For many, developing a curricular approach to learning beyond the classroom can feel overwhelming and even convoluted. However, gaining clarity on the big picture can help bring each component into focus, helping to keep the complex uncomplicated. By breaking it down into processes and products, we can clarify our aims and guide our actions. This framework includes four key components: the archaeological dig, learning aims, educational plans, and the ongoing processes of leading, designing, implementing, and assessing.
The Archaeological Dig
The first step is to understand the unique context of your institution, its purpose, and its students. We call this phase an “archaeological dig” because it’s about exploring all aspects of the institution’s culture—mission, vision, values, history, key documents, formal and informal structures, the context, and, most importantly, the student population. The goal isn’t to get bogged down in specific details but rather to identify overarching themes that reveal the institution’s essence. These themes will guide the next phases of the curricular approach.
Learning Aims
The product of the archaeological dig are clear learning aims. These aims include the educational priority, learning goals, narratives, outcomes, and rubrics that shape the direction of your curricular approach. Essentially, learning aims ultimate direction guiding the actions.
Educational Plans
Once learning aims are established, the next step is to develop educational plans. These plans are the products that guide daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly actions. Often, they are organized by functional areas within the institution, focusing on specific learners, identifying core strategies, sequencing learning experiences developmentally, and creating facilitation guides. Educational plans act like syllabi, connecting concrete actions to the overarching learning aims.
Lead, Design, Implement, and Assess
The processes of leading, designing, implementing, and assessing form the backbone of a curricular approach. These processes are ongoing, fueling continuous improvement. While it may seem as though they should progress in a linear fashion, the reality is that these processes often interact dynamically. At any given time, an institution may be engaging with all four, continually refining and enhancing the curricular approach.
Ongoing Evolution
Launching a curricular approach requires recognizing these processes and products as distinct components to clarify aims and align actions. However, the ongoing evolution of the approach often blurs these distinctions as each informs and is informed by the others. For example, educational plans may evolve in ways that refine the wording of learning aims, while the assessment of a past year’s efforts might reveal insights that were overlooked during the initial archaeological dig.
The reality is that a curricular approach is never truly “done.” For some, this can feel daunting; for others, it can be liberating. The continual process of evaluation and refinement ensures that your approach stays relevant and responsive to the needs of students. Each component feeds into the others, shaping and reshaping the curricular approach as your institution, your students, and the world evolves.
