Week 6: Curriculum Mapping

Vlasis, C. (2003). Librarian morphs into curriculum developer. In B.K. Stripling & S. Hughes-Hassel (Eds.) Curriculum Connections through the Library (pp. 107-117). Westport, Conn: Libraries Unlimited.

"Curriculum mapping raises the level of professionalism in the building." (Vlasis, 2002, p. 112)

Though I am familiar with the concept of curriculum mapping, I have never worked in a district that employed it. This chapter is a valuable one to a reader such as me, because it fully illuminates what the core purposes of curriculum mapping are, the basic steps of a successful implementation of a curriculum mapping plan, and the benefits of successful implementation. Ultimately, this information could be useful in convincing a district to pursue the creation of a fully developed curriculum map.

In my district, there is frequently discussion centered on the fact that the students entering high school are not sufficiently prepared for the rigors of the high school curriculum. A district-wide curriculum map, as defined by Vlasis, would help to alleviate this problem by illustrating what is covered at the middle school level and illuminating any disconnects between the middle school curriculum and the high school curriculum. Vlasis states that curriculum maps encourage teachers to be mindful about the purposes behind every classroom activity by requiring them to document not only how activities meet standards, but how the work is assessed and how effective the activity is. Doing so could in theory help to ensure that students are not moving into high school without completing the academic work needed in order to succeed in high school.

The main drawback to a curriculum map, though, is that it can become a bit unwieldy to maintain, and may encourage instructional stagnation as a result. Since the map is only valuable if it is updated every time instruction changes, teachers may find it cumbersome to modify their instruction as time passes. Moreover, curriculum maps may not be entirely necessary for teachers that work in districts where adherence to state standards is rigidly enforced. If one assumes that the state standards are constructed to build year-to-year, and if a teacher is required to employ standards-based grading and prove adherence to the the the state standards, then a map loses its benefit.

However, a document that depicts the specific actions that are taking place in classrooms on a unit-by-unit basis is at its heart a valuable document for a variety of reasons and construction of a legitimate curriculum map is, undoubtedly, a worthwhile practice in professionalism.