PBL 3 � day 1, a new cycle � course/unit planning
Course Planning for secondary school mathematics � curriculum development and implementation.
A new PBL cycle. This one is four days in length, and with a product at the end; an open-middled kind of task. However, even though everyone is working in their own way towards the same kind of final product, many differences will be visible across all the final products. PBL teams are working in a school department scenario developing a course outline for grade 9 applied and academic courses, or grade 10 applied and academic courses.
Yes, trust the textbooks and materials created for the curriculum, but trust in one�s own creativity, thinking, problem solving, and mathematical knowledge to develop a course outline that maintains the curriculum standard, and reflects the teacher�s pedagogical style�that can then also be responsive to students� learning needs.
First on the list of action items for self-study: What curriculum development strategies exist? (e.g., like Understanding by Design or Backwards Design.) What is spiraling a curriculum all about? If the curriculum document is just a list of expectations, can the expectations be organized in a meaningful manner? (e.g., looking for the Big Ideas that anchor days of learning together into a cohesive unit). And how does assessment and evaluation work with, or drive, or respond to instructional strategies? (e.g., looking at Growing Success for insight.)
