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As the person who has overseen the majority of thecurriculum development at the New Mexico School for theDeaf (NMSD), I am frequently asked to define ourcurriculum. I explain that NMSD teachers follow statestandards using a wide variety of materials, strategies,activities, and assessment tools. I am often met with a blankface after my explanation and asked a second time, “But whatis the NMSD curriculum?” I have come to realize that thequestioners simply want to know which company’s textbooksare used. This misconception—that curriculum equals aspecific textbook resource—ties into a general lack ofunderstanding of what curriculum means.

As Jacobs (2004) puts it: “The root of curriculum comes from the Latincurrere, meaning ‘a path or course run in small steps’.” Good teachersmake decisions every day about what steps to take (e.g., what to teach andhow to do so). Over the past two decades, countless research-basedinstructional materials and educational theories have saturated the field.In addition to keeping abreast of all these developments, teachers of deafand hard of hearing students need to take into consideration students’individualized education programs, differentiated instruction, strategies,and activities. Is it any wonder that some teachers cling to a specificmarketed resource, such as a textbook series, and follow its instructionswith little regard for actual evidence of student learning?

Photos courtesy of Jennifer Herbold

Jennifer Herbold,PhD, is principal ofCurriculum and SpecialPrograms at the NewMexico School for theDeaf in Santa Fe. Shereceived both herbachelor’s degree inEnglish and secondaryeducation and hermaster’s degree in deafeducation fromGallaudet Universityand her doctorate inlanguage, reading, andculture from theUniversity of Arizona.Having acquired a lovefor reading as a student,Herbold began hercareer teaching readingand writing to middleschool students andworking as a literacyspecialist. Herboldwelcomes questions andcomments about thisarticle at Jennifer.Herbold@nmsd.k12.nm.us.

helping students find

the path to full

potentialBy Jennifer Herbold

CURRICULUM MAPPING

AND RESEARCH-BASED PRACTICE:

Right: Teachers in the

Career Tech Ed

Department participate

in a discussion on how

to incorporate

vocabulary instruction

into curriculum maps.

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Wiggins (2010) writes: “We tend todefine teaching by measuring all thethings a teacher is supposed to do ratherthan all the things a teacher is supposedto accomplish.” When teachers thinkabout what they need to do, they needto think about the expected results andhow they can best support students inachieving those goals. As they facedecisions on the paths of learning intheir classrooms, they will findcurriculum maps helpful for showingthe way. At NMSD, we have immersedourselves in the process of usingcurriculum mapping to make sense ofteaching.

Curriculum mapping is differentfrom a “curriculum cookbook.” It doesnot consist of daily recipes in whichspecific instructional ingredients arecombined with a goal towards a

predictable product. Good teacherscreate maps that take into considerationvarious routes in which something maybe accomplished. Useful maps areflexible and provide a guide that takesinto consideration possible detours anda few sightseeing trips along the way.(See Jacobs & Johnson, 2009, fortemplates, tools, and resources relatedto curriculum mapping.)

Curriculum mapping, notes Jacobs(2004), is a way to organize informationand data in relation to the schoolcalendar. Supported by independentresearch (e.g., Kercheval & Newbill,2004; Division of Accountability,2002), curriculum mapping not onlysupports individual teachers but alsoprovides a way for schools to bringtogether all parts of the whole. In deafeducation, one teacher can easily be

responsible for educating students in asingle class who have a broad range ofacademic knowledge and ability. As aresult, teachers must provide additionalsupport materials for students whobenefit and yet, at the same time, theymust provide challenging materials fortheir higher-level students.

At NMSD, we are working towardsthe goal of creating maps for all subjectareas from K-12. This includes a widevariety of domains such as math, careerexploration, physical education, andeven woodworking. By no means hasthis been an easy process as it requirestime and dedication on the part ofteachers, the curriculum staff, and theadministrators. I have come tounderstand that the main benefit reapedfrom the curriculum mapping process isnot the finished product but the process

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itself. The process provides anopportunity for teachers who teachacross age and ability levels to have in-depth conversations in order to ensurethe cohesion of learning in each subjectarea.

Anatomy of a Curriculum MapGood curriculum maps include specificelements that vary depending on thesubject. Jacobs (2004) mentions much ofthe following information relating tothese elements in Getting Results withCurriculum Mapping:

• UNIT TOPIC: The unit topic should bea simple phrase that summarizes theentire set of lessons being taught(e.g., “important civil war battles,” or“taking care of your teeth,” or“quadrilaterals”).

• TIME FRAME: This is much morechallenging than it seems. Theaverage school year in New Mexicohas approximately 36 weeks. Takinginto account time for standardizedtesting, special events, and field trips,NMSD is left with 32 weeks. On oneoccasion, an elementary scienceteacher and I decided to establish atimeline for the units of fifth gradescience. We based our work onvarious recommendations fromspecific materials, the knowledge ofour students, and our own

instructional experiences. Much toour surprise, we ended up with unitsplanned for 49 weeks! We had to goback, analyze our time frame, andmake decisions on how to reducespecific units.

• ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: Teachers areoften concerned with the nuts andbolts of teaching, and taking abroader perspective can be difficult attimes. When developing essentialquestions, we need to take a step backand consider why we are teaching anygiven material. Why do studentsneed to learn this? What will berelevant to them and help themremember what they’ve learned?Essential questions should be thecornerstone of each unit and enablestudents to make meaning andconnections.

• STANDARDS: State-developedstandards, along with the nationwidecommon core standards, have becomean extremely important considerationwhen deciding what to teach.Mapping provides a way to ensurethat all standards are covered. Duringour mapping sessions, teachers andthe curriculum staff match standardsto various units and select specifictextbook chapters to teach as well asidentify related resources. We haveconsistently found that although

some resources claim tomeet all the New Mexicostate standards for aspecific grade level andcontent area, oftenstandards are missed orinsufficiently covered.This necessitates theaddition of supportingresources and materials.

• CONTENT AND SKILLS:These sections listexactly what is beingtaught and what skillsstudents are expected toacquire.

• RESOURCES, ACTIVITIES,AND ASSESSMENTS:

Resources, activities, and assessmentsare continually updated as newresources (including but not limitedto visual aids such as posters,websites, and textbooks) are procured.We have found that it is possible toplan the same standards, essentialquestions, content, and skills for eachclass’s higher- and lower-level groups.For example, sometimes we have twotextbooks or materials geared todifferent reading groups within thesame subject and grade level. Withinthe resources section, we label thoseaccordingly (e.g., “Group A: Chapter14; Group B: Chapter 12”).

• REFLECTIONS: This is a section thatwe have left blank for teachers todocument their thoughts during orafter each unit topic. They can reviewassessment information to determineif the mapped out unit does what it isintended to do. They can make notesof different activities and new ideasthat can be added to the map.

Curriculum Mapping for Deaf Students—A Personal ExperienceWithin the field of deaf education, themapping process must take intoconsideration the language andcommunication needs of the students. AtNMSD, we have tried to address those

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needs through the compilation of variousprint and non-print resources andincluded differentiated activities fromwhich teachers may choose. One of thechallenges we have encountered isconsidering the needs of the deafstudents who are able to understand age-appropriate information in ASL yet whocannot understand the same informationthrough printed English. The quality ofthe information conveyed should not bediminished for lack of textbook resourcesat their reading levels. For example, oneof our high school history teachers hasdeveloped a wide body of PowerPointslides on different time periods in thehistory of the United States and thoseslides were incorporated into theAmerican History curriculum maps.Other activities and resources mightinclude field trips, student-friendlywebsites, and projects. As an ASL-English bilingual school, NMSDincludes the development of ASL andliteracy in its lesson plans regardless ofcontent area.

I have learned—often the hard way—that it is not enough to have teachersattend training sessions and then createcurriculum maps within their owngroups. The success of this process iscontingent upon having a strong leaderwithin each curricular domain who canprovide ongoing support to teachers.Through trial and error, I have foundthat each domain has its own needs, andsome mapping templates fit somecontent areas better than they do others.

In order to introduce this process,teachers from a specific content area meetfor a full day with the curriculum staff(substitute teachers for their classes areprovided). We get as much done aspossible during this day in terms ofseparating standards into units,developing essential questions alongwith an approximate timeline, and weadd as many resources as possible.Invariably, we accomplish lessthroughout the day than we had hopedto, but the event allows teachers and thecurriculum staff to have a betterunderstanding of what needs to be done.

The curriculum staff meets with teachersfrom all content areas throughout theyear on a rotating basis.

Curriculum maps are livingdocuments. Although we are a couple ofyears into this process, we are still only atthe beginning stages. We know that ourteachers will need to consult and perhapsrevise the maps as often as possible.Throughout the next two years, our mainfocus will be creating preliminary mapsfor each content area at the K-12 gradelevels. Opportunities for NMSD’steachers to review their documentation,add activities, and develop the resourcessections will be provided. There is aplethora of information on curriculummapping available online, including

workshops and planners. Each schoolneeds to figure out what works best forits program and develop templates inaddition to forming short-term andlong-range mapping plans.

Marzano (2010) presents evidence ofthe positive relationship between teachercompetence and student achievement. Aswe are well into the 21st century ofresearch-based instruction, mappingincreases teacher competency by enablingteachers to think reflectively, reviewdocumentation and assessment dataregularly, develop strategies, andconsider state standards. All this leads toour ultimate goal of students beingprovided with the information and skillsthey need to reach their full potential.

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References

Division of Accountability. (2002). A study of effective practices in Virginia schools.Paper prepared by the Governor’s Best Practice Centers for the VirginiaDepartment of Education. Retrieved November 15, 2011, fromwww.clihome.com/Docs/CM /VirginiaFullReport.pdf

Jacobs, H. H. (Ed.). (2004). Getting results with curriculum mapping. Alexandria, VA:Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Jacobs, H. H. (2010). Cartography: How curriculum mapping has changed therole and perspective of the teacher. In R. Marzano (Ed.), On excellence in teaching.Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Jacobs, H. H., & Johnson, A. (2009). Curriculum mapping planner: Templates, tools,and resources for effective professional development. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Kercheval, A., & Newbill, S. L. (2004). A case study of key effective practices in Ohio’simproved school districts. University of Indiana at Bloomington, Indiana Center forEvaluation. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from www.indiana.edu/~ceep/projects/PDF/200202_Key_Effec_Prac_Final_Report.pdf

Marzano, R. (2010). Developing expert teachers: Defining the role of the classroomteacher. In R. Marzano (Ed.), On excellence in teaching. Bloomingon, IN: SolutionTree Press.

Wiggins, G. (2010). What’s my job? Defining the role of the classroom teacher. InR. Marzano (Ed.), On excellence in teaching. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Resources

Curriculum 21: Mapping the global classroom of the future, www.curriculum21.com

Jacobs, H. H. (1997). Mapping the big picture: Integrating curriculum & assessment K-12. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.