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Clinical Field Experience D: Curriculum Action Plan

Laurie Salem

College of Educational Administration, Grand Canyon University

EAD 520: Strengthening Curricular Programs to Promote Continuous School Improvement

Lisa Schlabra

May 10, 2023

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Interview about Curriculum Gaps and Supplements

For this assignment, I interviewed my principal, kindergarten teacher Mr. Dobbs and 1st

grade teacher Ms. Jackson. This topic has been a popular one whenever we are in a testing

window. The information that students are tested on does not seem to coincide with what

students are learning. This in turn leads to many teachers discussing their concerns about the

curriculum. I wanted to focus on one subject to ensure that the gap could also be identified across

grade levels. Both teachers were able to share their ideas.

Gaps in Curriculum for Kindergarten and First Grade

One issue that both teachers had with their curriculum is that the flow of the knowledge

and skills did not flow with the end of year skills and knowledge of the previous grade. For

example, Mr. Dobbs stated that at the end of kindergarten, his students are only expected to

know numbers up to 100 and be able to add and subtract within 20. However, Ms. Jackson

shared that this skill is only addressed in the first two lessons of first grade, with the rest of the

time focused on having them add and subtract within 50 and understand numbers up to 120.

It is important to be able to not only understand the curriculum to be able to identify gaps that

will impact learning, but to also be able to create a plan to fill those gaps (Beecher, 2008).

Supplementing Curriculum

When curriculum writers do not work with educators to create cohesive and

developmentally appropriate curriculum, teachers then have to spend valuable time researching,

preparing, creating and providing supplemental resources and instruction to try to close those

gaps. Mr. Dobbs shared that he uses his time finding activities to address number sense. He finds

that his students are expected to add and subtract within 20, but that they do not have enough

time to actually explore numbers and what they mean. Therefore, he incorporates number sense
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into his small group plans as well as morning work tubs. Ms. Jackson supports her students with

mini lessons around number sense as well, since she has started collaborating with Mr. Dobbs.

This one adjustment to how she plans has helped her students begin to close the gap with their

number sense.

Gap in Practice Time

Another important issue that was raised that they felt contributed to these gaps in learning

is that students do not have enough practice time. Each day, students are expected to learn a new

skill, without there being a concern that they mastered the lesson taught previously. Mr. Dobbs

expressed his frustration about the pacing of the lessons for his kinders. They often are expected

to learn up to three new skills in a week. This leaves little to no space for students to grapple

with the content so that they can learn it. Ms. Jackson has begun using morning work time to

insert more practice. When students come in, they have a mini worksheet with four problems on

it. Students are expected to work independently to complete the worksheet as best they can. After

a few minutes, they come to the carpet as a group and she reviews the answers with them.

Our principal was surprised to realize how much time teachers spent looking for

supplemental information. While she understood that some lessons would require a little

modification, her understanding was that the curriculum was written so well, that these

adjustments were not necessary.

Best Practices for Student Achievement

After the interviews, I was able to meet with my principal where I shared a few best

practices that would support student growth and achievement. One such best practice is to

provide explicit instruction. This means that teachers model the skill, talking through their
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process in clear and concise ways. This is beneficial because it takes the guess work out of the

lesson and students can spend more time actually practicing the skills (Gersten, 2009).

Another best practice I suggested is peer interaction and learning groups. This is the time

students spend using the academic vocabulary and working through the content with their peers.

Grappling with new knowledge while working with groups helps students feel more at ease with

showing what they know to their friends (Morin, 2023).

A final best practice I suggested is to provide visuals for students. This simply means

providing opportunities for students to see math (Boonen, 2017). For example, when solving a

word problem, students can use unifix cubes to act out the math. This supports students using the

concrete, representational abstract model. Teachers can also use graphic organizers, number

lines, tape diagrams and other ways for students to manipulate numbers.

Conclusion

While teachers have shown their ability to support their students learning and growth by

supplementing resources and materials, the larger problem lies in choosing curriculum that does

not address the current academic needs of our students. Teachers would be able to spend more

time teaching the content and making sure students are learning than sitting in front of a

computer or making copies from books to fill the gaps found in the lessons. Moving forward,

teachers should be included in choices being made about instruction materials and resources.

This will only benefit students who will be n a more cohesive path to learning.
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References

Beecher, M., & Sweeny, S. M. (2008). Closing the Achievement Gap With Curriculum

Enrichment and Differentiation: One School’s Story. Journal of Advanced Academics,

19(3), 502–530. https://doi.org/10.4219/jaa-2008-815

Boonen, A. J. H., Wesel, F. van, Jolles, J., & Schoot, M. van der. (2017, February 5). The role of

visual representation type, spatial ability, and reading comprehension in word problem

solving: An item-level analysis in elementary school children. Vrije Universiteit

Amsterdam. https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/the-role-of-visual-representation-type-

spatial-ability-and-readin

Gersten, R., Beckmann, S., Clarke, B., Foegen, A., Marsh, L., Star, J. R., & Witzel, B. (2009).

Assisting students struggling with mathematics: Response to Intervention (RtI) for

elementary and middle schools (NCEE 2009-4060). Washington, DC: National Center for

Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S.

Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.

ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications/practiceguides/.

Morin, A. (2023, February 6). What is flexible grouping?. Understood.

https://www.understood.org/articles/what-is-flexible-grouping
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