Curriculum

Mapping
Introduction
This lesson will teach you, an important process and tool in
curriculum development which is Curriculum Mapping and Map.

Curriculum mapping is a reflective process that helps

teachers understand what has been taught in a class, how it has
been taught, and how learning outcomes were assessed. The
curriculum mapping process results in a document known as a
curriculum map. Most curriculum maps are graphical illustrations
that consist of a table or matrix.
Curriculum Maps vs. Lesson Plans

A curriculum map should not be confused with

a lesson plan. A lesson plan is an outline that details what will be
taught, how it will be taught, and what resources will be used to
teach it. Most lesson plans cover a single day or another short
time period, such as a week. Curriculum maps, on the other
hand, offer a long-term overview of what has already been
taught. It is not unusual for a curriculum map to cover an entire
school year
Curriculum Mapping

Curriculum mapping is a process or procedure that follows

curriculum designing. It is done before curriculum implementation or the
operationalization of the written curriculum. This process was introduced by
Heidi Hayes Jacobs in 2004 in her book Getting Results with Curriculum
Mapping (ASCD, 2004). This approach is an ongoing process or “work-in-
progress”. It is not a one-time initiative but a continuing action, which
involves the teacher and other stakeholders, who have common concerns.
Curriculum mapping can be done by teachers alone, a group of teachers
teaching the same subject, the department, the whole school or district or
the whole educational system.
Some curricularists would describe curriculum mapping as making a map to
success. There are common questions that are asked by different
stakeholders, like teachers, colleagues, parents, school officials and the
community as well. These questions may include:
[Link] do my students learn?
[Link] do they study in the first quarter?
[Link] are they studying in the school throughout the year?
[Link] my co-teachers who handle the same subject, cover the same content?
Achieve the same outcomes? Use similar strategies?
[Link] do I help my students understand the connections between my
subjects and other subjects within the year? Next year?

Curriculum mapping, may be able to answer these questions above.

Furthermore, mapping will produce a curriculum map, which is very functional
tool in curriculum development.
Curriculum Mapping Process

There are many ways of doing things, according to what outcome one needs to
produce. This is also true with curriculum mapping. However, whatever outcome (map) will
be made, there are suggested steps to follow.
Example A.
[Link] a matrix or a spread sheet.
[Link] a timeline that you need to cover. (one quarter, one semester, one year) This
should be dependent on time frame of a particular curriculum that was written.
[Link] the intended learning outcomes, skills needed to be taught or achieved at the end
of the teaching.
[Link] in the same matrix the content areas/subject areas to be covered.
[Link] and name each resource available such as textbooks, workbooks, module next to
subject areas.
[Link] the teaching-learning methods to be used to achieve the outcomes.
[Link] and enter the assessment procedure and tools to the intended learning outcomes,
content areas, and resources.
[Link] the map among all involved personnel for their inputs.
[Link] and refine map based on suggestions and distribute to all concerned.
Example B. (For a degree program in college)
[Link] a matrix or a spreadsheet.
[Link] the degree or program outcomes (ex. BEEd, or BSEd)
[Link] the subjects or courses under the degree (GenEd, [Link], and Major
for BSEd)
[Link] the subjects along the vertical cells of the matrix in a logical or
chronological order.
[Link] the degree program outcomes along the horizontal cell (use code as PO1,
PO2…if outcomes are too long to fit in the cell) PO means program Outcomes
[Link] the Subject and the Outcome, and determine if such subject
accomplishes the outcomes as either Learned (L), Performed (P) or given
Opportunity (O). Place the code in the corresponding cell.
[Link] up all cells.
[Link] accomplishing the map, use it as a guide for all teachers teaching the
course for students to complete the degree in four years.
The Curriculum Map
Curriculum maps are visual timelines that outline desired
learning outcomes to be achieved, contents, skills and values taught,
instructional time, assessment to be used, and the overall student
movement towards the attainment of the intended outcomes.
Curricular maps may be simple or elaborate that can be used by
individual teacher, a department, the whole school or educational
system. A map is geared to a school calendar.

Curriculum maps provide quality control of what are taught in school

to maintain excellence, efficiency and effectiveness. It is intended to
improve instruction and maintain quality of education that all
stakeholders need to be assured.
Sometimes, parents and teachers would ask questions like: “Why is
my friend’s son studying decimals in Mr. Bernardo’s class and
my own son is not studying the same in Miss Julia’s class when
they are of the same grade level?” or “Why do some of my
students recognize the parts of speech while others are totally
lost?”
Parents, teachers and the whole educational community can
look at the curriculum map to see that intended outcomes and
content are covered. A map can reassure stakeholder’s specific
information for pacing and alignment of the subject horizontally or
vertically. It will also avoid redundancy, inconsistencies and
misalignment. Courses that are not correctly aligned will allow
teacher to quickly assess the mastery of the skills in the previous
grade, to avoid unnecessary reteaching.
Horizontal alignment, called sometimes as “pacing guide”, will make all
teachers, teaching the same subject in a grade level follow the same timeline
and accomplishing the same learning outcomes. This is necessary for state-
mandated, standard-based assessment that we have in schools. Vertical
alignment, will see to it that concept development which may be in hierarchy
or in spiral form does not overlap but building from a simple to more
complicated concepts and skills. Alignment, either vertical or horizontal, will
also develop interdisciplinary connections among teachers and students,
between and among courses or to higher levels, thus making learning more
relevant.
A curriculum map is always a work in progress that enables the
teacher or the curriculum review team to create and recreate the curriculum.
It provides a good information for modification of curriculum, changing of
standards and competencies in order to find ways to build connections in the
elements of the curricula.
[Link]-centered design
This design is often attributed to the influence of John Dewey,
Rousseau, Pestalozzi and Froebel. This curriculum design is
anchored on the needs and interests of the child. The learner is not
considered a passive individual but one who engages with his/her
environment. One learns by doing. Learners actively create,
construct meanings and understanding as viewed by the
constructivists. In the child-centered design, learners interact with
the teachers and the environment, thus there is a collaborative
effort on both sides to plan lessons, select content and do activities
together. Learning is the product of the child’s interaction with the
environment.
Example of a Curriculum Map

Here are two examples of a curriculum map. Sample A is for Basic

Education and Sample B is for a College Level.

Example A: Excerpt from DepEd Curriculum Guide for science 3 shows a

sample of a map for Quarter 1 and 2. A column for Code was not included.
ELEMENTARY ECIENCE GRADE 3
Note: For Quarter 2, there are still two major content which are 3. LIVING Things 3.1
Plants and 4. Heredity: Inheritance and Variation.
• Legend:
L - Learned outcomes (knowledge, skills, values)/outcomes achieved in the subject
P - Practiced the learned outcomes (knowledge, skills, values)
O - Opportunity to learn and practice (opportunities to learn and practice knowledge,
skills and values but not taught formally)
Note:
[Link] all professional subjects are entered in the matrix.
[Link] outcomes for the professional courses are:

PO1 - Applied basic and higher 21st century skills.

PO2 - Acquired deep understanding of the learning process.
PO3 - Comprehended knowledge of the content they will teach.
PO4 - Applied teaching process skills (curriculum designing, materials development, educational
assessment, teaching approaches).
PO5 - Facilitated learning of different types of learners in diverse learning environments.
PO6 - Directed experiences in the field and classrooms (observation, teaching, assistance,
practice teaching)
PO7 - Demonstrated professional and ethical standards of the profession.
PO8 - Demonstrated creative and innovative thinking and practice of alternative teaching approaches.
Purpose of Curriculum Mapping

As education has become more standards-based,

there has been an increased interest in curriculum mapping,
especially among teachers who want to compare
their curriculum to national or state standards or even to the
curriculum of other educators who teach the same subject
and grade level. A completed curriculum map allows
teachers to analyze or communicate instruction that has
already been implemented by themselves or someone else.
Curriculum maps can also be used as a planning tool to
inform future instruction.
In addition to assisting with reflective practice and better
communication among faculty, curriculum mapping also
helps to improve overall coherence from grade to grade, thus
increasing the likelihood of students achieving program- or
school-level outcomes. For example, if all of the teachers in
a middle school create a curriculum map for their math
classes, teachers in every grade can look at each other's
maps and identify areas in which they can reinforce learning.
This also works well for interdisciplinary instruction.
Systematic Curriculum Mapping

Although it is definitely possible for a single teacher to

create a curriculum map for the subject and grade that
they teach, curriculum mapping is most effective when it is
a system-wide process. In other words, the curriculum of
an entire school district should be mapped to ensure
continuity of instruction. This systematic approach to
curriculum mapping should involve collaboration among
all of the educators who instruct students within the
school.
The main benefit of systematic curriculum mapping is improved horizontal, vertical, subject
area, and interdisciplinary coherence:
Horizontal coherence: Curriculum is horizontally coherent when it is comparable to the
curriculum of an equal lesson, course, or grade level. For example, the learning outcomes for a
10th-grade algebra class at a public school in Tennessee are horizontally coherent when they
match the learning outcomes of a 10th-grade algebra class at a public school in Maine.
Vertical coherence: Curriculum is vertically coherent when it is logically sequenced. In other
words, one lesson, course, or grade prepares students for what they will be learning in the next
lesson, course, or grade.
Subject area coherence: Curriculum is coherent within a subject area when students receive
equitable instruction and learn the same topics across subject area classes. For example, if
one school has three different teachers who teach 9th-grade biology, the learning outcomes
should be comparable in each class regardless of the teacher.
Interdisciplinary coherence: Curriculum is coherent in an interdisciplinary sense when
teachers of multiple subject areas (such as math, English, science, and history) work together
to improve the key cross-curricula skills that students need to succeed in all grades and
subjects. Some examples include reading, writing, and critical thinking skills.
Curriculum Mapping Tips:

The following tips will help you through the process of creating a curriculum map for
the courses you teach:
• Only include authentic data. All of the information in a curriculum map should
reflect what is actually happening in a classroom, not what should be happening
or what you wish was happening.
• Provide information on a macro level. You do not need to include detailed or
specific info about daily lesson plans.
• Make sure that learning outcomes are precise, measurable, and clearly
identified.
• It helps to use action-oriented verbs from Bloom's Taxonomy to describe
learning outcomes. Some examples include defining, identify, describe, explain,
evaluate, predict, and formulate.
• Explain how learning outcomes were achieved by the students and assessed.
• Consider using software or some other type of technology to make the
curriculum mapping process easier and less time ​time-consuming