curriculum

This year was quite the work-filled year--not only was it my first year of teaching, but the English department took on the immense task of completely revamping the curriculum. We spent countless hours discussing, working, revising, and often just shaking our heads in overwhelmed frustration as we attempted to create a brand new curriculum that aligned with the newly adopted Common Core Standards. We moved towards a more skills-based curriculum, first starting with student objectives derived from the standards, then discussing what pieces could be used to meet those objectives. We wanted to add in new literature to engage students; however, we had to walk the fine line of a slim budget. It's been an intense, year-long process that will hopefully result in more learning for our students.

The reason this is currently on my mind is two-fold. One, I just finished with a task force meeting during which we finally finished the senior writing/communication course. Two, I started my C&I Curriculum course yesterday. The class discussions have already started me thinking about our revision work--what curriculum approach it is founded in and its underlying motivations. I look forward to learning more about the history and theory of curriculum and being able to apply that knowledge to my current curriculum work.