Standard Three: Understanding and Organizing Subject matter for Student Learning

3.2 Organizing curriculum to support student understanding of subject matter.

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Description of Practice

Experienced Practice that Exemplifies the Standard

The curriculum is organized and sequenced and demonstrates concepts, themes, and skills, and the relationships between them. It reveals and values broad range of perspectives, and is organized to ensure that all students develop a deep understanding of core concepts.

Maturing Beginning Practice

The curriculum is organized and sequenced; demonstrates concepts, themes, and skills; reveals and values different perspectives; and supports an understanding of core concepts for all students.

Developing Beginning Practice

The curriculum is loosely organized, inconsistently demonstrates concepts, themes, and skills without revealing or valuing different perspectives, and supports an understanding of core concepts for some students.

Practice Not Consistent With Standard Expectations

The curriculum is not organized and it rarely demonstrates concepts, themes, and skills; rarely values different perspectives or rarely supports students' understanding of core concepts.

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What the classroom looks like

• Knows how content is learned by students
• Prepares to teach a concept and considers student previous knowledge or skills
• Understands the different type of knowledge students must master in order to master the subject matter, including factual, procedural knowledge, social skills, collaboration, group interactions or physical skills and how it relates to students' development
• Organizes subject matter to promote student learning
• Is aware of which pages of the text deal with concepts that students need to master
• Understanding of optimal pedagogical organization of subject matter
• Test taking strategies
• Other________________________

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As teachers develop, they may ask, "How do I . . ." or "Why do I . . ."

• use my knowledge of development to organize and sequence the curriculum to increase student understanding?
• use my subject matter knowledge to organize and sequence the curriculum to increase student understanding?
• use my knowledge of the subject to plan units and instructional activities that demonstrate key concepts and their interrelationships?
• organize subject matter effectively to reveal and value different cultural perspectives?
• incorporate subject or grade level expectations and curriculum frameworks in organizing subject matter?
• organize curriculum to ensure that students develop a deep understanding of core concepts in each subject matter area?