The Role of Curriculum Mapping in Boosting Student Learning

Mary E. Streshly has over 30 years of experience in the education sector as an administrator and teacher. In July 2022, Mary Streshly became the executive director of educational services at the San Mateo County Office of Education in California’s San Mateo-Foster City School District. Her responsibilities include leading initiatives like curriculum mapping, which serves as a vital tool for boosting student learning.

Curriculum mapping is a process for educators to assess curriculums and inform future instruction by tracking content already taught, teaching practices employed, and essential subjects not yet covered. In the course of curriculum mapping, information such as learning objectives, teaching methods, and the textbooks and videos used is recorded throughout each term.

Term-end review and analysis of curriculum maps allows educators to identify and eliminate redundancies and gaps in the curriculum. In addition to facilitating more effective curriculums, this helps teachers ensure that what they teach aligns with benchmarks for desired learning outcomes. For example, comparing outcomes and content covered with national and state standards enables them to ascertain if students’ knowledges and skillsets meet levels necessary for academic success.

Similarly, curriculum mapping provides educators with an instrument for instilling consistency and fostering better learning progression. By examining methods and languages that teachers in prior grades used, educators can create curriculums that build on students’ previous knowledge and employ formats already familiar to them. This is important because it helps improve instructional coherence across grade levels.

Curriculum maps can also enhance the quality of instruction. They contain detailed information on how learning outcomes were achieved, and teachers can also add notes to their curriculum map each year regarding how they accommodated various student needs within their lesson plans. At the end of each term, educators can leverage this data to assess their approach. This way, teachers can understand what methods of teaching work and which ones do not.

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