CSI: Curriculum, Scaffolding & Instruction

Curricular resources often arrive in pretty boxes inclusive of textbooks, workbooks, media and technology.  While many of these resources are great tools, frequently educators lose sight of the fact that resources are not curriculum.  Oh how I wish these pretty boxes came with warning labels stating...

"Resource Crime Scene! Do Not Cross! 

Investigators Only!"

Curriculum
Typically, canned curriculum is scoped and sequenced in a linear row.  When instruction is delivered as such this creates one dimensional learning.  Much like a domino effect, the moment a student stumbles all subsequent pieces fall down.

Prior to investigating resources, standards must be prioritized. These priorities are the key skills required for progressing as a learner. Standards and learning objectives must clearly define what is essential for students to know and be able to do.  Once these priorities are established only then can we dig into resources.  In order to throughly investigate, we must rid of the pretty packaging, dump out all of the pieces and begin to select what will support our priority standards.

left photo credit: sergiofloro via photopin cc

right photo credit: shannoninottawa via photopin cc

Scaffolding
When building curriculum we must give thought to how learners will grow from the most basic levels of taxonomy (or depth of knowledge) to the most advanced.  As teachers dig into resources they must purposely select activities to support each level of understanding.  Selecting, pairing and reorganizing activities and resources in accordance with levels of understanding will ensure all learners have fair opportunities to demonstrate growth. This means we must also scaffold assessments in order to accurately assess each student (click HERE for my post on reality checks to guide instruction).  Scaffolding is a lot like Jenga. Once a solid foundation is in place we can then begin to remove the support pieces one at a time.


Instruction

right photo credit: Mara Tr. via photopin cc

left photo credit: conform via photopin cc

If learning is messy, then so too is teaching. When done right, it is organized chaos. Students do not all require the same amount of support.  Students will not all acquire the same level of understanding within the same time frames. Therefore, both the teacher and the student must work together in order to determine when support pieces can be removed and when they need to rebuild. Descriptive feedback between teacher and student guides the learning process (click HERE for my post on transforming point chasers to knowledge seekers). When students are vested in this process it is no longer about a grade being done to them; it is now about students owning the direction of their learning.



When resources drive the curriculum, teachers often lose sight of learning objectives.  Unfortunately, this results in moving targets and/or places focus on targets so far beyond reach that many students are left without ever hitting the mark.  Carefully crafted C.S.I. (Curriculum, Scaffolding & Instruction) creates visible learning targets within reach of all students by:

• bridging past, present and future learning objectives
• providing activities, resources and assessments to capture all levels of understanding
• highlighting what every student knows and can do
• embracing the struggle with content and process in order to grow
• allowing students to grow from his/her own level of readiness

I firmly believe every content in very school should have a C.S.I. Team (or call it what you like) to investigate these details in order to ensure fair learning opportunities for student growth.