011
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) states that a school district must ensure access to the general curriculum so that the child with a disability can make progress in the general curriculum and meet educational standards. IDEA further states that a child with a disability cannot be removed from the education in age appropriate classrooms simply because of needed modifications to the general curriculum. Since the beginning of special education services in schools special education has been provided based on the construct of Least Restrictive Environment, which means that to the maximum extent possible a child with a disability is educated with supplemental aides and supports in the setting closest to same age peers. Children are removed from this access to the general curriculum only when the nature or severity of the disability impacts satisfactory education of the child in the setting.
Special educators have a tremendous responsibility to protect the rights of children with disabilities and guarantee the student’s access, participation, and progress in the general curriculum. In the early years of special education students with disabilities were included in regular education for socialization and often an argument for inclusion was the benefit of social learning for the non-disabled peers. The latest reauthorization of IDEA focuses on the students’ positive learning outcomes and meeting educational standards. Through high educational expectations, the goal for ALL students is to become contributing members of society as adults.
Educational standards are the guide for curriculum development. In Minnesota, early childhood indicators have been developed for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The elementary and secondary standards provide the basis for curriculum development, on-going data collection, and instructional strategies. In the transition years for young people with disabilities, the SCAN (Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills, Department of Labor, 1993) skills list provides a holistic look at the independent living and work skills needed for successful adult living.
Articulated, aligned curriculum and instructional strategies are important for all students but especially for students who need consistency, assistance in organizing work, help in generalizing to new situations, and difficulty in making transitions. As students move into the secondary grades, a more diverse curriculum, such as Career and Technology Education options, become important for future opportunities. These varying needs of all students working toward meeting standards creates the need for differentiated curriculum. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a curricular planning framework that teachers can use to create differentiated means of engagement, of action and expression, and of representation in student learning. Some tools may be low technology, such as graphic organizers, picture schedules, or some students may use other technology, such as computers, ipads, and smart boards.
Throughout the school years, many students, including those with disabilities need social, emotional, behavioral supports at varying levels to help them access their educational opportunities. One way of addressing the positive behavioral supports is through the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBiS) framework. This school wide model provides a tiered system of supports depending on the level of a student’s need for support. Through successful social, emotional, and behavioral interactions students access more learning time in school.
Over the past two years my work and my internship experiences have given me a breadth of experiences with the curricular planning and development frameworks described in this reflection. The artifacts chosen as evidence follow:
1. The link provided to the Saint Paul Prekindergarten website section on Early Childhood Workshop shows the general education curriculum of the Saint Paul Public Schools early childhood programs. Early Childhood Special Education classrooms, itinerant teachers, and co-teachers all use this framework for curriculum and instructional strategies. This standards-based framework is aligned with Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop as children move into the elementary grades.
2. The UDL (Universal Design for Learning) Tool Kit is a project I spearheaded for Early Childhood to align with the K-12 UDL initiative in Saint Paul. This project was funded by ARRA funds and provided training through a Moodle, on site UDL training and coaching, and technology materials for staff who participated. Almost all ECSE teachers participated over the two year project. A parallel project was developed for Birth to 3 services with Flip cameras for home-visiting coaching, switch toys, and other accessible infant – toddler materials provided. Training and coaching was required of all Birth to 3 staff.
3. Saint Paul Public Schools has a growing number of schools – elementary and secondary- who are participating in the MDE Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports cohorts which results in school – wide implementation of PBiS. As an ECSE Leader in the district, I worked with our collaborating early childhood programs and applied to become a TACSEI (Technical Assistance Center for Social Emotional Intervention) demonstrations site in Saint Paul. While we are working toward program-wide implementation of Early Childhood Positive Behavior Support, we have five classrooms which are demonstration classrooms. The parent handout describes how we are promoting positive social emotional and behavioral supports with Part C home-visiting through the demonstration site.
4. In my secondary internship, I assisted my supervising administrator in writing a position statement for Career and Technology Education expansion in their District in response to the District strategic planning and vision statement. The summary of research from the national Association of Career and Technical Education provided a research base for this curricular planning.
Artifacts:
Early Childhood Curriculum:
prekindergartenprogram.spps.org/Teacher_Resources.html
Universal Design for Learning Tool Kit:
Birth to 3 TACSEI One Page Description:
Birth to 3 TACSEI One Pager.pdf (920,5 kB)
Research on Career and Technolgy Education: