Throwback post from Learning About Learning, a previous blog about my journey through post-secondary education.
Writing curriculum is hard. The end.
Just kidding. Not quite the end.
I just finished creating a Grade 4 Science Unit for my Curriculum Foundations class. So much fun, but an intense amount of work (especially since this unit-planning thing was a first for our class). I did it on habitats and humans: ten lessons=one hundred pages, give or take a few.
I think it is worth it though. I could have grabbed a textbook, had the teacher teach out of that and photocopied the worksheets. It would have been easier. Maybe that is why the method is so prevalent in schools. It's easy, and teachers are busy.
But is that really teaching? Are the students really learning?
For me, I would like to think that the time I spent thinking of just the right hook, or how to get the students out of their seat, or what to give them to manipulate with their hands actually means something. That it leads to a valuable experience and a memorable experience. That it leads to true, authentic learning.
