Session 1, Part 3: Overview of an Ideal Unit of Study

Create Your Ideal Curriculum, Session 1: Develop Your Purpose for Teaching and Learning

I’ve read several resources on curriculum development and I have asked many educators as to what they feel is the best approach is to developing a curriculum with their students and external expectations in mind. Every response varied. No one recommends the same thing. 

One pattern I have noticed, though, is the people who are not directly involved in the inner workings of a school, for example some consultants and authors, tend to be more confident in the templates, tools, and resources they recommend than practicing educators are. I find it interesting that certainty in any one approach tends to increase the further away one is from working with students. 

The approach offered here intends to bridge that divide. I do recommend a specific template for unit and lesson design. These structures are based on the work of other educators and curriculum experts, as well as my own experience facilitating professional development and teaching graduate courses in instructional leadership. Howeve…