Embedded Files
Prepare a Pacing Calendar
"A pacing guide is exactly that -- a guide. It is not a mandate. In no state's standards have I ever seen the words, 'learns algebra quickly.'"
~ Words from Douglas Reeves - Ainsworth
"What we are finding during this quality-control year is that many of the units spanned too long of a period of time, or that too much information was packed into one unit."
~ A. J. Palermo (K-12 Math Supervisor)
Definition
- "In the current era of standards-driven curriculum, viability means ensuring that the articulated curriculum content for a given course or given grade level can be adequately address in the [instructional] time available" Marzano
- Yearlong schedule for delivering all of the planned units of study for a designated grade level or course.
- Does not include the instructional materials used within those units.
- Helps educators ensure that students learn all of the grade- or course-specific Priority Standards in the right order.
- Provides the building blocks or learning progressions.
- Provides suggested horizontal "learning progressions" within grades and courses and suggested vertical "learning progressions" between grades and courses.
- Important to revisit this concept as it relates to progress-monitoring checks.
Important Components
- Priority Standards - Taught, Assessed, Re-Taught, and Reassessed
- Assured Competencies - Prepare all students for the next grade or course
- Buffer Week - Scheduled short intervals between the units of study / Scheduled breathing room
- Provides remediation for students who need extra support
- Provides enrichment for students who are proficient
Recommended Length of Units
- Typically three to four weeks
- Factors Used to Determine Length
- Age of the students - Younger students = Shorter Units; Older students = Longer Units
- Complexity of the Content
- Standards Assigned
- Learning Experiences Planned
- Sub-divide units scheduled for longer than four weeks into two separate but related units
Challenges
- Two Problematic Choices when Implemented
- Spend extra class periods or lessons to make sure all students "get it" before moving on to the next unit of study
- Stick to the prescribed schedule for administering the units of study and keep moving from one to the next, even if students have not had enough time and sufficient learning experiences to understand the standards within those units.
- Longer Units
- Too difficult to maintain a sharp instructional focus during longer units
- Students may lose track of the learning goals and Big Ideas
- Difficult for educators to assess student understanding frequently enough to diagnose student learning needs and respond effectively.
Resources
All information in the Curriculum Design Process is based on the The Leadership and Learning Center Training Manual: Planning for Rigorous Curriculum Design (2010) and from the text from Larry Ainsworth - Ainsworth, L. (2010). Rigorous curriculum design. Englewood, Colo.: Lead Learn Press.
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