Purpose
Many organized groups visit national parks to complement
their studies. The park experience becomes an integral
part of their curriculum. Curriculum-based programs
connect the learning objectives of organized groups
through a sequence of learning opportunities with the
meanings and significance(s) inherent in park resources.
This component will describe what is meant by "curriculum"
and outline the elements of effective curriculum-based
programs.
Objectives
Upon completion of this component the learner will be
able to:
Define
curriculum;
Describe
the purpose and use of curricula;
List
at least three types of curricula;
Identify
the elements of an effective curriculum-based program.
Approach
What is curriculum? Most organizations have guidelines
that focus and shape their daily operations. For units
in the National Park Service, it is the Mission Statement,
the Strategic Plan, the General Management Plan, and
the Comprehensive Interpretive Plan, among others. For
schools, it is their curriculum. Curriculum comes from
different sources depending on the state and community.
There are national curriculum frameworks or standards
for many subject or discipline areas, many states have
their own curriculum guidelines or framework, and many
towns, cities, or school districts also have curriculum
guidelines to provide guidance for education. Teachers,
at all grade levels, follow this given curriculum that
basically outlines for them what to teach and when to
teach it, and in some cases even how to teach it. Other
educational groups such as scouts working on a badge
also follow a curriculum or a "structured plan
for learning." This is important because learning
is a building process. Ultimately, it is the teacher
who applies the curriculum.
A park curriculum-based program identifies common points
of interest by matching park resources, mission and
goals, and interpretive themes with the learning plan
or curriculum objectives of an organized educational
group. These connections can be made easily and naturally.
For example, if a site tells a Civil War story, a first
step might be to identify what grade levels focus on
this period of American history. Likewise, if the park
story emphasizes natural history, a first step might
be to identify the specific subject areas, earth science,
or geology for example, and match them with the same
subjects or skills covered in various curricula.
Regardless of group type, identifying the intended
learning outcome of their visit is a key element in
a successful presentation. Specifically what do they
want to learn during their site visit (or offsite presentation)?
These objectives will vary in complexity and format,
and can be long and detailed, or brief and general in
nature. Nevertheless, they are identified and addressed
if the experience is to be considered curriculum-based.
Planning this match between park goals/themes and the
educational group's objectives may have already been
accomplished at your site by your supervisor, education
coordinator or specialist, or chief of interpretation.
State or local curriculum guides, or group syllabi may
already be on file in your park. The program you present
will often fit within a larger context in your park.
Consult the Comprehensive Interpretive Plan or Education
Plan for your site if they exist, or talk with your
chief of interpretation or education coordinator, to
start from the foundation they may have already established.
It is critical for every presenter to understand the
connections between the park resource and the educational
curricula that may have already been developed. Curriculum
guidelines also provide valuable information about the
context within which a group may be studying your park
story and about the foundation of knowledge they may
bring with them.
Curriculum-based programs for organized groups incorporate
all the elements of good interpretive programs. They
are fundamentally different, however, from general-public
interpretive programs in two ways:
1) They address a group's specific educational goals
and/or objectives.
2) They include planned preparation, ranger-led event
(or docent-, VIP-, cooperator-led, etc.), and follow-
up experiences to provide the participants with a
sequence of learning opportunities.
Using this information, interpreters present programs
using techniques and activities specifically designed
to meet the participant's needs and curricular objectives
to further the park's mission. Effective curriculum-based
programs help learners make connections with park resources
on cognitive, affective, and physical levels. This component
identifies the elements of an effective curriculum-based
program and the elements of a lesson plan.
Content
Outline I. What is curriculum? ("The what, when,
and how a subject is taught." Or, the NPS training
definition: A series of thematic courses of study in
which participants learn desired knowledge, skills and/or
abilities)
II. Importance of curriculum
A. Learning - a building process
B. Context, sequence, timing
C. Maximizes learning
D. Sustainability
E. Fulfills community requirements and expectations
III.
Kinds of curriculum
A. National standards
B. State frameworks
C. Local, county, district, city, school, home-schooled
D. Organizational
E. Teacher-determined
IV.
Elements of effective curriculum-based programs
A. Relevance to park resources and interpretive
themes
1. Critical resource issues
2. Interpretive themes
3. Education plan or Comprehensive Interpretive
Plan
4. Tangible resource/intangible meanings/universal
concepts
B. Linking group's educational/learning objectives
with park objectives/goals
1. Identify the educational group's learning objectives
2. Identify which park resources and interpretive
themes can be used to teach the educational group's
learning objectives
3. Identify link to state and local standards and
assess those connections through intangible and
universal concepts about the resource.
C. Contact with group leader--check with your supervisor
first! Determine the purpose and goal of the contact
before you contact the group leader.
1. Informal contacts between individual rangers
and teachers/group leaders either prior to or at
the beginning of the program to identify logistics,
group dynamics, special needs, prior knowledge,
learning expectations, and role of chaperones
2. Greet as one professional to another
D. Preparation (pre-visit) activities
1. Purpose
a. Background information
b. Orientation/NPS and site information/logistics
c. Introduce concepts/skills/meanings needed for
program
d. Set up the resource-based experience
e. Motivate students
f. Can be repeated for groups that come later
2. Characteristics of effective pre-visit activities
a. Developmentally appropriate
b. Relevant to group's objectives
c. Engage learners
d. Offer a variety of learning opportunities
E. The ranger-led portion of the program, both on-site
or off-site.
Note: see component--Meeting the Needs of Organized
Groups
1. Actively immerses learners in resource
2. Addresses a variety of learning styles
3. Activities are developmentally appropriate
4. Content is appropriate for learners.
5. Relate to pre-visit element
6. Evaluation--monitor and adjust
F. Follow-up (post-visit) activities
1. Purpose
a. Provide a way to check level of learner understanding
of goals and objectives
b. Reinforce concepts/skills
c. Apply learned concept to local resources
d. Encourage resource stewardship action skills
e. Encourage higher-level critical thinking
f. Continue involvement with park
2. Characteristics of effective follow-up activities
a. Developmentally appropriate
b. Relevant to groups objectives
c. Engage learners
d. Offers a variety of learning opportunities
G. Purpose of evaluation
1. Monitor and adjust throughout program cycle
2. Validate learning objectives
3. Choose appropriate type(s)
a. Group leader feedback
b. Student performance
c. Student feedback
d. Self-evaluation
e. Supervisor/mentor feedback
f. Peer audits
V.
Elements of a lesson plan
A. States objectives
B. Lists related park interpretive theme(s)
C. Lists group's educational objectives and states
where the presentation fits into the sequence of learning
D. Identifies participants' age/developmental level
E. Lists equipment/materials needed
F. Determines safety issues and states logistics
G. States length and sequence timing
H. Plans for behavior management
I. Identify preparation activities
J. Outlines resource based activities
K. Selects follow-up activities
L. Determines evaluation methods
M. Cites sources
Books
Building a History Curriculum: Guidelines for Teaching
History in Schools, Bradley Commission, Educational
Excellence Network, 1989.
California Social Studies Frameworks Curriculum: Perspective,
Paradigm, and Possibility. Schubert, William H., Macmillan
Publishers, 1986. Chapter 2 of this book outlines the
historical context for curriculum and organizes curriculum
into different schools of thought.
Developing NPS Education Programs, National Park Service,
1995.
Earth Education: A New Beginning, Van Matre, Steve,
The Institute for Earth Education, 1990, Chapter 6.
Education 2000, Community Update, US Department of
Education, Washington, DC 20202-0498,1997?.
Educational Leadership, journal of the Association
of Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1250 N. Pitt
Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1453.
Environmental Education at Early Childhood Level, Wilson,
Ruth, ed., North American Association for Environmental
Education, 1994.
Expectations of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for
Social Studies. National Council for the Social Studies,
1994. This book outlines the ten thematic strands of
social studies and identifies competencies for elementary,
middle, and high school students. These standards have
been incorporated into several state curriculum frameworks.
Geography for Life: National Geography Standards. National
Geographic Research and Exploration, 1994. This book
outlines the six essential elements of geography education
and identifies measurable standards for elementary,
middle, and high school students. These standards have
influenced and been incorporated in some state curriculum
frameworks.
Historical Literacy: The Case for History in American
Education, Paul Gagnon and the Bradley Commission on
History in the Schools, eds., Houghton Mifflin, Boston,
1989.
National Geography Society
National Council for the Social Studies
National Science Education Standards, National Academy
Press, Washington, DC, 1996 (1-800-624-6242).
Programming for School Groups: An Interpreter's Guide,
National Park Service, 1991.
Science Education Guide Book, Michigan Center for Career
and Technical Education, Michigan State University,
East Lansing, MI 48824-1034.
Teach the Mind, Touch the Spirit, A Guide to Focused
Field Trips, Voris, Helen H., Maija Sedzielarz, and
Carolyn P. Blackmon, Chicago Field Museum of Natural
History, 1986.
Teaching with Historic Places Curriculum Framework.
Textbooks: Houghton Mifflin Social Studies Series Teacher
Editions, The World I See, I Know a Place, Some People
I Know, From Sea to Shining Sea, This is My Country,
A More Perfect Union, American will Be, 1996.
Social Education and Social Studies and the Young Learner,
journals of the National Council for the Social Studies,
3501 Newark Street, NW, Washington, DC 20016-3167.
Educational Leadership, Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development
Social Studies and the Young Learner
Park
Documents
Statement for Interpretation; Comprehensive Interpretive
Plan; Education Plan, etc.
Curriculum Guides
Local school curricula
State Education Department/Offices
Places
To Visit
Other NPS sites, museums, or cultural sites with established
curriculum-based programs.
Local museum collaborative (Museum Educator's Roundtable--American
Association of Museums)
Articles
"The Exchange," Conference of National Park
Service Cooperating Associations. Fall, 1992.
"Interpretation," National Park Service,
Interpretive Design Center, Summer 1990, 1995.
Videos
Parks As Classrooms, National Park Service, 1992.
The Outdoor Classroom, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Course Design: A Guide to Curriculum Development for
Teachers. 3rd edition. Posner, George J., and Alan N.
Rudnitsky, Longman, 1986. This curriculum model offers
step-by-step instruction to developing a curriculum
from idea to evaluation. These steps can be used to
develop a single lesson plan.
IAA Instructional Model (Information, Assimilation,
Application). May be found in the book Sunship Earth
by Steve Van Meter and workshops available through The
Institute For Earth Education, Greenville, WV, (304)
832-6404.
"Flow Learning" Instructional Model. May
be found in the book Sharing the Joy of Nature by Joseph
Cornell and workshops available through the Education
for Life Foundation, 14618 Tyler Foote Road, Nevada
City, CA 95959, (916) 292-3775.
Spiral Curriculum Model. May be found in "Science
Teaching and the Development of Thinking," by Anton
Lawson.
Programming for School Groups: An Interpreter's Guide,
Tevyaw, Kathleen, National Park Service, 1995.
Teach the Mind, Touch the Spirit: A Guide to Focused
Field Trips, Voris, Helen H., Maija Sedzielarz, and
Carolyn P. Blackmon, Chicago Field Museum of History,
1986.
Suggested
Developmental Activities
1. Think about the education program(s) you present.
Identify the aspect of a group's curriculum that your
presentation supports/addresses. Where does your presentation
fit into the group's sequence of learning?
2. Read the organization/school curriculum guides in
the subject area most related to your park themes. Think
about the age groups most often coming to your site.
In general, how much do they seem to know about your
subject? Use this to develop your presentation and to
structure introductory questions to help you assess
what the group knows. Use this information to help you
choose vocabulary, examples, activities, and references.
that will relate to what your group already knows and
what is relevant to them. Review a copy of a local school
curriculum (social studies or science) at a given grade
level. Identify areas/objectives that correlate to your
park's themes.
3. Select a curriculum-based program at your site or
from a neighboring park. Look for connections/links
between park resources universal concepts, and the group's
learning objectives. Share this information with your
supervisor and/or coworkers.
4. Select a curriculum-based program at your site or
from a neighboring park. Examine the connections between
the presentation element, and the preparation and follow-up
materials. Compare these three items by answering: What
are the elements of effective programming as evidenced
in this program? What is the purpose of the preparation
materials? How do the preparation materials support
the presentation? What is the purpose of the follow-up
materials? How do the follow-up materials support this
presentation? Share this information with the other
interpreters at your site.
