Building the Collection
Course
Curriculum Mapping as a Tool [5:54]
- Learn the value of curriculum mapping as it relates to building a relevant collection.
- Learn to approach curriculum mapping through a series of tactical steps to manage a process that can be overwhelming.
- Learn to leverage digital tools to create and manage curriculum mapping as a shared and continuously evolving process.
Creating a library filled with the resources that support your district's curriculum can be a challenge. Building a relevant curriculum map can also be challenging; so let's look at some different ways to approach it. You can approach it through the lens of your colleagues and the different subjects that they teach or you can map the library's curriculum as it relates to your teaching goals informed by the larger school's curriculum. I find it adds value when you start with a curriculum map that is from the teacher's perspective of the subject matter that they teach and the ways in which the library can support their units. Prioritizing the time and energy required to create a curriculum map for your learning community develops you into an expert with an aerial view of how the curriculum aligns. You become a resourceful leader in vertical meetings to ensure the curriculum follows a logical continuum. These efforts reinforce your value as a strong source of information for the school administration.
While it is important to attend curriculum meetings and prioritize teacher collaboration, there are additional information sources to consider when building a collection. Familiarize yourself with your school's teaching standards. Public schools follow a series of state standards while independent and charter schools may have their own set of standards. The American Association for School Librarians (AASL) has a Standards Framework that serves as a guide for the role of the school librarian in teaching and learning. These standards should influence the resources you add to the collection.
The grade levels that you support will help guide your tactical steps in curriculum mapping. For example, if you support an elementary school, you will want to focus on the pre-investigative work. This includes learning the standards and meeting with teachers to determine which units they teach and when they teach them. Research available resources to recommend diverse formats. Resources should include physical books, eBooks, audiobooks, databases, software, and maker kits, as some examples. These recommendations should then be followed by questioning the instructor as to whether or not it is believed the recommendations will be of value. If you support middle and high school learning communities, after becoming familiar with the standards, meet with the teaching teams for specific subjects and grade levels to gain insight into their resource needs. As previously mentioned, for elementary schools, researching, making resource recommendations, and asking questions will guide the collection's growth in middle and high school.
Work with school administration to schedule intentional meeting times devoted to curriculum-focused conversations for the purpose of building the collection. These meetings should be ongoing, such as during pre-planning, a mid-year in-service day, and post-planning. Track the dates in which specific units are taught and when the resources will be needed to ensure they are accessible. Proactively contact the teachers to provide the resources. This will ensure that the communication between you and your colleagues is ongoing.
Digital tools can be of significant help when it comes to tackling what can seem like a daunting task of curriculum mapping. Because curriculum mapping is an ever-changing process influenced by standards, cultural changes, and staffing adjustments, using tools that are easy to edit and share with colleagues will help with the organization of the process. For example, Google Docs or Google Sheets allows you to create tables organized by teacher and grade level or subject matter and grade level, etc. These tools will also allow you to hyperlink to lessons or any supporting documents.
Showing your administration and teachers how your goals align with the school's goals by building a curriculum map helps to strengthen your relationship within your learning community. Not just experts in curriculum, but we school librarians can use all of our expertise to make curriculum mapping a more manageable process.
Curriculum mapping can feel daunting at best. Start by picking one subject area and develop a curriculum map for that specific area of teaching and learning. The good news is that this process leads to building not only an academically and culturally relevant collection but also building meaningful collaborative relationships with colleagues. After reading "The Chemistry of Collaboration: Curriculum Mapping in the Middle School Science Classroom" by Alison E. Hinesman and Angie Jameson, complete the Reflect & Practice activity below.
Hinesman and Jameson's article provides a real-world example of how strong collaborative partnerships can influence curriculum mapping, highlighting the library collection as providing indispensable learning support. Arrange a time to collaborate with grade-level and/or subject-specific teachers for the purpose of developing a curriculum map. Ask specific questions that will help identify the ways in which the library's collection can be of value. Using the chart on page 12 of the Course Packet (found in the Resources above), create a curriculum map that allows for crowdsourcing of the content. You will use this data to help build a relevant collection and avoid resource gaps.
MLA Citation
Brown, Stacy. "Building the Collection: Develop a Curriculum Map." School Library Connection, February 2023, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2295729?learningModuleId=2293930&topicCenterId=2293930.
Entry ID: 2295736
Additional Resources
About the Author
MLA Citation
Brown, Stacy. "Building the Collection. Curriculum Mapping as a Tool [5:54]." School Library Connection, ABC-CLIO, February 2023, schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2295729?learningModuleId=2293930&topicCenterId=2293930.
https://schoollibraryconnection.com/Content/Course/2295729?learningModuleId=2293930&topicCenterId=2293930
Entry ID: 2295729