Curriculum Compacting
Description
What is it?
Curriculum Compacting is a strategy that identifies student-learning objectives, pre-assesses for prior mastery, and eliminates unnecessary teaching or redundant practice when the student has previously demonstrated mastery of the learning.
Instructional Steps:
1. Identify the learning objectives for the unit you are teaching.
2. Develop a pre-assessment of these objectives to determine student mastery prior to beginning instruction. Include sub-areas of specific content, including mastery and non-mastery levels.
3. Pre-assess students.
4. Review student data to determine student prior knowledge and mastery of each objective assessed.
5. Eliminate any practice or instruction in which students have achieved the learning objective.
6. Offer acceleration and/or enrichment options for students as needed.
Quick Tips
As you plan for your pre-assessment on the identified objectives, consider the activities below as possible pre-assessment methods:
Gallery Walk
KWL Chart
Four Corners
Conversation Circles
Pre-Assessment Checklists
Self-Assessment
Pop Quiz
Graphic Organizers
Response Cards
Journals
Conferences/Observations
Behavioral Checklists
Reading Surveys
Develop a system for documenting what students have mastered and what instruction and extension activities they will participate in.
Develop a contract for independent work for the student, the parent, and the teacher to sign that includes rules for working independently and criteria for completing the activities.
Connect the alternate learning opportunities to the core curriculum.
Check-in daily with students who are compacting.
Did you know?
Curriculum compacting is not tied to a specific content area or grade level, it is adaptable to any school or curricular framework, and it is flexible enough to use within the context of rapidly changing approaches to general education.
This strategy is one of the top ten strategies recommended by the Stetson & Associates Group.