Alignment is a word that is used in education to describe accuracy and consistency in a relationship. There is vertical alignment, horizontal alignment, goal alignment, etc. For this blog discussion, I want to focus on Curriculum Alignment. What does curriculum alignment mean to you?
14 comments:
To me, it means teaching in an efficient manner to maximize learning within the classroom in order to get the students ready to handle the following grade without difficulty.
What curriculum alignment means to me is the correlation between topics to be taught. They need to have a linear and logical relationship. The themes and assignments should be progressively align with the development of the child and that we are teaching the right tools at the right time.
For me the puzzle piece picture above represents curriculum alignment well. We are all educators and hold a piece of the puzzle but if we stay in line with the requirements that are set than our puzzle will align into place and we succeed at completing the bigger picture. We then are working as a team and helping to insure that the scholars are taught all necessary material that will help them be successful.
Building blocks would be a great visual as well...Curriculum that is well written, logically sequential and followed with fidelity will help scholars succeed!
I agree with all of you. Curriculum alignment, also makes me think about how our instruction should be child centered. After assessing our scholars, the teacher, guided by learning goals, the curriculum and the TEKS, determines the most effective way to instruct. Each piece of the puzzle works together to maximize student learning.
I think of how auto mechanics perform alignments by lining up the direction of the wheels so the vehicle is pointed in a straight line. Curriculum alignment works the same way, with the "wheels" being curriculum, instruction, standards and assessment. Alignment can point a school or district toward improved student achievement. Alignment also includes better communication and collaboration among teachers, helping them understand how their instructional decisions contribute to students' overall learning. I think improved student performance on standardized tests can result when teachers carefully align instruction with learning goals and assessments.
You begin with the what then work to the how. We set a course based on objectives the scholars are to master then "work on the work" to achieve the mastery. Keeping an eye on the prize if you will. Students are the center and the reason we engage in this activity entirely because they are the future. Consistently reviewing and revising, we could not possibly grab standards from 1900 and use them today nor could we teach students in the same manner as we did then. This is a moving target and that is why we must constantly work on our alignment.
Communication and collaboration among our team during weekly planning is curriculum alignment to me. It's ongoing and ever changing to meet the needs of our scholars.
I think of alignment in several ways. First, I believe that what you are teaching to your students needs to be in alignment with your curriculum. Coming from 3rd grade, vertical alignment is also very important. We should all look at the big picture when planning lessons so that our scholars have the greatest chance at success.
I feel that curriculum alignment to be effectice needs to be done through collegial conversation vertically and horizontally. It should be guided by the readiness standards in the grade levels above and below with clear goals and current data.
I agree with Marsha. The curriculum should be aligned vertically and horizontally to be effective.
When I think of curriculum alignment, I think of critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication. I value our Alt meetings in which we get to collaborate and communicate with teachers on lesson ideas and various topics.
In addition, I believe W.O.W. days are valuable as well in that we get to collaborate with teachers from other grade levels, getting their input on our lessons.
Khanh
In my department we've been aligning vertically across grade levels and horizontally with the STAAR readiness standards and college readiness standards. I love Jennifer's analogy of the car alignment with getting the wheels all pointed in the same direction. I also agree with Coach O's assessment that we musn't be stagnant in our alignment. It definitely is a growing, changing entity and for our scholars success we must align our curriculum to maximize the learning.
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