Standards-Based Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment: Reflecting on Current Practice

The practice of designing learning experiences for any student, any age, with and without exceptionalities intellectually or otherwise, begins with the end goal in mind, which is a curriculum framework design principle.  Reflecting on one’s practices is a large part of designing learning experiences for those we teach.  Reflecting on current practice provides a foundation for change and growth.  It takes personal responsibility to be deeply cognizant of one’s own thinking and practice.  This is a process that is part of being a life-long learner.  Professional educators will continuously seek to be well-informed about current knowledge and understanding in their own profession, further develop their skills, and use new knowledge to continuously improve their daily instructional and assessment decisions.

Since the most important critical decision educators make is how to instruct and assess their students, they must consider the possibilities and impacts of each of possibility prior to making their choice.  Prior to making instructional choices, educators should take into account the learning styles, diversity, developmental stages, prior knowledge, content, and needs of their students.  Effective educators determine how any particular instructional strategy and assessment will or will not meet any of their students’ needs while taking into account student needs variables and contemplate the likely outcomes of various instructional strategies.

Instructional decision making is strengthened through the use of deep reflective practice and the contribution of educational research within the educational environment, a practice known as Action Research.  Yair (2000) points out that research has shown that the instructional and assessment decisions of teachers strongly impact the success and failures of students.  Therefore, reflection on instructional planning and implementation is critical to student achievement and continued cognitive and affective development.

References

Yair, G. (2000).  Not just about time:  Instructional practices and productive time in school. Educational Administration Quarterly, (36) 4, 485-512.