7 Objectives and Curriculum Mapping
Course Learning Objectives
Prompt: Write 5 course learning objectives for a college history course unit on the civil war. Include at least one objectives in Bloom’s evaluating taxonomy
Results:
- Analyze the causes of the Civil War and evaluate the role of slavery in the conflict.
- Evaluate the impact of the Civil War on the United States, including its effects on the economy, politics, and society.
- Compare and contrast the strategies and tactics used by the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War.
- Examine the experiences of soldiers and civilians during the Civil War and evaluate how these experiences shaped the course of the conflict.
- Create a multimedia presentation that synthesizes key themes and events from the Civil War and evaluates their significance in American history.
Course Map with Textbook
Prompt: Create an outline for a 6 week course based on the textbook “The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology” by Zsiga (https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Sounds+of+Language%3A+An+Introduction+to+Phonetics+and+Phonology-p-9781405191036). The outline should specify the topics, chapters, homework, quizzes, and exams of that week
Results:
| Week | Topics | Chapters | Homework | Quizzes | Exams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology | 1-2 | Read chapters 1-2 | Quiz 1 (Chapters 1-2) | None |
| 2 | Articulatory Phonetics | 3 | Read chapter 3 | Quiz 2 (Chapter 3) | None |
| 3 | Acoustic Phonetics | 6-7 | Read chapters 6-7 | Quiz 3 (Chapters 6-7) | None |
| 4 | Segmental Phonology | 10-11 | Read chapters 10-11 | Quiz 4 (Chapters 10-11) | None |
| 5 | Suprasegmental Phonology | 16-17 | Read chapters 16-17 | Quiz 5 (Chapters 16-17) | None |
| 6 | Phonology/Morphology Interface and Variation and Change | 19-20 | Read chapters 19-20 | Quiz 6 (Chapters 19-20) | Final Exam (Chapters 1-20) |
Critique: Looking closer, this course map does not cover all chapters from the textbook. This can sometimes is detrimental. For example, Week 2 Articulatory Phonetics covers Chapter 3 on consonant articulation but not chapter 4 on vowel articulation.
Another issue is Week 6. Chapters 19 and 20 cover sound variation and language acquisition theories. “Phonology/Morphology Interface” is an inappropriate title.
Course Map without Textbook
Prompt: Create a curriculum map for a 10 week college-level ESL Grammar course for intermediate learners. The map should be organized by units. Each unit in the map should include the topics covered, activities used, assignments, quizzes, and exams.
| Week | Unit | Topics Covered | Activities | Assignments | Quizzes | Exams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unit 1 | Nouns and Pronouns | – Group discussion on the importance of nouns and pronouns in English grammar. <br> – Identifying nouns and pronouns in sentences. <br> – Writing sentences using nouns and pronouns. | – Write a paragraph using at least 10 nouns and 5 pronouns. | – Quiz on nouns and pronouns. | – Exam on nouns and pronouns. |
| 2 | Unit 2 | Verbs and Adverbs | – Group discussion on the importance of verbs and adverbs in English grammar. <br> – Identifying verbs and adverbs in sentences. <br> – Writing sentences using verbs and adverbs. | – Write a paragraph using at least 10 verbs and 5 adverbs. | – Quiz on verbs and adverbs. | – Exam on verbs and adverbs. |
| … | ||||||
| … | ||||||
| 5 | Unit 5 | Tenses | – Group discussion on the importance of tenses in English grammar. <br> – Identifying tenses in sentences. <br> – Writing sentences using different tenses. | – Write a paragraph using at least 10 different tenses. | – Quiz on tenses. | – Exam on tenses. |
| … | ||||||
| 7 | Unit 7 | Conditionals | – Group discussion on the importance of conditionals in English grammar. <br> – Identifying conditionals in sentences. <br> – Writing sentences using conditionals. | – Write a paragraph using at least 10 sentences with conditionals. | – Quiz on conditionals. | – Exam on conditionals. |
| 8 | Unit 8 | Modals | – Group discussion on the importance of modals in English grammar. <br> – Identifying modals in sentences. <br> – Writing sentences using modals. | – Write a paragraph using at least 10 sentences with modals. | – Quiz on modals. | – Exam on modals. |
| 9 | Unit 9 | Reported Speech | – Group discussion on the importance of reported speech in English grammar. <br> – Identifying reported speech in sentences. <br> – Writing sentences using reported speech. | – Write a paragraph using at least 10 sentences with reported speech. | – Quiz on reported speech. | – Exam on reported speech. |
| … |
Critique: The largest issue is that this curriculum is inappropriate for intermediate language learners. Nouns and pronouns are more aligned with beginner learners. Then, content like conditionals is aligned with advanced learners.Additional concerns include
- Each unit is one week
- the repetitive nature of the discussion, activities, assignments
- the lack of connection to application and context
- the lack of specific grammatical concepts (e.g., for tenses, are students to learn ALL tenses in a week? Beginners might know simple present and simple past, so intermediate learners would most likely be learning exceptions to simple past and the continuous past tense)