Academic & Student Services

Concept Paper: Curriculum Review and Comparison

UWSA LogoUniversity of Wisconsin System & Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
CURRICULUM ARTICULATION PROJECT

THE ISSUE

As is true in many states, this is a period of extensive activity in K-12 education in Wisconsin.  Throughout the state, educators are addressing very complex issues including content standards, performance standards, opportunity-to-learn standards, and validity of high-stakes assessments.  This work is predicated on high levels of achievement for all students with a focus on student learning outcomes.  Post-secondary institutions need to work in close partnership with K-12 educators to understand and support reforms that include clear and rigorous academic standards. A critical question in every state is how to establish continuity between what students are expected to learn in high school and what they must know to succeed in college.  Responding to this question requires careful study and analysis in a climate of trust and shared purpose.

A first step in examining the relationship between K-12 reform and post-secondary education in Wisconsin was the 1998-1999 Alignment Project.  Practitioners from Wisconsin K-16 institutions investigated the relationship between:

  1. the recently adopted Wisconsin Model Academic Standards (WMAS),
  2. the competencies developed by University of Wisconsin (UW) faculty for Competency-Based Admission, and
  3. the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) Knowledge, Skills and Process documents in five subject areas.
The content of UW System placement tests was also compared to the WMAS.  This work, as expected, revealed considerable overlap in these documents.  However, there also were some areas that did not overlap.  In some cases, these areas were clearly related to the specific missions of the education providers.  In other cases, however, they represented a difference in the definition of the curriculum.  The alignment documents are available from the UW System Office of Academic Affairs or on-line at: /acss/align/.

Many of the faculty involved in the alignment project indicated that the process of discussing curriculum issues was valuable and rare.  The proposed project would build on the alignment project by using the alignment results as the beginning point.  It also would expand the process of focused conversation concerning curriculum content and student learning.  The project would be coordinated by a steering committee and would be staffed by the UW System Office of Academic Affairs.

THE PROJECT

The primary objective of this work is to facilitate comparison of K-12 curriculum, revised to reflect the WMAS, and course content in entry-level courses in Wisconsin post-secondary institutions in English, mathematics, science, social studies and foreign language. In some cases the comparisons may lead to a decision to revise a course, such as a post-secondary course to reflect the revised curriculum in K-12 or the high school course in response to increased understanding of post-secondary faculty expectations.  The English and/or mathematics groups also may suggest modifications in the content of the UW System placement tests.

We propose to establish working groups in each of the five content areas.  Each of these groups will represent a model pilot project. The working groups will be organized around Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESA) Districts.  All participants will represent institutions located within the CESA.  CESAs #8 and #9, in which there is not a UW institution, will be combined with CESA #7 and CESA #5, respectively.  This regional organization reflects the common attendance pattern wherein many individuals attend a post-secondary institution that is close to their hometown.

The content area to be investigated by each working group will be determined with regard to established relationships between K-12 and post-secondary institutions in that area.  For example, if there is an on-going collaboration between high school and university history faculty in a particular region, a social studies working group would be formed in that CESA.  Because this design builds on existing structure and relationships within a relatively small geographical area, it is likely that the collaboration initiated through this formal project will continue on an informal basis. DPI content specialists and CESA Standards and Assessment Coordinators will be important resources for the working groups.

The participants in the working groups will address the following questions in their content areas:

K-12 Faculty:

  1. What content do you expect all students to master in high school?
  2. What are the performance standards?
  3. How is your curriculum designed to deliver this curriculum?
  4. How will you know if all students master the curriculum?


Post-secondary Faculty:

  1. What content do you expect students entering your institution to have mastered?
  2. At what level do you expect them to know this content?
  3. How does your curriculum reflect these assumptions and expectations?


All Faculty:

  1. Do the K-12 assumptions for exit content and performance standards match the post-secondary assumptions for entrance content and performance standards?
  2. If not, what kinds of revisions are indicated to eliminate redundancy and/or to fill gaps?


The project will begin with a general meeting of all members of all working groups.  At this time we will describe the findings in the alignment study and establish the timelines, protocols and expectations for this project.  The working groups will each have an initial meeting following the general meeting and will meet three to five times during the next 12-month period.  We expect that much of the time and effort will be directed toward addressing the questions listed above, examining the high school and post-secondary curricula, possibly attending one another's classes and learning from one another. In a very real sense, the process is a major component of the product.

While this project is active, other statewide initiatives may be of interest to the working groups as a source of additional information.  In turn, the working groups also will be a valuable resource for some of these statewide initiatives.  In addition to the information concerning alignment in the five content areas, the mathematics, English and foreign language working groups will have information concerning alignment between the UW system placement tests and the WMAS.  Student performance on the Early Math Placement test will continue to provide valuable data. The Early Writing Assessment may be implemented in the next few months providing an additional source of information.   The working group members will have an opportunity to look at the continuum of high school performance, graduation requirements, placement practices and post-secondary expectations.

We will ask each working group to prepare a summary of their findings, including a model of any course revisions and general recommendations.  The project will culminate with a second general meeting during which each working group will report on their process and outcomes.  Models of revised courses will be shared.  A final report, including the models developed, will be shared with various content groups.

Sharing the results of this collaboration is a very important outcome.  Each working group will be asked to consider a variety of dissemination strategies.  Some disciplines have statewide groups, e.g., the Wisconsin Teachers of Mathematics, which would be appropriate dissemination sites. The UW System Undergraduate Teaching Improvement Council hosts annual meetings to discuss teaching/learning issues.  We will provide information on UW System grant programs that might provide funds to continue the collaboration or to travel to regional or national meetings to describe the experience.  Information on journals, newsletters and websites will be collected and shared.  Support, in the form of modest dissemination grants, will be provided to individuals from each working group to prepare a formal project report for publication or presentation.

ANTICIPATED TIMELINE:

  • February 3, 2000: General Meeting: All Working Groups
  • February-December, 2000: Working Group Meetings (3-5 meetings)
  • May 26, 2000: Progress Update Due
  • October 31, 2000: Progress Update Due
  • February 2001: General Meeting: Summary of Findings
  • April 2001: Final Dissemination Reports Due

 


To Curriculum Articulation Project Page

To UW System Office of Academic Affairs Page

If you have questions or comments, direct them to Academic and Student Services, Phone: (608) 262-8778, Email: acss@uwsa.edu

UWSA LogoThis document was last revised February 2000. ©Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, All Rights Reserved.