Curriculum Design Flashcards

A curriculum designer is writing learning objectives. Which format most clearly communicates what students will be able to do?

Answer: Students will label the stages of the water cycle on a diagram

Effective objectives use observable, measurable action verbs like 'label' so student mastery can be assessed directly.

Which term describes the breadth of topics covered and the depth to which they are explored in a curriculum?

Answer: Scope and sequence

Scope refers to the range of content covered, while sequence refers to the order in which it is taught; together they form the scope and sequence.

A teacher notices that state standards call for students to analyze primary sources, but the district's curriculum materials only include secondary sources. This gap is best described as a problem with:

Answer: Standards-based alignment

Standards-based alignment requires that curriculum materials and tasks directly reflect the skills and content specified in the standards.

Which curriculum model emphasizes student questions and real-world problems as the primary drivers of instruction?

Answer: Problem-Based Learning model

Problem-Based Learning centers curriculum around authentic problems and student inquiry rather than predetermined subject-matter sequences.

A curriculum team is evaluating whether their elementary math curriculum effectively prepares students for middle school algebra. This is an example of examining:

Answer: Vertical coherence

Vertical coherence refers to how well a curriculum builds foundational skills across grade levels to prepare students for future learning.

When a curriculum includes implicit messages about social norms and expected behaviors that are not explicitly taught, this is known as the:

Answer: Hidden curriculum

The hidden curriculum encompasses unstated lessons about social norms, behaviors, and values that students absorb through the school environment.

A high school redesigns its course sequence so that prerequisite skills from English 9 are explicitly taught before English 10 builds on them. This reflects which curriculum design practice?

Answer: Intentional sequencing

Intentional sequencing ensures that prerequisite knowledge and skills are developed before students encounter more advanced content.