Introduction
It is rightly said that “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail”. When it comes to a school curriculum, this phrase is entirely appropriate. If correctly designed, students will be able to grasp knowledge and learn to the maximum; otherwise, they may fail terribly.
As a result, a school curriculum should be meticulously designed after examining the demands and levels of the students. In this article, we will understand more about the school curriculum and how teachers, for maximum effectiveness, should audit it.
What is School Curriculum?
Curriculum refers to academic content and lessons that are intended to be taught in a specific grade level in school. A curriculum includes a list of subjects as well as other information. It establishes a framework for several aspects of students' and teachers' lives, such as student learning tools, class time, session duration, lesson plans, assessments, and techniques for evaluating students.
A school's curriculum aids in the planning of the educational process or technique (a term, session, period, etc). The curriculum is made up of a series of activities that allow both teachers and students to attain educational goals. A lesson plan, for example, is a curriculum used in the classroom by the teacher.
How to Audit School Curriculum?
Several steps need to be followed to audit the school curriculum. These steps are mentioned as follows.
1. Understand Goals and Visions
To audit effectively, it is necessary to understand the schools' aims and visions. This includes an examination of the mission statement, results, and administrative focus. Breaking down your goals into actionable formats in the short and long term will aid in defining outcomes.
2. Key Focus Areas
Determine the areas of focus or necessary categories that must be included in the audit. (These categories are undoubtedly interrelated and overlap; this is only a condensed list for discussion.) Consider how you can effectively teach each student through your curriculum, teaching, evaluation, and social-emotional learning under that particular category.
3. Evaluate Current Curriculum Practices
Utilize current data, both quantitative and qualitative, to identify areas of relative strength and weakness under present school practices.
Quantitative measurements like graduated students rates, staff retention rates, government data, student or staff survey numbers, and so forth.
Qualitative measurements like notes from staff or parent/guardian meetings, classroom observations, student work examples, comments on student/staff surveys, and so on.
4. Analyze Needs and Prioritizing the Same
Once the current practice and method have been audited. It is critical to identify and prioritize the needs of the school. It is doubtful that all areas of need will be fulfilled completely at first. As a result, proper prioritization ensures that the largest positive impact on student accomplishment is achieved.
5. Effective Communication
Share the prioritization findings with students or other teachers who could use this information and implement a similar audit technique in their class. Consider the importance and feasibility of the potential priorities, as well as which will have the greatest influence on student accomplishment.
6. Corrective Course of Action
Configure clear and appropriate steps for continuous improvement for the specified growth area in this step. While certain prioritized goals can be achieved right once, others will require more time to ensure that the process is manageable and not overwhelming.
7. Define Success Metrics
As part of the audit, identify key performance indicators that will aid in assessing the success of the prioritized goal. Create a timeframe for analysis that is both short and long term. Balance the metric to show both positive and negative outcomes toward the desired goal.
8. Implement & Measure
After you have identified and defined success metrics, you should implement them. The process does not stop at implementation. You should also communicated the progress as well.
Types of School Curriculum
Written Curriculum
A written curriculum is what is formally documented and written down for teaching. These materials may include instruction documents, films, text, and other materials required by educators. These resources are provided by the larger school district or the school itself. They frequently hire or contract with a curriculum specialist to create a plan that meets specific goals and objectives.
Taught Curriculum
This curriculum type refers to how teachers actually teach. Because how an educator delivers material varies from one to the next, this is a less predictable and less standardized type of curriculum. It can also change depending on the tools available to a teacher.
Supported Curriculum
A supported curriculum includes tools, resources, and learning experiences found both inside and outside of the classroom. These include textbooks, field trips, software and technology, as well as other creative new ways to engage students. Teachers and other course participants are also included in the supported curriculum.
Recommended Curriculum
This curriculum is based on what educational experts recommend. Curriculum recommendations can come from a variety of sources, including nationally recognized researchers, policymakers and legislators, and others. It emphasizes the content, skill sets, and tools that educators should prioritize in the classroom.
Hidden Curriculum
Although a hidden curriculum is unplanned, it has a significant impact on what students learn. This type of curriculum is not always communicated or formally documented, and it includes implicit rules, unspoken expectations, and cultural norms and values.
Conclusion
School curriculum is an integral part of teaching and learning. It is vital that all the teachers should audit the curriculum. This will be helpful for students as teacher can easily monitor the progress with respect to curriculum. A properly designed curriculum will help students in understanding the concepts better which will lead to improved learning.
Teachmint is a great platform for teachers to design curriculum. With the help of School Yearly Calendar Planner, teachers can divide their subjects into smaller chunks and create a diverse and flexible curriculum. This will help them in preparing the students for better learning. Not just that, Teachmint offers a load of other features as well like user management, live polls, performance management, learning management system, with which teachers can easily track students’ progress.
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