Moving Beyond Drill and Practice: Bringing Your Curriculum to Life
Have you ever heard the saying “teach to the student, not to the curriculum”? Based on my own educational experiences, both personally and professionally, I believe this statement has incredible value for any educator today. A curriculum cannot be designed with a “one size fits all” mindset. Curriculum of any sort—whether it be for a public school setting, a private school setting, or a Christian educational context—needs to be personalized, brought to life, and “mirror the experiences of students” (Radice, 2022).
To bring curriculum to life, we need to consider new approaches. While many curriculums contain drill and practice opportunities, such as worksheets, educators need to carefully consider whether these items allow for personalized learning and mirror the experiences of students. Secondly, educators need to recognize the powerful role that technology can now play in curriculum. According to the article “Why Do We Need Technology Integration?”, technology promotes a handful of twenty-first-century skills including developing personal and social responsibility, planning, critical thinking, reasoning, and creativity (Edutopia, 2007). This means that when planning curricular experiences, educators need to carefully select a technology tool for the benefits it offers students—academic and/or real-life skills, etc.—rather than simply select a technology tool for the sake of checking a box and saying it was added to the curriculum.
“As teachers plan curriculum and learning experiences for their students, there must be careful consideration given to how experiences are designed instructionally.”
Flipping a Classroom
As teachers plan curriculum and learning experiences for their students, there must be careful consideration given to how experiences are designed instructionally. One innovative way to design curriculum experiences is to “flip” a classroom. In a flipped classroom, students learn (read, study, etc.) about a topic prior to a scheduled class time, which leaves more class instructional time for students and instructors to actively discuss, apply, and engage with that knowledge in tangible, concrete ways. Class time is not allotted for student preparation; instead, in-class instructional time within a flipped classroom curriculum is designed for active learning, discussion, and application of one’s knowledge. This instructional method allows the curriculum to be studied in greater depth in terms of content coverage, more active engagement with the curriculum, high-quality learning, and student engagement with peers.
Project-Based Learning
An additional way that curriculum can be brought to life in terms of its design is by designing curriculum around the tenets of project-based learning. PBLWorks defines project-based learning as “a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge” (“What Is PBL?,” n.d.). Since project-based learning is not a curriculum per se, educators must design curriculum units around the gold-standard elements of project-based learning, including a challenging problem or question, a phase of sustained inquiry, authenticity, student voice and choice, reflection, critique and revision, and a public product. Project-based learning can transform any subject-area based curriculum. The time and effort put into designing project-based learning curriculum units may seem like a lot, but the benefits of strategically designing the curriculum to be more than drill and practice, or regurgitation, is worth it!
STEM Learning
STEM learning, like project-based learning, is an additional way that curriculum is being brought to life more and more today. STEM learning or curriculum has its roots in providing students of all ages with high-quality learning experiences in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Research indicates that STEM curricula allow students to not only learn about the world around them but also to “learn technical and problem-solving skills, promote opportunities for critical and creative thinking, and develop communication and collaboration skills with peers” (Project Lead the Way, n.d.). A wide variety of STEM curriculums are offered today by educational companies such as Discovery Education, Teach Engineering, Accelerate Learning, and NextWavesSTEM.
Peer Learning
Finally, your classroom curriculum can be transformed by tapping into the power of peer learning. Peer learning, otherwise known as collaborative learning, “involves students working in pairs or small groups to discuss concepts or find solutions to problems” (Center for Teaching Innovation, n.d.). While it may be daunting to some to integrate peer learning into the curriculum, it should neither be overthought nor seen as insignificant to shaping student learning. According to Western Governor’s University (2022), benefits of peer learning include but are not limited to offering new perspectives for students, social interaction, fostering teamwork and collaboration, and supporting diversity. Specific examples of peer learning that can be integrated into curricula include jigsaw activities, peer reviews and/or peer–feedback activities, collaboration projects, think-pair-share activities, Socratic seminars, peer tutoring, and discussions.
“The curriculum is the means by which we ensure that all our children get their fair share of the rich cultural inheritance our world affords. A good curriculum empowers children with the knowledge they are entitled to: knowledge that will nourish both them and the society of which they are members.” (Willowbrook Primary School, n.d.)
Conclusion
A curriculum can be brought to life in many different ways that are student-centered rather than teacher-centered. Rather than relying on drill and practice opportunities like worksheets, a plethora of alternatives exist such as those mentioned in this article—integrating technology, flipping a classroom, project-based, STEM, peer learning, and more. An important factor to consider when integrating any of the aforementioned items into the curriculum is which will best match the specific learning needs of your students and is of course, feasible!
Works Used
Anthony, Elizabeth, Scott Strobel, and Jacob Teter (2014). “What Is Newton’s Third Law?” TeachEngineering.org. Last modified October 26, 2023. https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/ucd_newton_lesson03.
Buck Institute for Education (n.d.). “Planning for the Future.” https://my.pblworks.org/project/planning-future.
Center for Teaching Innovation (n.d.). “Collaborative Learning.” https://teaching.cornell.edu/teaching-resources/active-collaborative-learning/collaborative-learning.
Claiborne, Lily, et al. (2020). “Teaching Outside the Classroom.” Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/teaching-outside-the-classroom.
Edutopia staff (2007). “Why Do We Need Technology Integration?” Edutopia, November 5. https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-importance.
PBLWorks (n.d.). “What Is PBL?” https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl.
Project Lead the Way (n.d.). “STEM Curriculum Elementary,” https://www.pltw.org/stem-curriculum-elementary-pltw.
Queen’s University Centre for Teaching and Learning (n.d.). “Field-Based Learning.” https://www.queensu.ca/ctl/resources/instructional-strategies/field-based-learning#:~:text=What%20is%20Field%2DBased%20Learning,to%20a%20real%2Dworld%20setting.
Radice, L. (2022). “Creating ELA Curriculum That’s Meaningful to Students.” Edutopia, December 2. https://www.edutopia.org/article/creating-ela-curriculum-thats-meaningful-to-students/#:~:text=Curriculum%20should%20mirror%20their%20experiences,Themes%20transcend%3B%20experiences%20may%20not.
Western Governors University. (2022). Peer Learning: overview, benefits, and models. September 1. https://www.wgu.edu/blog/peer-learning2208.html#close.
Willowbrook Primary School (n.d.). “Curriculum.” https://www.willowbrook.devon.sch.uk/curriculum-intent-implementation-and-impact.
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