Chapter 1
Foundation for Curriculum
Development
Defining Curriculum
How would
you define
curriculum?
• DON’T PEAK
Curriculum - definition
 Planned sequence of (1) what students
are to learn, (2) how students acquire
that learning, and (3) how students’
learning is verified.
Importance of Curriculum
 Reflect back on your K-12 physical
education experiences and:
 Identify
two things you enjoyed about the
program
 Identify two things you disliked about the
program
Importance of Curriculum
 The curriculum is closely linked to the
quality of a physical education program.
is either the 1st or 2nd ranked determinant
for positive or negative student comments
regarding physical education (you’ll read
this article later)
 It
Overall Picture
 A curriculum plan can look daunting.
However, remember it’s a lot like a
lesson plan. It includes your name,
school name, standards, objectives,
assessments, and learning activities.
It’s still a plan, it’s just an overarching
plan for the entire grade level.
Global Question
 What is the primary aim of the curriculum?
LEARNING
 If what you are teaching is not improving student
learning, why are you teaching it?
 Sounds like a “no-brainer” concept but yet it is
often violated.
Curriculum Planning
 “What should physically education
students know and be able to do?”
 What
are some guiding documents for
curriculum planning?
•
•
•
• …
1. Guiding the Curriculum – NASPE: A
Physically Educated Person
“Outcomes project” defined physically educated person
• NASPE, 1986
 Has learned skills necessary to perform a variety of




physical activities
Knows the implications of and the benefits derived
from physical activities
Does participate regularly in physical activity.
Is physically fit
Values physical activity and its contribution to a
healthy lifestyle
2. Guiding the Curriculum – CT
standards (2006)
 Healthy and balanced living standards
for CT
 http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/LIB/sde/PDF/de
ps/student/Healthy&BalancedLiving.pdf
 PE and health standards
 Do not use the word standards
interchangeably with outcomes
3. Guiding the Curriculum – NASPE
standards (2004)
 Moving into the Future: National
Standards for Physical Education, 2nd
Edition
 http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/template.cf
m?template=publicationsnationalstandards.html
Basic Concepts in Curriculum
 1. Hidden Curriculum – unintended “learning” not espoused in the
overt curriculum. What are some examples?

Positive examples:
• Fitness and physical activity should be a part of everyone’s lifestyle, activity
selection should be based upon enjoyment and not peer pressure, support
earnest effort regardless of ability,

Negative examples:
• Girls do not belong in sport (all posters are of males), fitness is only done in a
weight room, obese students shouldn’t bother, competitive team sports are the
only ones worth doing, PE is not as important as athletics, male oriented
activities are more important

What are some other messages a curriculum might be “saying” without
saying a word?
 2. Traditional Curriculum – sequence of activities with little/no relation
to the standards or standards-based assessment.
Basic Concepts in Curriculum
 3. Scope & sequence – Specifies the content of a particular
curriculum (scope) and the order in which the curriculum
presents that material (sequence)
Goal Area
Objective
K
Locomotor
Run
**
Hop
--
**
Gallop
--
--
**
--
--
--
**
Skip
Obj. Cont.
Catch
--
U. Throw
**
1
Kick
2
--
Strike
Fitness
3
4
5
--
**
R
--
--
**
**
O. Throw
--
--
**
R
Flex.
--
**
R
R
Ab. Stren.
--
--
**
R
--
--
**
Cardio
** = mastery expected, -- = introduced, R = reviewed
Basic Concepts in Curriculum
 3. Scope & sequence – Mathematics example
Basic Concepts in Curriculum
 4. Alignment
 Vertical Alignment – Instruction of material over
time from one unit or grade level to the next.
The key concern is to sequence material such
that it is developmentally appropriate and flows
from one grade level to the next without gaps or
unnecessary repetition (some review is OK).
• K-12 student reviews of physical education cite
alignment as a MAJOR concern. Too often,
students are learning the basketball lay-up in the
fourth grade and are still being taught the same
lay-up in 10th grade.
• Could you image being taught fractions in fourth
grade and still in 10th grade?
• In addition, school levels should align with each
other (elementary, middle, to high school)
K
1
2
Basic Concepts in Curriculum
 4. Alignment (continued)

Horizontal Alignment – examines the consistency
of learning outcomes within a unit or grade level.
There should be be a close match between
WHAT IS PLANNED, TAUGHT, ASSESSED, AND
LEARNED.
• For example, students are displeased when an instructor
tests material not covered in class b/c of the violation of
horizontal alignment
Basic Concepts in Curriculum
 5. Curriculum Integration/cross curricular instruction – Incorporating
content from other subjects to reinforce and promote the
connectedness of material (life is not organized into separate
subjects). Physical educators are being required to integrate more
math and particularly reading/writing into class due to scores on state
exams. Be prepared for this reality, particularly during interviews.
 What are some examples for integrating the following subjects into PE
(don’t peak at the next slide)?
 Language Arts –
 Social Studies –
 Math –
 Science –
 Music –
 Art –
 Other subjects –
Basic Concepts in Curriculum
 Sample Ideas for Cross Curricular Integration
 Language Arts – journal, describe skill sequences,
write-up/create a new game, poly spots with letters,
write about wellness figures, sentence/word relay, spell
out words with bodies
 Social Studies – history of the activities, demographics
of sport/PA in the nation, new trends, games from
different periods, map of US/world (add up laps run to a
distance on map), capitals (relay, match states to
capitals), olympics, folk/heritage dances
Basic Concepts in Curriculum
 Sample Ideas for Cross Curricular Integration
 Math – target heart rates, pedometers, sport statistics,
angles of pursuit, probability of success, add up team
scores, sport word problems, measurement recording
(long jumps), orienteering angles and unit conversions,
addition tag, probability with different strategies or
techniques, tag with math problems to get free,
calculate THR, orienteering with angles and distance
(use problems to determine next course)
 Science – physics of the body (biomechanics), care of
injuries, physiology/anatomy, nutrition effects, study of
movement (kinesiology), exercise physiology (what is
physiologically happening in the body), nature walk
Basic Concepts in Curriculum
 Sample Ideas for Cross Curricular Integration
 Music – rhythms, group exercise, motivation, creation
of dances, counting beats, stop/start command,
activities with songs
 Art – wall paintings, PE uniform design, sketches of
sport skills being performed at each cue, forming letters
with bodies, draw progression of activities, students
create topic related bulletin boards
Approaches to Curriculum Planning
(in no particular order)
 1. Top Down – Decide on the exit outcomes for physical
education program and then design down by creating
lower-level outcomes for each course (if applicable),
each unit, and every lesson plan (stated as objectives).
As the outcomes are created for each level down, the
program or instructional practices are also created. After
the program has been designed, it is “delivered up”
meaning educators start teaching the lesson plans
whose objectives lead towards the unit outcomes which
then help fulfill the program outcomes. This entire
approach is known as “design down and deliver up.”

For example, the NASPE outcomes project was partly an
attempt to drive curriculum planning by creating generic
outcomes for a physical education program.
Approaches to Curriculum Planning
(in no particular order)
 2. Bottom Up – Lesson plans are created and then linked
together to form units. The units may be linked together
into seasons, categories (net games, invasion games,
etc) or some other organizational scheme. In some
cases, there is no organizational scheme and units are
delivered randomly.
 Generally, this approach is less organized, less efficient
in terms of managing available instructional days, and
results in less student learning. Unfortunately, this
approach is somewhat common but due to its limitations,
it should be avoided. Really, this approach does not
represent or build a curriculum.
Approaches to Curriculum Planning
(in no particular order)
 3. Understanding by Design (UbD) –
Focuses on teaching for understanding,
particularly linking concepts across the
curriculum. Utilizes backwards design
where educators examine outcomes in
order to design instruction and
assessments (similar to top-down).
Approaches to Curriculum Planning
(in no particular order)
 4. Standards based – Relies on clear,
measurable standards stating what students
should know and be able to do. The
curriculum and all related instruction and
assessments are aligned with the standards.
Generally emphasizes assessment more than the
other approaches
 Units may be organized around standards but this
is not common
 Currently this is the favored approach, it has many
similarities to top-down.

Approaches to Curriculum Planning
(in no particular order)
 5. Curriculum Map (or teaching & learning
map) – graphical and sequential organization
of the curriculum.
Examples – online in wikiPE
 Possible column headings in a curriculum map:

• Class of activity (coop, team, indiv, adventure),
standards, seasons, types of games (invasion, net, tag),
domains (P, C, A), dates, activities, equipment,
assessments.

Weaknesses: Often lacking sufficient detail. May
not be practically useful depending on how
organized.
Approaches to Curriculum Planning
(in no particular order)
Approaches to Curriculum Planning
(in no particular order)
Curriculum Value Orientations
 What is a value orientation?


Answer: one’s belief and philosophical perspective on
curriculum design or teaching/learning.
Why important – Your colleagues may approach the purpose
of the curriculum from different perspectives. It is important
to recognize differences, respect them, and compromise to
create a curriculum of which everyone can be proud.
Curriculums which are imposed on others are rarely
successful. This can be likened to “building” classroom rules
on the first day, where everyone has ownership of the rules.
 DON’T be a curriculum BULLY
Curriculum Value Orientations
 Types of value orientations:
 Disciplinary Mastery – mastering knowledge and
performance of the subject matter.
• Back to basics, testing, skills

Self Actualization - achievement of one's full
potential through individual growth and selfmanagement.
• Be all you can be, self esteem, personal growth

Social Reconstruction – curriculum is seen as a
vehicle for creating a better society.
• Race, gender, occupations, family life, disease
prevention, cooperating, sensitivity