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I have spent a good part of my career, including right now, teaching courses that I didn’t design. And sometimes, that experience has been absolutely miserable, times where I was constantly apologizing to students for the design of the course and trying to detach myself from it. The very first time I had the chance to fix a pre-designed course I’d been teaching from, I jumped on it, even though it was unpaid because leaving the course to go unchanged for another 10 years felt completely out of the question. It was a technical editing class that was woefully outdated. The book was three editions too old. There were errors in the test and quiz banks. There were just a ton of issues.
We did a complete overhaul of the activities to make them more relevant to where the field was because it had gone through some drastic changes. We made the course more clear and concise and we corrected all of those errors in the test and quiz bank. The first time someone else taught that class after the redesign, they shared how much of a relief it was for them to teach the new curriculum. And I was hooked on creating and improving courses for the user experience, so seeing both the students and the instructors as users of a course. As an instructor using shared curriculum, I know that I show up more clearly, more consistently, and to be blunt, more engaged when it is clear that the shared curriculum was designed with both me and the students in mind. Faculty that I’ve worked with, who have taught classes that I have designed, say the same.
We like to define shared curriculum broadly – any element of a curriculum that multiple instructors are going to use like a syllabus, a specific textbook, specific assignment prompts or lesson plans, or even completely built out courses. When we start creating things for others to adopt and adapt, elements need to be able to change from how we have used them ourselves. Designing and supporting shared curriculum can be complex: it requires balancing instructors’ autonomy with required materials, while also keeping shared materials up to date as textbooks and technologies change. Shared curriculum should come from a balance of supporting:
- Content: the curricular alignment for what needs to be taught across course or program offerings;
- Students: the experiences and success of the learners; and
- Instructors: the time, energy, experiences, and expertise of the instructors delivering the learning experiences.
When we think about those who are delivering the course, the instructors, as users of the curricular materials being designed, we want to honor their experiences, expertise, and autonomy. In order to do so, we want to create collaborative shared-curricular spaces that are both based on research grounded content and pedagogical practices and have space for instructors to authentically insert themselves into the curriculum in a way that enhances the student learning experiences. As designers, as educators, as big-time resource sharers, this shift in perspective of creating shared curricular for both student and teacher users, can help us frame shared curriculum as a professional tool instead of a mandate.
For example, instead of just requiring a specific textbook, providing a shared curriculum guide that outlines major units, activities, assessments and connects the materials to the textbook, can help instructors that are busy, less experienced, or new to teaching a particular course, use the textbook. Shared material designers can also leave spaces for instructors to incorporate examples from their own experience or current events.
Instead of making instructors figure out how to integrate themselves into shared curriculum, shared-curriculum designs and support materials should invite instructors to personalize the course. In this course, we will look at how to create course maps, instructor manuals, and module level outcomes as key strategies for inviting instructors to integrate themselves into shared curriculum.
Discussions
Think of the last time you shared a teaching resource with a colleague (it could be activity, lesson plan, or whatever you use in your own classroom), what did you share, and how much context or explanation did you provide with it?
Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments section below.