Virginia Curriculum Design & Development 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following BEST describes the 'hidden curriculum' in a school setting?
- Elective courses not listed in the official catalog
- Implicit values, norms, and behaviors students learn through the school environment (Correct answer)
- Advanced content taught to gifted students only
- Content covered but not assessed on standardized tests
Correct answer: Implicit values, norms, and behaviors students learn through the school environment
The hidden curriculum refers to the unspoken lessons students learn about social norms, values, and expectations through their everyday school experience.
Question 2: A Virginia teacher writes learning objectives using Bloom's Taxonomy. Which objective targets the highest cognitive level?
- Students will recall the steps of the water cycle
- Students will explain the causes of the American Revolution
- Students will compare two approaches to solving a math problem
- Students will design an original experiment to test a hypothesis (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Students will design an original experiment to test a hypothesis
Designing an original experiment requires creation, the highest level of Bloom's Taxonomy, which involves synthesizing knowledge to produce something new.
Question 3: Which curriculum philosophy emphasizes student-centered learning, real-world problem solving, and learning by doing?
- Perennialism
- Essentialism
- Progressivism (Correct answer)
- Behaviorism
Correct answer: Progressivism
Progressivism, associated with John Dewey, emphasizes student-centered learning, experiential learning, and applying knowledge to real-world problems.
Question 4: A teacher wants to add depth and complexity to a unit without extending the timeline. Which strategy is most appropriate?
- Curriculum compacting
- Curriculum enrichment (Correct answer)
- Curriculum acceleration
- Curriculum mapping
Correct answer: Curriculum enrichment
Curriculum enrichment adds depth, complexity, and breadth to existing content without moving students ahead to the next grade-level curriculum.
Question 5: In Virginia, the Curriculum Framework documents serve to:
- Replace the Standards of Learning as the official state document
- Provide additional instructional guidance and essential knowledge beyond the SOLs (Correct answer)
- Assess teacher competency in curriculum planning
- Define the specific textbooks schools must use
Correct answer: Provide additional instructional guidance and essential knowledge beyond the SOLs
Virginia's Curriculum Frameworks expand on the SOLs by providing essential knowledge, key vocabulary, and additional instructional guidance for teachers.
Question 6: When designing a unit, a teacher identifies 'enduring understandings' — big ideas students should retain long after the unit ends. This concept comes from which framework?
- Madeline Hunter's lesson plan model
- Understanding by Design (UbD) (Correct answer)
- Bloom's Taxonomy
- Differentiated Instruction model
Correct answer: Understanding by Design (UbD)
Enduring understandings are a central concept in Understanding by Design (UbD), representing the big ideas that deserve deep study and long-term retention.
Question 7: A teacher notices that the adopted curriculum does not address a key cultural perspective relevant to students. The teacher adds supplemental materials. This is an example of:
- Curriculum replacement
- Curriculum adaptation (Correct answer)
- Curriculum abandonment
- Curriculum compacting
Correct answer: Curriculum adaptation
Curriculum adaptation involves modifying or supplementing existing curriculum materials to better meet the needs, backgrounds, or interests of specific students.
Virginia Curriculum Design & Development 3
Which of the following BEST describes the 'hidden curriculum' in a school setting?