|
|
Every year educators face a common dilemma, "What should students know and be able to do?" Recently the
state of Florida defined parameters for student achievement at
developmentally appropriate levels known as the Sunshine State
Standards.
As you look at the Sunshine State
Standards several questions emerge, including:
 |
How will my
years of valuable experience |
|
be beneficial
in this new system? |
|
Why are standards important? |
The best way to confront these issues is "to begin with the end in mind." By establishing
learning expectations in the beginning of the planning
process,
educators can successfully develop standards-based curriculum, assessment
and instructional strategies. Using a standards-based system, educators
are able to consistently address student needs within a solid
framework.
In this module, educators investigate the
process of standards-based curriculum development. The guiding question
is, "How can an educator identify what
a student should know and be able to do?"
Upon completion of this module, the participant should be able to
 |
Throughout
the Curriculum Module,
look
for this icon.
Each
time you see this icon, an
interactivity question
will
follow. Each
question relates to the Module
Objectives. |
|
|
Where do educators begin?
First, reflect on your current instructional planning practices. Using a
blend of what you already know and specific information about standards,
explore several processes of standards-based curriculum development
within this module.
Remember Mr. Stringfellow's
strategy for implementing the state standards into his existing lesson
plans? He just added state standards to his existing lesson plans. His
approach frustrated not only him, but his students as well because he
had not clearly identified from the standard what the students should
know and be able to do. In other words he did not 'begin with the end in
mind.'
Examine why it is important
to know the state standards and identify student expectations first in
the lesson planning process.
|
|