Module 3: Planning, Instruction, and Assessment Approaches in Different Curricular Designs

This week, Ashley Pagan and continued our collaborative work to examine how the different curriculum designs impact planning, instruction and assessment approaches at the classroom level. Ashley and I decided to continue to expand our Popplet for this module. One thing that we were conscious of as we expanded the Popplet was working carefully to organize our content so that it did not become visually distracting. To accomplish this goal, we took a lot of time adding more connections to the Popplett and reorganizing the bubbles so that they showed a clear connection from conceptions of curriculum, philosophical foundations, curriculum designs and then to planning, instruction, and assessment. Through our review of the research, we found there was a number of connections and quotes that we wanted to include. However, we worried that if we continued to expand out Popplet that it would become difficult to see the connections. For this reason, Ashley proposed that we create a chart in addition to the Popplet. The chart allowed us to state in more detail how the planning, instruction and assessment considerations for each of the curriculum designs. Through the process of creating the Popplet and the chart, it helped me to see the connections between the different curriculum designs. 

Here is our collaborative work demonstrated in a Popplet visual representation. Please note the Popplet also has links to the googledocs for Learner Centered Designs, Subject Centered Designs and Problem Centered Designs In the mindmap, we were able to show the relationship between conceptions of curriculum, philosophical foundations, and curricular designs. Expanding on the curricular designs we were able to show how planning, instruction, and assessment was impacted for each of the curricular designs.

Throughout this process I found myself reflecting on my own experience working in both a Public school system in Washington State and as an International Teacher in South Korea. One resource I found particularly interesting was Sir Ken Robinson: How to Escape Education’s Death Valley. One experience that I reflected on while watching this was working to create alternative assessments while working as a Special Education teacher in Washington. In this setting high-stakes assessments were mandatory for ALL students. As a teacher working with students with significant disabilities my students were eligable to complete the The Washington Access to Instruction and Measurement (WA-AIM). It is an alternative assessment based on alternate achievemtn standards aligned to the Common Core State Standards for students with significant cognitive disabilities. As a teacher, one of the things I struggled with was this assessment took countless hours to create, administor, score, and input into the state database however, the assessment did not provide me with any information that I didn’t already know about my students. 

Going through this process solidified that assessment is an integral part of the teaching and learning process. However, I feel that it is essential that teachers carefully consider the purpose of the assessments. I also believe in using a variety of methods to collect information including student self-assessment, port

One quote that resonated with me related to this was, “If you want to achieve 21st-century knowledge, skills, and dispositions, you must teach and assess in alignment with what we know about how children and adolescents learn and what motivates them” (McMillan, 2014, p.4). 

I also found this table to be particularly interesting when considering my own assessment practices. When planning assessments I think it is important to ground ourselves in research about Cognitive Learning Theories. As I begin a new school year, I plan to share this table with my colleagues as a reminder of different considerations that should be made when considering classroom assessment. 

(McMillan, 2014, p. 6) 

I enjoyed working with collaboratively to complete this project. It has helped me to more critically examine my own educational philosophies, conceptions of curriculum and classroom practices. Next year, I will continue to work on the English Department Professional Learning Community (PLC) to examine the alignment between our identified standards, school philosophy, and assessment practices. I think that this work will help to ground me in research and help me to be more reflective. 

References: 

McMillan, J. H. (2014). Classroom assessment: Principles and practice for effective

standards-based instruction (6th ed., pp. 1-20, 57-64,74-88). Boston, MA: Pearson.