Curriculum & Instruction Curriculum Evaluation

Curriculum & Instruction Curriculum Evaluation 

first grade teacher at Macon County Elementary and I will like to focus on ELA (English Language Arts) You are to complete an evaluation of a current academic curriculum being used in a school classroom. This academic curriculum can be a traditional subject area (e.g., math, science, history), a portion of a curriculum (e.g., literature component of an English curriculum, the geometry section of a math curriculum, the dinosaur section of a science curriculum) or a specific curriculum (e.g., SRA; Saxon Math). The purpose of this curriculum evaluation is to determine the effectiveness of the identified curriculum in supporting students’ attainment of planned performance outcomes. Each curriculum evaluation must address two types of student performance outcomes (SPOs): cognitive and affective outcomes. Cognitive outcomes focus on the knowledge and skills students are expected to acquire in the planned curriculum (e.g. Students will be able to distinguish between adjectives and adverbs; Students will be able to plan and conduct a scientific investigation using at least three science process skills; Students will be able to compare and contrast life in Mid-Atlantic colonies and life in the present time.) Affective outcomes focus on the affective, motivational, and behavioral outcomes of the curriculum (e.g. Students will develop a positive attitude toward reading; Students will implement the principles of recycle, reuse, and reduce in their daily lives to protect the environment; Students will develop an appreciation for different cultures and backgrounds.) Each curriculum evaluation must contain 3 separate Cognitive SPOs and 3 separate Affective SPOs. For each identified SPO (total of 6) the following categories must be included using the table format provided below: (1) SPO, (2) description of how you will assess the success level, (3) Intended outcome (This is what the curriculum is supposed to accomplish) (4) Actual outcome (This what you found in your curriculum evaluation) (5) identification of alignment or discrepancy. The information that you collect in the Curriculum Evaluation will be used for the Curriculum Improvement Plan assignment. The table format below is created to facilitate your completion of the assignment. Please see the examples, and use this table to complete your assignment. After completing the table, you are to write a reflective analysis of your findings.

In doing so, you are going to explain each alignment and discrepancy in a causal way (NOT CASUAL). In other words, you will explain (at times speculate) why there was a discrepancy or an alignment on a given SPO. For example, your curriculum evaluation showed that there was a discrepancy between the intended and actual outcomes on the SPO “Students will be able to distinguish between adverbs and adjectives.” In your reflective analysis, you will explain why the curriculum did not reach its goal. A potential explanation for this discrepancy: Students are introduced to adverbs and adjectives for the first time in this grade level. Lack of prior familiarity with these topics is a likely cause of the discrepancy. Also, it is observed that students have a difficult time understanding adverbs and their functions. Because of limited understanding of adverbs, students were not able to distinguish between adjectives and adverbs. An example for an alignment: Your curriculum evaluation showed an alignment between the intended and actual outcomes for the SPO: Students will be able to use technology to support their oral presentations. A potential causal explanation for this could be: Students at my school come from affluent home backgrounds. They have access to computers in their home environments. Therefore, they have knowledge of how to use computers. Also, all teachers at my school completed a mandatory in-service training on how to use technology to enhance instruction. Teachers’ knowledge of integrating technology into instruction is a likely cause for this alignment.