The purpose of this book is to acquaint the reader with what curriculum is, how it is defined, what is involved in the process of its development, the different types and models of curriculum, as well as innovations to make teaching and learning more engaging and meaningful. This will be balanced by the impact of assessment and adapting curriculum in times of challenges with an eye towards the work of great schools and master teachers during times of change.

The inclusion of Open Educational Resources (OER) provides a new and exciting dimension to the text through the inclusion of educational resources from experts who have graciously consented to share their work with others at no cost, thereby giving all readers the opportunity of learning about curriculum without the burden of cost as a barrier that shuts out capable and enthusiastic learners from gaining the knowledge and skills necessary in becoming thoughtful consumers and practitioners of curriculum.

Each chapter has a short introduction followed by essential questions that are designed to pique the reader’s interest, then by content that will reveal answers to the questions and enhance the reader’s curriculum knowledge base through interactive learning activities (ILA).

Essential Questions

Why are “Essential Questions” important in curriculum and in this text?

Essential questions will frame the most important concepts for the reader in this eText.  According to McTighe (2012), Overarching Understandings and Essential Questions — are like two sides of a coin. The understandings state what skilled performers will need to effectively transfer their learning to new situations, while explorations of the essential questions engage learners in making meaning and deepening their understandings.

For an expanded explanation of why essential questions are “a key part of the instructional design process,” visit the Second Principle website to dive a little deeper into the concept.

Interactive Learning Activities

The ILAs will challenge readers to extend their abilities by applying the concepts and information presented in each chapter through problem-solving and applying what they have discovered.

The text is also divided into parts that capture the broad concepts and ideas for each portion of the text.

Instructors who want to create a group in Hypothesis for students to respond to, refer to the Hypothesis Quick Start Guide for Teachers and then refer student to the Quick Start Guide for Students.

Author’s Note

To assist in keeping this eText up-to-date and accurate, please let me know if you have questions about the content or encounter any broken links. Please make a note of the link referencing the chapter and page number of where it is located by emailing lbutton@uccs.edu.