Reflect on the idea of curriculum mapping.  What are the pros and cons of such an endeavor?

What is Curriculum Mapping?

Following definitions caught my attention while was researching about curriculum mapping

and I resonate with these thoughts-

Curriculum mapping is the process indexing or diagraming a curriculum to identify and

address academic gaps, redundancies, and misalignments for purposes of improving the overall

coherence of a course of study and, by extension, its effectiveness (a curriculum, in the sense, that

the term is typically used by educators, encompasses everything that teachers teach to students in a

school or course, including the instructional materials and techniques they use). (Curriculum

Mapping, 2013)

Curriculum mapping is a procedure for collecting data about the operational curriculum in a

school or district referenced directly to the calendar. Mapping provides the basis for an authentic

examination of that database in conjunction with assessment information about learners”. (Jacobs,

2004, para. 2).

“Curriculum mapping helps ensure that all students are getting the same education and the

same foundations” (Shilling, 2013, p. 26).

However, everything has its pros and cons. I am involved in curriculum mapping of my

subject (MYP digital design & IBDP computer science) and below is my reflection based on my

involvement in curriculum mapping.

Curriculum mapping is a method by which teachers thoroughly analyze the standards within

their curriculum and understand how the curriculum can be taught and mastered across the school

year (Hayes Jacobs, 2004). The process of creating a curriculum map requires long term

engagement, good content and skill knowledge, a thorough understanding of subject-specific

standards that are likely to be achieved by the students when he reaches the higher grade. Curriculum

maps bring in a lot of transparency by creating a continuum of skills from lower to upper grades.

According to me, curriculum mapping is a continuous process of aligning standards, skills & content

to classes and grade levels.  I use backward by design method proposed by Wiggins, McTighe. It is a

framework for designing courses that starts with the intended outcomes and works backwards.
Benefits of backward by design curriculum planning includes:

 Ensures alignment with standards

o Horizontal - among teachers teaching the same course

o Vertical - among courses within a course sequence

 Clarity of learning outcomes for courses. 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. (Authentic assessments formative assessments leading to summative assessments)

 Documents the authentic curriculum of the school

 Brings in transparency amongst all the stakeholders – School leadership,

teachers, students & parents

  Teachers get a lot of clarity on what exactly needs to be taught in class and

utilize their time in figuring out strategies for effective implementation

I am personally for the process of curriculum mapping particularly using backward design

method as it focuses on what students need to know, understand and be able to do as a result of

provided instruction. Student understanding is a central focus of curriculum mapping. I mapped my

curriculum of Design & Computer science using this method and as a teacher learnt a lot during the

process and refined my practices of teaching and learning. I was aware of the end goal and worked

towards it along with my learners.

However, this entire process of curriculum mapping is exhaustive and overwhelming.  I’ve

seen how time-consuming writing curriculum maps or documenting assessments can be in a school. I

am a huge fan of simplifying this process from the top down so that teachers themselves can focus on

the teaching, feedback, and assessment that is so important to student learning. The success of

curriculum mapping is when it is implemented properly but due to barriers in time, support,

collaboration, training, and changing needs of the organisation results in its lousy implementation.

Another issue with curriculum planning is its never-ending documentation. This daunting task is

often hindered by the barriers of inconsistent knowledge and understanding of the standards, a lack

of time to fully develop and refine the curriculum map. I have also observed that teachers also

struggle with the use of technology /software that is used for curriculum mapping.

Another major issue that I observed in curriculum mapping is that, however, it keeps students

motivated for learning but fails to focus on the student’s identity or self-discovery. Because of its

nature, it can’t focus on student’s diversity of backgrounds, the student’s coming from different

schools which follow different standards. I am not sure how curriculum mapping can focus on

students personalized learning? How the curriculum map can be flexible to incorporate changing

standards, changing needs and changing skills?

 Many researchers like Jacobs (2004), Hoyle (1985), Shilling (2013) comment that mapping

help ensures the continuity of instruction within a class and among classes because of the alignment

in goals, standards, subjects, levels, experiences, and outcomes regardless instructors. This keeps the

unity in the learning journey, which plays a critical role in school systems.

Challenges or no challenges, however, this method is useful for me. I have been working on

implementing it as best as I can and it has helped me orient myself in the larger picture.

References
Burns, R. C. (2001). Curriculum mapping. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Retrieved May 11, 2019, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/curriculum-
handbook/421/chapters/Overview.aspx
Curriculum Mapping. (2013, 11 18). Retrieved from edglossary:
https://www.edglossary.org/curriculum-mapping/#:~:text=Curriculum%20mapping%20is%20the
%20process,is%20typically%20used%20by%20educators%2

Hoyle, J. R. (1985). Skills for Successful School Leaders. Retrieved

from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED264654.pdf
Jacobs, H.H. (2004). Development of a Prologue: Setting the Stage for Curriculum Mapping. Getting
Results with Curriculum Mapping. Retrieved May 11, 2019,
from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/104011/chapters/Development-of-a-Prologue@-
Setting-the-Stage-for-Curriculum-Mapping.aspx
Schweitzer, Karen. (2020, February 11). Curriculum Mapping: Definition, Purpose, and Tips.
Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/curriculum-mapping-definition-4155236
Shilling, T. (2013). Opportunities and challenges of curriculum mapping implementation in one
school setting: Considerations for school leaders. Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 7(2),
20–37. DOI:10.3776/joci.2013.v7n2p20–37bv
Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (1998) Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.