Designing 21st Century Universal Classrooms

What is the Comprehensive Curriculum?

The CCSU Comprehensive Curriculum documents outline Stage I of Understanding by Design, the desired results. In this stage the teams consider the big ideas that endure and transfer to other learning, provocative and engaging essential questions that encourage critical thinking and inquiry, what we want our students to know and be able to do, and those concepts and skills that are key to that learning.  The subject area Comprehensive Curriculum is designed to provide rich and diverse learning experiences that emphasize critical-thinking, problem-solving , communication , creativity and innovation , collaboration , contextual learning , and information and media literacy through core content subjects, which are the skills outlined in The Framework for 21st Century Learning.

Where does the Comprehensive Curriculum come from?

In CCSU, we work constantly to ensure that all our curricula are standards-based; simply put, we begin our deliberations and design of curriculum with the standards first. Rather than “match” the standards to current practice, our CCSU Curriculum Leadership Teams continue to dedicate time and expertise to continuous rethinking and revision of curricula based on a  design that is fully aligned with an articulated set of agreed upon standards, expectations, and indicators.  Sharing and communicating such a design for such difficult work has been essential. The CCSU Curriculum Leadership Teams have used the process of “Backwards Design,” developed by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe and outlined in their book Understanding by Design, for curriculum development and revision that articulates the following Stage I design components: goals, enduring understandings, essential questions, and knowledge and skills.

What is the difference between the Guaranteed, Viable Curriculum and the Comprehensive Curriculum?

The CCSU Guaranteed, Viable Curricula ensure that the knowledge and skills that are most essential to achieving the desired results will be the focus of both teaching and learning. The Comprehensive Curricula outline the continuum of the essential learning goals identified in the Guaranteed, Viable Curricula, as well as additional important and desirable learning experiences.

Last updated: Aug 26, 2009 at 9:07 am