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Swiss cheese approach:

A term coined by Catlin Tucker whereby teachers condense curriculum by simply plucking out items that have been included in past semesters

Revisiting the curriculum to map out a revised plan for 2020-2021 courses is an essential task this year. Following the “swiss cheese approach” to condensing curriculum typically leads to a lack of clarity and cohesion.

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McTighe and wiggins’ Understanding by Design

model outlines three steps to curriculum planning to support teachers in this process

Identify Desired Results
Determine Acceptable Evidence
Plan Learning Experiences

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Identify Desired Results

In Ontario, the desired results are the Overall Expectations found within each curriculum document
Wherever possible, overall expectations may be grouped together as essential learnings to cover more curriculum over a shorter period of time
The specific expectations that are most essential to demonstrating the overall expectations/ essential learnings should be prioritized

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“Teachers will use their professional judgement to determine which specific expectations should be used to evaluate achievement of the overall expectations, and which ones will be accounted for in instruction and assessment but not necessarily evaluated.” - Growing Success 2010

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When determining which expectations to prioritize, consider those that have:

Leverage
Endurance
Essentiality

From: “Too Many Standards, Too Little Time,” ASCD Virtual Conference, July 2020.

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LEVERAGE

Those expectations that have an impact across multiple disciplines.

For example:

Non-fiction writing
Critical thinking
Creating and interpreting tables and graphs

ENDURANCE

Those expectations that appear in the curriculum across multiple academic years.

ESSENTIALITY

Those expectations that students will need to know or be able to do to be successful in subsequent years of instruction.

From:“Too Many Standards, Too Little Time,” ASCD Virtual Conference, July 2020.

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2. Determine

Acceptable

Evidence

Consider the opportunities you will provide for students to demonstrate their learning, and what meeting the expectations looks like at the different achievement levels
Keep in mind that a body of evidence may not be exactly the same for all students in a single class as teachers differentiate and accommodate to meet diverse learning needs (i.e. ELL, IEP, etc)
Use a planning tool such as this one to outline assessment opportunities

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3. Plan

Learning

Experiences

Identify the culturally relevant and trauma informed activities, sequences, and resources necessary to accomplish the instructional goals
Adopt a mini-unit or module approach that divides learning into 7-10 day chunks
Strive to plan universally designed lessons that invite all students into the learning
Create learning experiences that are flexible enough to pivot between in-class and remote learning environments

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Credits and Further Research

Presentation Template: SlidesMania

Understanding by Design Framework

Growing Success

Guidance For Designing a Universal Design For Learning Lesson

Catlin Tucker Blended Learning Interview

Back to School By Design Podcast

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Looking For Additional Support?

Please contact

Lisa Hicknell Or Jill Waters

Learning Support Services

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