SAU 50 Curriculum Overview Adopted: September 2016
The
curriculum in SAU 50 has been developed by the teachers responsible for
instruction and assessment of that area. All curriculum was developed
through the Understanding by Design process. It begins with “the end in
mind” starting with how we want students to apply and demonstrate their
learning and planning backwards from that ultimate outcome or
competency. Therefore, our curriculum is competency based.
An
illustration of a competency based system is driving. There are
standards associated with driving, such as basic vehicle operation,
basic vehicle maneuvers, rules of the road, signs, and signals, to name
just a few. In order to meet those standards, someone must have
essential skills and knowledge. The diagram below illustrates this.
In
the same way, teachers have taken the standards and decided what are
those essential skills and knowledge needed to master that standard.
Those skills listed as “I Can” or “Students Will” statements are the
learning targets posted in each classroom for daily lessons. You will
see those listed in the curriculum documents under the Acquisition
section as these are skills and knowledge students need to acquire and
demonstrate.
In
learning and being ready to drive, one would never stop at just meeting
the standards. The ultimate goal of meeting those standards is to be a
driver and actually go driving, to demonstrate and apply that learning
in a variety of situations and contexts. Therefore, the ultimate
application and demonstration is the competency of being a safe and
responsible driver. The following illustrates the connection.
Likewise
in education, the ultimate goal is to have students apply and
demonstrate their learning. We want them to “go driving.” Teachers have
looked at each subject and unit students would be learning and have
determined the competencies. In each instance, teachers asked how
students would use that learning in their lives currently and in the
future.The current use is very important as we want students to
understand the relevance of what they are learning.
All
curriculum documents follow the same format based on the Understanding
by Design structure. The documents look the same for each curriculum
area and address essential skills and knowledge, standards,
competencies, and essential questions.
Note, all the
information in the curriculum, with the exception of the standards and
definitions, was written by the educators of SAU 50.