2. "...the teacher develops long-range and daily plans that are appropriate for students and consistent with district curriculum and state standards..." (Nolan & Hoover, p. 90, 2010)
Challenges at a Small School
Working for a small charter school in Utah for over five years was both a blessing and a curse. I had a lot of freedom to choose my own curriculum, with minimal oversight, but I also had the heavy responsibility of ensuring that all of my classes met the school's high academic standards, and also the state's core standards. In light of that responsibility, and also in response to a directive from our administration, in 2019 I overhauled my scope and sequence documents for all of the classes that I taught.
During the summer of 2019, I set about recreating and / or revamping a scope & sequence for each of the classes that I taught this year (four classes in all: Utah Studies, U.S. History I, Intro to Speech & Debate, and Game Theory & Design). Since we were a charter school, and much smaller than many public school districts, we didn't often have the benefit of being able to collaboratively design curriculum, since most of us are the only ones that teach any one class. True to form, I was the only one to teach the four classes I taught my last year there, so I was responsible for creating their scope and sequence all by myself (though I worked with others in my department, of course).
I wasn't totally unprepared for this however, as I had completed a pretty thorough one for my World Geography class during the Spring 2019 semester, as part of my coursework at Chadron State, for the Curriculum Development (EDCI 635) course I took while there. This course prepared me to be much better at analyzing, editing and even creating curriculum as needed. That project can be found here: World Geography Curriculum Project.
Revamping Scope & Sequence
Thankfully, this experience better prepared me for the following year, when I would not be teaching world geography any longer (though I did give my curriculum, lesson plans, etc. to the new teacher who happily used them), but needed to better prepare these outlines and plans for four different classes. Those included Speech & Debate, Utah Studies, U.S. History I, and Game Theory & Design. My world geography class was ultimately dropped to accommodate more U.S. History I classes, as I was currently the only one who taught those courses. Those documents (which outline the standards I adhered to, as well as the objectives and standards we met through the class) are each found below:
Working for a small charter school in Utah for over five years was both a blessing and a curse. I had a lot of freedom to choose my own curriculum, with minimal oversight, but I also had the heavy responsibility of ensuring that all of my classes met the school's high academic standards, and also the state's core standards. In light of that responsibility, and also in response to a directive from our administration, in 2019 I overhauled my scope and sequence documents for all of the classes that I taught.
During the summer of 2019, I set about recreating and / or revamping a scope & sequence for each of the classes that I taught this year (four classes in all: Utah Studies, U.S. History I, Intro to Speech & Debate, and Game Theory & Design). Since we were a charter school, and much smaller than many public school districts, we didn't often have the benefit of being able to collaboratively design curriculum, since most of us are the only ones that teach any one class. True to form, I was the only one to teach the four classes I taught my last year there, so I was responsible for creating their scope and sequence all by myself (though I worked with others in my department, of course).
I wasn't totally unprepared for this however, as I had completed a pretty thorough one for my World Geography class during the Spring 2019 semester, as part of my coursework at Chadron State, for the Curriculum Development (EDCI 635) course I took while there. This course prepared me to be much better at analyzing, editing and even creating curriculum as needed. That project can be found here: World Geography Curriculum Project.
Revamping Scope & Sequence
Thankfully, this experience better prepared me for the following year, when I would not be teaching world geography any longer (though I did give my curriculum, lesson plans, etc. to the new teacher who happily used them), but needed to better prepare these outlines and plans for four different classes. Those included Speech & Debate, Utah Studies, U.S. History I, and Game Theory & Design. My world geography class was ultimately dropped to accommodate more U.S. History I classes, as I was currently the only one who taught those courses. Those documents (which outline the standards I adhered to, as well as the objectives and standards we met through the class) are each found below:
The following school year (2020-2021), I no longer taught Speech & Debate, but took on the role of ESL Lead. Thus, I had to create a scope and sequence for that course as well, found here: English as a Second Language
Masters Degree Coursework & Planning
As I said, working at a smaller school has its challenges, but it has many rewards as well. I was able to better know each of the students, thus making it easier to learn their names and develop a healthy rapport with all of the students there at Merit Academy. While working here, I was able to finish my administrative licensure and internships, which offered me the opportunity to help create curriculum and professional development for my fellow teachers as well. This in turn prepared me to transition to administration for the 2021-2022 school year, and prepared me for those challenges as well.
Examples of my efforts include a data-driven training I did at the beginning of the Fall 2019 semester (see: Case Study A; Case Study B; Slideshow & Discussion) as well as curricula for the various teachers to use and engage their students with by visiting a nearby wetlands area, and using it as a learning experience for multiple grade levels (see: Lesson Plan Overview; Resource Website). I decided to do some research and create a day-long training regarding Suicide Prevention and Response, after an alumni of our school committed suicide. While many at the school didn't know about it, those that did took it pretty hard, and I decided that we ought to do something about it, in an effort to help make sure such a thing didn't happen again, but even if it did, our school would be better prepared. This information is particularly useful for admins and teachers in Utah (due to elevation / regional factors), but if you would like to use it, please do; I hope that it can help raise awareness and prevent another potential tragedy from occurring (see: training slideshow, training schedule, training preview & explanation, training recap video).
As I said, working at a smaller school has its challenges, but it has many rewards as well. I was able to better know each of the students, thus making it easier to learn their names and develop a healthy rapport with all of the students there at Merit Academy. While working here, I was able to finish my administrative licensure and internships, which offered me the opportunity to help create curriculum and professional development for my fellow teachers as well. This in turn prepared me to transition to administration for the 2021-2022 school year, and prepared me for those challenges as well.
Examples of my efforts include a data-driven training I did at the beginning of the Fall 2019 semester (see: Case Study A; Case Study B; Slideshow & Discussion) as well as curricula for the various teachers to use and engage their students with by visiting a nearby wetlands area, and using it as a learning experience for multiple grade levels (see: Lesson Plan Overview; Resource Website). I decided to do some research and create a day-long training regarding Suicide Prevention and Response, after an alumni of our school committed suicide. While many at the school didn't know about it, those that did took it pretty hard, and I decided that we ought to do something about it, in an effort to help make sure such a thing didn't happen again, but even if it did, our school would be better prepared. This information is particularly useful for admins and teachers in Utah (due to elevation / regional factors), but if you would like to use it, please do; I hope that it can help raise awareness and prevent another potential tragedy from occurring (see: training slideshow, training schedule, training preview & explanation, training recap video).
Sources
Learning 4 Learning Professionals. (2020). Charting Your Course [Image]. Retrieved from https://l4lp.com/charting-your-course/
Nolan, J., & Hoover, L. (2010). Teacher supervision and evaluation - Theory into practice (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Learning 4 Learning Professionals. (2020). Charting Your Course [Image]. Retrieved from https://l4lp.com/charting-your-course/
Nolan, J., & Hoover, L. (2010). Teacher supervision and evaluation - Theory into practice (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.