Are students actually learning what you’re teaching? How long does it really take to work through a unit of trigonometry? What knowledge and skills have students mastered, and what are they missing? Where should they be at the end of the school year – or their entire school journey? Knowing the answers to these questions can inform everything from what you teach to how you teach it – both within each classroom and across the whole school. But getting those answers can be difficult if you don’t have a strategy to plan student learning and measure its outcomes. That’s where curriculum mapping shines. In short, curriculum mapping is a process where teachers, administrators and other support staff come together to plan out learning goals for students throughout the learning journey. It sets the scope, sequence and pace of learning, aligned across grades, subjects and standards. It also provides a benchmark against which actual classroom progress can be measured as students advance to make future curriculums more effective. It’s less about how you teach, and more about what you teach and how you’ll track learning. That covers the what – but what about the why? Let’s take a look at the short- and long-term benefits of curriculum mapping, for teachers, administrators and students. Let’s start with the benefits we’ve seen curriculum mapping have within a single school year. For teachers, curriculum maps help tailor learning to your students and learning goals as they progress through the curriculum by: For administrators, curriculum maps are a great way of getting everyone involved in learning on the same page by: For students, curriculum maps plot out a structured path of learning that moves smoothly from one level to the next by: Of course, the good news doesn’t stop there. The true magic of curriculum mapping happens when it becomes an established practice year-over-year in your school. For teachers, mapping curriculums over the long-term gives you insights into how students learn and where to prioritize your teaching by: For administrators, curriculum maps, combined as a whole, set the tone for learning across the entire school by: For students, curriculum maps make learning more interesting, engaging and achievable during their entire learning journey by: If so, you have an exciting path ahead of you! We recommend starting with our very own complete guide to curriculum mapping. It’ll walk you through the process from start to end, from understanding why curriculum maps matter to creating, reviewing and approving your own. Or, check out how to create a curriculum map to see what goes into a great curriculum map. Happy mapping!Short-term benefits of curriculum mapping
Long-term benefits of curriculum mapping
Ready to map your way to a stronger curriculum?