Curriculum Planning: Home

Education of America's school children always has been and always will be a hot-button issue. From what should be taught to how to pay for education to how to keep kids safe in schools, impassioned debates emerge and mushroom, both within the scholarly community and among the general public. This volume in the point/counterpoint Debating Issues in American Education reference series tackles the topic of curriculum and instruction. Fifteen to twenty chapters explore such varied issues as alternative curriculum, curriculum control, standardized curricula, subject- versus student-centered curricula, textbooks, and more. Each chapter opens with an introductory essay by the volume editor, followed by point/counterpoint articles written and signed by invited experts, and concludes with Further Readings and Resources, thus providing readers with views on multiple sides of curriculum and instruction issues and pointing them toward more in-depth resources for further exploration.

Curriculum at Your Core is a practical guide to designing curriculum that meets standards, serves personal and institutional values, and intentionally leads to successful student learning. Identifying which understandings, knowledge, and skills are most important for students to learn is always a question of values, so getting clear on values gives teachers a starting place to design cohesive units, courses, and programs. Written by a teacher for teachers, Curriculum at Your Core includes stories, examples, and case studies from across grade levels and subjects, as well as exercises, protocols, and templates teachers can use when writing values-congruent curriculum. Some key features include: stories of failures and successes in designing curriculum metaphors from everyday life to help teachers understand curriculum design as a process rooted in values and culminating in meaningful learning examples of essential questions, assessment guidelines, lesson calendars, unit plans, and curriculum maps exercises and templates teachers can use to create and assess curriculum protocols designed to encourage inclusive participation and critical reflection when colleagues look at curriculum together"

The new Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards should be part of every school district's repertoire of standards to ensure that the learning needs of advanced students are being met. NAGC Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards: A Guide to Planning and Implementing High-Quality Services details six standards that address the areas critical to effective teaching and learning, along with suggestions for implementing each one.The gifted education programming standards are focused on student outcomes that address both cognitive and affective areas. Aligned to each of the outcomes are research- and practice-based strategies known to be effective for this special population of students. The book includes sample assessments of student products and performances, which will assist schools in developing program and service evaluation benchmarks. This book is a must-have for school leaders and gifted education professionalswho want to offer the most effective services for gifted and advanced students.