Atlas Curriculum Mapping
Moving Toward an Integrated Curriculum
Introductions
Name
School
Subjects Taught
Curriculum Mapping at School
What is Curriculum Mapping?
 Curriculum Mapping uses electronic means to input, track,
and collect/analyze data on curriculum. It increases
possibilities for long-range planning, short-term preparation
and clear communication.
 It challenges users to move away from reliance on
curriculum committees, binders and hard copies of
standards.
 These programs may allow users to record essential
questions, goals, objectives, assessments, and/or daily
plans.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8etEUVzo2GE&list=UUx
VOyjH4VhA7vzcrKrAS8SA&index=2&feature=plcp
Purpose of Curriculum Mapping
 Allows stakeholders in school to:
 Meet and exceed standards
 Align horizontally and vertically
 Record what is happening in real time
 Collect data about instruction as it relates to
student learning
 Reflect on and use the data in order to become
better educators
Reality…
 Occasional “transition” or collaborative meetings
between teams, grades or schools are ineffective in
developing 21st century curriculum. Curriculum mapping
should be done in real time.
 We must look through 2 lenses when developing
curriculum. A zoom lens will focus on this year’s
curriculum for each grade. A wide-angle will look at the
K-12 perspective. Horizontal and vertical alignment are
needed for truly successful curriculum development.
Examples of Software and Webbased Programs
 Rubicon Atlas
 Curriculum Framer
 Curriculum Mapper
 SharePoint (Microsoft)
 TODCM Open Source
Curriculum Mapping Project
 Performance Plus – Curriculum
Connector
Sacred Heart Academy –
Rubicon Atlas
 Sacred Heart Schools consists of a high school, grade
school, preschool, and school for the arts
 Sacred Heart Model School was the first of the four
schools to use Atlas and it was introduced at SHA 3
years ago
 First steps in the process: Unit calendars for all courses
to increase comfort level with mapping
 Current steps: Development of unit and daily plans for
all courses (goals, objectives, learning activities,
assessments, etc)
 Future steps: Teacher and group editing to find gaps,
overlap and areas for integration.
Proposed Process for Curriculum
Mapping
 Stage 1: Preparing for Curriculum Mapping
 Stage 2: Launching Mapping Initiative
 Stage 3: Sustaining and Integrating
 Stage 4: Mapping into the Future
Stage 1: Preparing for
Curriculum Mapping
 Research: Mapping
program must meet the
needs of school /district.
•
Cost
•
Flexibility
•
Data collection and
analysis
 Development: Teachers
should be comfortable
with macro and micro
planning as it applies to
their instruction.
•
Unit Calendars (year
long Plans)
•
Unit Plans
•
Daily Lesson Plans
•
Teachers should be
educated on the “how”
but also the “why”.
Stage 2: Launching the Mapping
Initiative
 Calendar based maps allow for easy reference to real
time.
 Begin with “draft” method that is refined after
instruction, or “diary” method which requires disciplined
reflection on a daily basis.
 There should be a comfortable and consistent format
across the map.
 SHA’s Launch: Unit Calendar, Unit plan, Daily plan
Stage 3: Sustaining and
Integrating…Next Steps
 Teachers as editors
•
Teachers edit own maps
•
Teachers edit maps of
others in department or
team.
•
Edit to find repetition,
gaps, best practices and
meaningful
assessments.
 Mixed Group Reviews
•
Gain objectivity from
groups outside of
instructional grade level,
department or team.
•
Review to identify gaps,
repetition, areas for
integration and
disconnect between
outcomes and
curriculum.
•
“Red flagging” not
re-writing
Stage 4: Mapping into the Future
With observations in-hand…
 Faculty can sift through data and find areas for
improvement.
 Faculty can determine points that will require long-term
research and development. Ex: Introduction of
interdisciplinary work for 10th graders would require
examination and change in school structure over a
period of time.
 Faculty continues ACTIVE and CONTINUOUS review.
Beyond the Basics
 We can collect data on:
 Best practices
 Variety of meaningful assessment methods
 Mastery of goals and objectives
 Consistency between teachers of the same course and
alignment between teachers of connected courses, both
vertically and horizontally
 We can look outside of our school:
 Provides opportunities for global collaboration and
education
Tips and Suggestions
 Spend time on R & D
before implementing.
 Make sure faculty
understands the WHY.
 Grade level should be
used to help guide
format and collaborative
teams.
 Technology and
collaboration take time
to learn, so small-step
implementation is
helpful.
Sources of Information
 Rubicon Atlas training tools
 YouTube videos
 Wikipedia
 Curriculum 21 edited by Heidi Hayes Jacobs
 Mapping the Big Picture: Integrating Curriculum and
Assessment K-12 by Heidi Hayes Jacobs