Curriculum
Meaningful learning comes from the recognition of the need to integrate new knowledge and skills into one’s daily life.
Holistic Design
Heidi Hayes Jacobs wrote, “Schools are launching pads, launching our kids into their futures. Unfortunately, a lot of what we teach now looks identical to what we taught 40, 50, or 60 years ago. There’s a need for both timeless curriculum content and timely content. What seems to be falling by the wayside is timely content.”
Timely content is indeed the foundation of high quality learning. Learners must recognize the need for their new knowledge and skills and the importance of incorporating this learning into their lives. When this occurs, learning truly becomes a launching pad, whether the learner is 5 or 105.
Learning Objectives
Subject matter experts and instructional designers work together to identify what students must know and be able to do to complete a curriculum.
Program Structures
High-quality learning requires holistic learning. Lessons, modules, and courses neatly fit into specific programs.
Correlations
Learning objectives, activities, and assessments must correlate with program objectives and formal standards.
Project Management
Curriculum development necessarily involves numerous moving parts, so great project management is a necessity.
Free Lesson Plan and Storyboard
Consider the difference between explicit, implicit, and null curricula. Often educators and trainers lack concrete awareness of the curriculum to which they want to expose learners. Enjoy this A Pass brief, “Making Curriculum Concrete: Lesson Plans and Storyboards” as you contemplate the characteristics of highly effective curricula.