Understanding Your Needs
A curriculum is designed to implement sequential instructional resources, materials, assessments, and methods to teach all students. Regardless of the discipline, a curriculum will be aligned to national or state standards that create the overall criteria for each course. A curriculum typically aligns with the educational goals and mission of the school and demonstrates what every student will learn based on the grade and content area.
Schools review curriculum every so often to make sure that it is still relevant for all learners to learn the best way possible, as well as to keep up with current times and the relevance of technology. However, when choosing a curriculum many factors need to be considered before deciding which curriculum to move forward with.
When looking for a new math curriculum, it is important to consider many aspects to ensure that you choose the best, most appropriate, and most effective curriculum for your school and students. Some of these things to consider are who the curriculum is for, what the learning goals are, are there any budget constraints that need to be closely monitored, and are there any preferred learning methods that will make a curriculum stand out more?
Evaluating Curriculum Options
When choosing a new curriculum, the age and grade of students is one of, if not the most, important factors to keep in mind. The right curriculum will include the knowledge and skills that those particular students should learn. This will include the grade and age-appropriate standards each student must meet.
This ensures that all students are in the appropriate courses and levels so that they can be successful with the material. Age and grade should be the first thing to consider because as students grow and develop, their math courses will build upon skills they have already mastered. This is especially important to continue to foster students’ learning and depth of knowledge.
Learning goals and methods are also crucial when choosing the best math curriculum. The curriculum should be applicable to all types of learners, whether they be visual, auditory, kinesthetic, or read/write. Although some regions of math may have one particular way to be solved, it does not mean that the curriculum should not have ways to apply those topics to all learners. A great curriculum will provide different resources for teachers to reach students with any type of learning method.
It will give the teacher opportunities to model the different learning methods to help better all students’ understanding of the topic areas, not just a few. Knowing each course’s learning goals can help to determine the best math curriculum for one’s school and course. Every class has its own learning goals that all students should grasp from the specific lessons.
These goals can be basic mathematical skills, problem-solving skills, conceptual understanding and depth of knowledge of mathematical concepts, or even communicating mathematical/logical concepts differently. Learning goals make the content standards attainable for students.
The best curriculum will provide resources that help the teacher to address these different learning goals and even differentiate based on the students’ needs. If a curriculum cannot provide resources to help tier learning for all students, then it may not be one of the best to consider.
Most schools typically have a budget set aside for every single aspect of the school including curriculum. When searching for a new math curriculum, the amount of money set aside is important to remember. This is usually a non-negotiable aspect and needs to be strictly followed. Unfortunately, some budgets are not as big as others and some curriculum, and their resources are more expensive than others.
Although this could make choosing a curriculum challenging, it does not mean it is impossible. Many curriculums and resources are great and fit within a school’s budget constraints. However, it is important to ensure that the curriculum is within the budget set aside as funds typically cannot be taken from other sources.
When choosing a math curriculum, you should understand not only the needs that you need to look for in a curriculum but also how to evaluate the different curriculum options that are presented/considered. Understanding what a school needs and how to evaluate the options can help any school determine the best math curriculum.
As mentioned before, ensuring the curriculum aligns with the standards is crucial when evaluating if the curriculum is the best fit for one’s school. When choosing a curriculum, it is important to look through every aspect of it to ensure that the necessary topics and skills for each grade level are aligned with your school’s standards.
This also includes ensuring the curriculum offers ways to connect to all standards, not just a minimal amount. Sometimes, a curriculum will touch on the basic standards and not other standards, such as what is known as “plus” standards.
This is especially important when it comes to the high school mathematics curriculum. Typically, in high school and even in some middle schools, there are different levels of math courses offered. Some curriculums only align with the basic standards typically for the lower levels such as College Preparatory. However, since many schools offer honors or even high levels, the “plus” standards are also taught and what needs to be aligned.
By closely looking at a curriculum and the standards it connects to can help one to determine whether it is the best fit or not. It also helps to ensure the curriculum provides students with enough depth and rigor. Is the curriculum you are considering challenging enough to keep all students engaged? Does it provide enough depth for all students, regardless of the type of learner or ability, to grasp the concepts in their own way? When evaluating a math curriculum, these questions should be answered.
When considering a new curriculum, a variety of instructional methods, assessment tools, teacher support, and resources should be part of the evaluation process. These considerations can all be intertwined to ensure the best school curriculum and courses offered. Whoever is evaluating the curriculum can consider questions such as: does the curriculum use a variety of methods to teach concepts? Are there various lessons, worksheets, projects, and hands-on learning activities that can help students connect to the material?
Again, a curriculum should offer these things for all levels of learners and be able to cater to all the different learning styles one might have in the classroom. The same goes for assessment methods.
- Does the curriculum you are considering include different types of assessments, such as formative and summative?
- Does it offer a variety of ways to check for students’ understanding and progress on topics?
- Does it provide resources that help to identify students’ weaknesses as well as resources to help if a student is struggling?
The best curriculum will provide all of these to help ensure that every student can access the curriculum to better their learning and success within the course.
Finally, evaluating the resources and support offered for a teacher are a great way to determine if the curriculum is the best fit or not. This includes lesson plans, worksheets, and assessment tools.
However, it could also include additional resources for the teacher, such as an online community to share ideas and resources or ways to receive professional development to improve their teaching. These are all important aspects that should be considered when making a huge decision such as picking a new curriculum.
When considering a curriculum, the authenticity in delivery, the content, and the resources for teachers and students are key aspects that can help determine if a math curriculum is the right fit for a school. Ensuring that the cost is suited for the budget set aside is also an essential factor in determining the right math curriculum. Once you have determined the factors that you want in a curriculum, and then evaluate them based on standards, a new curriculum can be decided upon for your school and/or district.
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