Curriculum Course Reflection #3

How has your definition of curriculum been shaped by the course readings and discussions? How and why has your definition of curriculum changed?


I don't feel like I can say that my definition of curriculum has changed, but I have a broader idea of what curriculum can be because of this course. Having been trained as a Social Studies teacher, I was mostly familiar with the content needed for teaching the social sciences. I completed my undergraduate work in California where at the time Social Studies was not a tested subject and completed my graduate and licensure in Nevada where Social Studies is also not a tested subject. In both states, there were content standards, but when I thought of curriculum in the past, I can't say that the standards felt like curriculum to me. When I started teaching in Virginia, a few of the Social Studies courses are tested and do require a more specific curriculum. This was all very new to me, but I relied on my content knowledge and my instructional tools I had stashed away and using the Enhanced Scope and Sequence for the subjects I was teaching, I forged ahead. I would have to say that my definition of curriculum started to grow because of the standards of learning and their supporting documents, because they were more specific and actually included ideas for teaching the topics. 
In 2006 my colleague and I had to submit our "curriculum" to the college board for our AP course and the document we turned in was a very detailed syllabus, but that syllabus became the basis of our curriculum for the year, that same year I began teaching AP Government online and used the same syllabus, my curriculum was unchanged, however the methods were very different. Which is where my definition of curriculum again changed. I began to see the content as the jumping off point, but the instructional tools and methods used were also a part of the curriculum. 
Last year (2009-2010), I participated in a year long project to re-write the curriculum in my school division. We were led by an expert on Understanding by Design and began creating units and curriculum maps. At the same time I was completing my master's degree and was able to take two independent study courses that let me focus on curriculum. I enhanced the curriculum for my own courses during this time and used my experiences to help the teachers I work with as a Technology Integration Specialist. Because I am no longer in the face to face classroom (I still teach one class online) and work with teachers in a professional development setting, I began to translate my knowledge of curriculum into modeling best practices for the professional development session I lead. 
Fast forward to January 2011, when I started the Curriculum course, I felt pretty sure of my self in the area of curriculum but am also always interested in learning more, mainly because I think curriculum is my secret passion in education, I would like to do more with it in the future. 
This course has opened my thoughts to the types of curriculum out there, I have been able to see how curriculum can be altered for different circumstances all while continuing to provide students with the knowledge they need to have. This course has helped me to see curriculum through various lenses, through the lens of technology integration, through the 21st century learner, through the special education student and even through the eyes of a mathematics teacher (a place I have always been a bit nervous to be). 
I can now clearly see that while curriculum may come in many different shapes and sizes, the most important piece of it all is the relationship between the written, taught and tested curriculum.