Reflective Journaling on a Curriculum Map

As a student of Kaplan University, I gain knowledge of ideas that are extremely helpful to myself and the students that I teach. One idea that has been brought to my attention again after a few years is the idea of curriculum mapping. When you curriculum map, you look at the "content, skills, and assessments for every course taught"(Udelhofen, 2005, pg. 28). With this curriculum map, you strive for the goal of not only improving test scores, but developing critical thinkers. As I began my curriculum design course, I did not think about just how important deciding on an exact curriculum was for students, and for all teachers in the school. By creating a curriculum map at the school site, teachers can ensure that they don't repeat the same content year after year, and that there are no holes in necessary content standards. Relearning about curriculum mapping excited me into looking into how I can better teach my students. The goal, after all, of curriculum mapping is to "create an authentic, consistent, standards-aligned, and student based curriculum" (Udelhofen, 2005, pg. 40).

Reference:
Udelhofen, S. (2005). Keys to curriculum mapping: strategies and tools to make it work. Corwin Press. Thousand Oaks, California.