Parallel Curriculum ModelParallel Curriculum Model

A plan for moving every childtoward expertise

Our Advance OrganizerOur Advance Organizer

Define curriculum Review curriculum components Define curriculum modelsOverview of PCM goals and purposesDefinitions, goals, and purposes of each

parallel Illustrations of each parallelDecisions and next steps

The Word: CurriculumThe Word: CurriculumLatin: Running courseScotland 1603: Carriage way, roadUnited States 1906: Course of studyUnited States, 1940: Plan for learning (study)

What is curriculum?What is curriculum?

Curriculum is a design PLAN for learning that requires the purposeful and proactive organization, sequencing, and management of the interactions among the teacher, the students, and the content knowledge we want students to acquire.

Some of the components of a comprehensive Some of the components of a comprehensive curriculum unitcurriculum unit

Content

Assessment

Introduction/Closure

Teaching Strategies

Learning Activities

Grouping and Pacing

Products

Resources

Extension Activities

Differentiation

Characteristics of Exemplary Characteristics of Exemplary CurriculumCurriculum

•Powerful knowledge goals, representative or generative topics, and big ideas

•Advance organizers that clarify prior knowledge, future activities, and expectations

•Motivating introductory experiences•Challenging and active learning activities•Authentic resources and products•Aligned assessment strategies and growth criteria, feedback, debriefing, transfer and extension opportunities, interaction, and support

•Interest-based applications and extensions•Modifications that attend to powerful student differences

What is a curriculum What is a curriculum model?model?

A model is a format for curriculum design developed to meet unique needs, contexts, and/or purposes. In order to address these goals, curriculum developers design, reconfigure, or rearrange one or more key curriculum components.

The Framework Underlying All The Framework Underlying All Curriculum Models Curriculum Models

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KEY CURRICULUM COMPONENTS

Reasons and Rationale Reasons and Rationale for a Curriculum Model for a Curriculum Model Based on Student Based on Student DifferencesDifferencesWhy should we differentiate our

curriculum?What kinds of student differences should

we address?How will we develop or revise curriculum

to address these differences?What should we expect from

differentiation?

Learning is our BusinessLearning is our Business

We want to ensure and increase student learning and achievement.

Learning begins with attention to students’ prior knowledge, motivation, attention, effort, and perception.

Different learners have different levels of prior knowledge, motivations, effort, and learning styles.

If we attend to learner differences we can make our curriculum more efficient.

Efficiency, effectiveness, and planning increases the quality of curriculum.

Differences Differences Among Learners Among Learners

Students have different levels of prior knowledge and cognitive abilities (Vygotsky/Bloom/Lu/Kulick)

Some students need, prefer, or learn best with a logical, sequence of main ideas that explain the structure of a topic or discipline (Bruner/Taba/Tyler)

Other students prefer to think in analogies and to see relationships among and across ideas (Gordon/Sternberg)

Many students prefer to see how ideas are used in the world (Dewey)

Still others need to see the personal relevance of ideas and topics to become motivated to learn (Wigginton/Summerhill)

So, how does PCM provide So, how does PCM provide qualitatively differentiated curriculum?qualitatively differentiated curriculum?

Opportunities to learn the core knowledge (enduring facts, concepts, principles, and skills) within a discipline

Opportunities to transfer and apply knowledge and/or use the tools and methods of the scholar, researcher, and practitioner

Opportunities to learn about the numerous relationships and connections that exist across topics, disciplines, events, time, and cultures

Opportunities for students to address or develop intrapersonal qualities and develop their affinities within and across disciplines

What is the Parallel What is the Parallel Curriculum Model?Curriculum Model?

The Parallel Curriculum Model is a set of four interrelated designs that can be used singly, or in combination, to create or revise existing curriculum units, lessons, or tasks. Each of the four parallels offers a unique approach for organizing content, teaching, and learning that is closely aligned to the special purpose of each parallel.

The Parallel Curriculum ModelThe Parallel Curriculum Model

CURRICULUMOF

CONNECTIONS

CURRICULUM OF

PRACTICE

CURRICULUMOF

IDENTITY

KEY CURRICULUM COMPONENTS

CORE CURRICULUM

Why Four Parallels?Why Four Parallels?

Qualitatively differentiated curriculum isn’t achieved by doing only one thing or one kind of thing.

Students are different. Students have different needs at

different times in their lives. Students’ styles, talents,

interests, environments and opportunities are different.

Students have different levels of expertise.

The Parallel Curriculum: The Parallel Curriculum: Four Facets of Four Facets of Qualitatively Qualitatively Differentiated CurriculumDifferentiated Curriculum Core: The essential nature of a discipline Connections: The relationships among knowledge Practice: The applications of facts, concepts,

principles, skills, and methods as scholars, researchers, developers, or practitioners

Identity: Developing students’ interests and expertise, strengths, values, and character

The Core Curriculum:The Core Curriculum:DefinitionDefinition

The Core Curriculum addresses the core concepts, principles, and skills of a discipline. It is designed to help students understand essential, discipline-based content through the use of representative topics, inductive teaching, and analytic learning activities.

The Curriculum of The Curriculum of Connections: Connections:

DefinitionDefinition

The Curriculum of Connections builds upon the Core Curriculum. It is a plan that includes a set of guidelines and procedures to help curriculum developers connect overarching concepts, principles, and skills within and across disciplines, time periods, cultures, places, and/or events. This parallel is designed to help students understand overarching concepts and principles as they relate to new content and content areas.

The Curriculum The Curriculum of Practice: of Practice: DefinitionDefinition

The Curriculum of Practice is a plan that includes a set of guidelines and procedures to help students understand, use, generalize, and transfer essential knowledge, understandings, and skills in a field to authentic questions, practices, and problems. This parallel is designed to help students function with increasing skill and competency as a researcher, creator, producer, problem solver, or practitioner in a field.

The Curriculum The Curriculum of Identity: of Identity: DefinitionDefinition

The Curriculum of Identity is a plan that includes a set of guidelines and procedures to assist students in reflecting upon the relationship between the skills and ideas in a discipline and their own lives, personal growth, and development. This parallel is designed to help students explore and participate in a discipline or field as it relates to their own interests, goals, and strengths, both now and in the future.

What does What does “Parallel” mean?“Parallel” mean?

Each parallel has components that align with each other. Parallels can be used singly or in combination. Each of the parallels is of equal value and use with a

variety of students or with an individual student at a variety of times.

The choice to use a particular parallel should be strongly related to learners’ profiles, the subject area, content goals, related units, lessons, and tasks.

Ascending Levels Ascending Levels of Demandof Demand

Ascending levels of intellectual demand is the process that escalates one or more facets of the curriculum in order to match a learner’s profile and provide appropriate challenge and pacing. Prior knowledge and opportunities, existing scheme, and cognitive abilities are major attributes of a learner’s profile. Teachers reconfigure one or more curriculum components in order to ensure that students are working in their zone of optimal development.

Why Provide Why Provide Ascending Levels of Ascending Levels of

Intellectual Intellectual Demand?Demand?

• To honor differences among students• To address varying levels of prior knowledge,

varying opportunities, and cognitive abilities• To ensure optimal levels of academic achievement• To support continuous learning• To ensure intrinsic motivation• To provide appropriate levels of challenge

Ascending Levels of Ascending Levels of Intellectual Demand Take Intellectual Demand Take

Into Consideration Into Consideration Students’ …….Students’ …….

Cognitive abilitiesPrior knowledgeSchemaOpportunities to learnLearning rateDevelopmental differencesLevels of abstraction

Ascending Levels of Ascending Levels of Intellectual DemandIntellectual Demand

Vary the depth Adjust the abstraction Change the complexity Make contexts and examples more

or less novel or familiar Adjust the pace Use more/less advanced materials

and text Provide more/less scaffolding Provide frequent/intermittent

feedback Provide/let students infer related

strategies Infer concepts from applications and

problem solving

Provide more/fewer examples Be more/less explicit/inductive Provide simpler/more complex

problems and applications Vary the sophistication level Provide lengthier/briefer texts Provide more/less text support Require more/less independence or

collaboration Require more/less evidence Ask for/provide analogies Teach to concepts before/after examples Teach principles before/after examples

or concepts

What are the purposes for the What are the purposes for the

Parallel Curriculum Model? Parallel Curriculum Model? Provides teachers with a comprehensive framework with which they can

design, evaluate, and revise existing curriculum Improves the quality of the curriculum units, lessons, and tasks Enhances the alignment among the general, gifted, ESOL, and special

education curricula Increases the authenticity and power of the knowledge students acquire

and their related learning activities Offers teachers the flexibility to achieve multiple purposes Reinforces the need to think deeply about learners and content knowledge Uses high quality curriculum as a catalyst for observing and developing

abilities in learners Allows flexibility to address varying needs and interests of learners

Ten Unique Things About Ten Unique Things About PCMPCM

Defines curriculum and curriculum models Describes the 10 components of curriculum design Unifies various purposes for differentiated curriculum Identifies specific goals for each parallel Describes how curriculum can be used to address the affective

domain Describes specifics for increasing intellectual challenge Treats all parallels as equal in value Supports an inclusive approach to special education Addresses collaboration between ESE, gifted, and general

education Stresses the development of talent and expertise for every learner

The Core CurriculumThe Core Curriculum

The Core Curriculum addresses the core concepts, principles, and skills of a discipline. It is designed to help students understand essential, discipline-based content through the use of representative topics, inductive teaching, and analytic learning activities.

Core is Core is not……..not……..

•Cultural literacy

•Basic skills

•Regular education

curriculum

Categories of KnowledgeCategories of Knowledge

•Facts: A specific detail, verifiable information

•Concepts: A general idea or understanding, especially a generalized idea of a thing or class of things; a category or classification

•Principles: Fundamental truths, laws, doctrines, or rules, that explains the relationship between two or more concepts

•Generalizations: A generalization is a principle or concept that can be applied across topics or disciples

•Skills: Proficiency, ability, or technique, strategy, method or tool

•Attitudes Self-knowledge of appreciations, values,and actions related to a topic that are affective in nature

Guiding Questions Guiding Questions within the Core within the Core

CurriculumCurriculum What is the essential content within this discipline? What are the powerful concepts, principles and skills within this

discipline? Which topics best represent the core content discipline? Which topics are developmentally appropriate for my students? How might I help students construct an accurate scheme of this

discipline? Which resources, activities, and products provide opportunities

for students’ analytic thinking about core knowledge? How might I assess student learning?

The Curriculum of The Curriculum of Connections: Connections:

DefinitionDefinition

The Curriculum of Connections builds upon the Core Curriculum. It is a plan that includes a set of guidelines and procedures to help curriculum developers connect overarching concepts, principles, and skills within and across disciplines, time periods, cultures, places, and/or events. This parallel is designed to help students understand overarching concepts and principles as they relate to new content and content areas.

What kind of connections are we talking about?

•Connections across time, events, topics, disciplines, cultures, and perspectives•Connections to self, other texts, and other people •Understanding of intra and interdisciplinary

macroconcepts•Understanding of intradisciplinary

generalizations•Understanding of interdisciplinary themes

Guiding Questions Guiding Questions within the Curriculum within the Curriculum

of Connectionsof Connections What are the major concepts and principles in this discipline? Which of these major concepts and principles link to numerous topics, people,

events, time periods, cultures and other disciplines? Which topics, events, people, or time periods best represent these intra or

interdisciplinary connections? Which topics, events, people, or time periods are developmentally appropriate

for my students? How might I help students construct a more comprehensive scheme of this

discipline, related topics, and other disciplines? Which resources, activities, and products provide opportunities for students to

think metaphorically about macroconcepts, principles, and generalizations? How might I assess student learning?

The Curriculum The Curriculum of Practice: of Practice: DefinitionDefinition

The Curriculum of Practice is a plan that includes a set of guidelines and procedures to help students understand, use, generalize, and transfer essential knowledge, understandings, and skills in a field to authentic questions, practices, and problems. This parallel is designed to help students function with increasing skill and competency as a researcher, creator, producer, problem solver, or practitioner in a field.

What is meant by the Curriculum of Practice?

Real world applicationsPractitionerProblem solverResearcherCreatorProducer

Allows students to function as a practitioner, a producer, a researcher, a problem solver, or a creator in the discipline

Allows students to assume a leadership role in conducting their own research

Provides a rationale for the persistent student question, “Why is this so important to learn?”

Provides students with the tools and methods for independent learning Provide a means for exploring the daily lives of professionals in the

discipline Offers students the opportunity to learn how to use and apply the skills

of the discipline in real world situations Supports transfer and application

Why might we use Why might we use the Curriculum of the Curriculum of

Practice?Practice?

Guiding Questions Guiding Questions within the within the

Curriculum of Curriculum of PracticePractice What are the common problems, practices, issues, needs, and

questions within this discipline? Who are the practitioners, researchers, problem solvers, and

contributors within this discipline? What are the powerful cognitive, research, reference, learning,

communication, and methodological skills within this discipline? What kinds of products, services, research, or investigations are

typically conducted in this discipline? Which problems, practices, issues, needs, and questions are

developmentally appropriate for students? Which resources, activities, and products provide opportunities for

students’ to act like a practicing professional within this field? How might I assess student learning?

The Curriculum The Curriculum of Identity: of Identity: DefinitionDefinition

The Curriculum of Identity is a plan that includes a set of guidelines and procedures to assist students in reflecting upon the relationship between the skills and ideas in a discipline and their own lives, personal growth, and development. This parallel is designed to help students explore and participate in a discipline or field as it relates to their own interests, goals, and strengths, both now and in the future.

The Identity ParallelThe Identity Parallel

Emphasizes the role of the individual within a content area

Provides opportunities for self explorationSupports an individual’s search for affinity,

affiliation, and knowledge of selfOffers a sequential plan to address

increasing levels of interest and commitment to a field

Guiding Questions Guiding Questions within the Curriculum of within the Curriculum of

IdentityIdentity What are the various interests, abilities, and learning preferences of my students? Which topics, skills, opportunities, and careers are related to my students’ profiles? How might I link my students’ profiles with the content I am required to teach? How might I introduce my students to professionals, organizations, and role

models in their areas of interest and strength? How might I help my students discover their own strengths and affinities? How might I identify, measure, and help my students reflect upon their growth

and progress toward self-actualization? What is our long-term plan for supporting my students’ self-actualization? Which opportunities and activities are appropriate for my students at this stage of

their development ? Which resources, activities, and products provide opportunities for students’ self-

reflection and personal development?

Where do standards fit in Where do standards fit in with this picture?with this picture?

National and state committees of content experts

Identified core concepts, principles, generalizations, skills, attitudes, and applications in various content areas.

Spiraled the content across grade levels

SSS are aligned with the “Big Ideas”

What is a standard?What is a standard?

A content standard is a declarative statement that identifies the essential knowledge in a given subject area that students should attain as a result of instruction. Performance standards, or benchmarks, specify ascending levels of understanding across various grade levels.

ProductsProducts

Definition: Performances or work samples created by

students that provide evidence of student learning

Purpose: To assess student growth, to provide for student reflection, to monitor and adjust instruction, to evaluate students

Characteristics: Aligned with the content goals, teaching methods and students’ learning needs; varied; authentic; motivating; efficient

AssessmentsAssessments

Definition: Varied tools, techniques, and criteria teachers use to measure students’ acquisition of knowledge

Purpose: To ascertain the extent to which students have attained the knowledge contained within the learning goal(s), to make decisions about future areas of emphasis

Exemplary Characteristics: Aligned with the learning goal, reliable, valid, varied, efficient, equitable, motivating, have a low baseline and a high ceiling

Core: AssessmentsCore: Assessments

•Assess students’ prior knowledge with regard to the representative topic and core concepts, principles, and skills.

•Useful assessment formats include: concept maps, journal entries, reflections, graphic organizers, charts, diagrams, tables, and collages

•Evaluate the extent to which students have mastered the core concepts, principles, and skills of the discipline(s). Ask for definitions, synonyms, examples, classification, and explanations.

•Use rubrics to measure student learning over time. Measure the quality/depth of conceptual understanding and guiding principles.

The Relationship Between The Relationship Between Assessment and CurriculumAssessment and Curriculum

Prior KNOWLEDGE

PREASSESSMENTReveals critical differences among students. Guides teachers’

decisions and planning

TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND FEEDBACK

ON-GOING & POST ASSESSMENT

How might we use a How might we use a particular parallel?particular parallel?

Design a unit Revise a unit Design a lesson Revise a lesson Design a task Revise a task Use in the regular classroom Use it in the gifted or ESE program Use it will all students Use it with some students Use different parallels with different curriculum components Use one parallel while another teacher uses another parallel Use one parallel after another teacher has used a different parallel Move back and forth between parallels within the same unit Use a parallel as an extension of a core unit Use parallel activities as optional activities for some students

Who might design PCM Who might design PCM curriculum?curriculum?

Classroom teachersSpecial education teachersVertical teamsInclusion teamsGrade level teamsCurriculum developersSubject area departments

With whom might I With whom might I use the PCM?use the PCM?

Individual students Small groups of students Entire classes Students with specific interests and affinities Students who are currently unmotivated by

traditional curriculum Students with advanced levels of prior knowledge Students with latent strengths and abilities Students with advanced cognitive abilities

What contextual factors should we consider What contextual factors should we consider

when making decisions about the use of PCM?when making decisions about the use of PCM? What is the present status and quality of our curriculum? Which content areas are in greatest need of improvement? What are the varying strengths and needs of our students? How do we want students to be different as a result of our

curriculum revision efforts? What kind of content learning must we do first? What kind of professional learning do we need to conduct? What information do we have or can we gather about our students in

order to make decisions about the appropriate use of PCM? How might we sequence and pace a PCM initiative?

James Lee in James Lee in Phi Delta KappanPhi Delta Kappan

“When students engage in challenging and authentic learning activities in which purposeful intellectual work is connected to the real world of problem solving and creative projects and in which a critically supportive audience responds to work in progress, students’ motivation and commitment to meet high expectations increase dramatically.”

Caution: Cape does not enable user to fly.

  -- Batman Costume warning label

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