Learning That Transfers: Designing Curriculum for a Changing World

"Nearly all schools are taking steps toward rethinking curriculum and instruction to meet the rapid changes taking place in the world around us. They often do that without any sort of roadmap or a structure that allows them to meet their current standards-based requirements while staying nimble during these turbulent times. Amidst nearly constant change, teacher confusion and burnout ensues. This book will demonstrate that the right curricular foundation and structure will enable us to be more creative, fluid, and responsive to students, teachers, and current events. Teachers of the past knew exactly what children needed to know and be able to do. That is changing rapidly. How do we prepare students for a future that we can't quite see? And how do we do this without exhausting ourselves? This book will demonstrate how we can organize curriculum in a way that harnesses the key principles of the traditional disciplines while building students' capacity to navigate, interpret, and transfer their learning tokeep pace with our rapidly changing world. Learning that Transfers will walk readers step-by-step through the curriculum design process of individual courses as well as the planning process for vertical and horizontal alignment"--
"It is a pleasure to have a full length treatise on this most important topic, and may this focus on transferbecome much more debated, taught, and valued in our schools." - John HattieTeach students to use their learning to unlock new situations.Learning That Transfers empowers teachers and curriculum designers alike to harness the critical concepts of traditional disciplines while building students’ capacity to navigate, interpret, and transfer their learning to solve novel and complex modern problems. Using a backwards design approach, this hands-on guide walks teachers step-by-step through the process of identifying curricular goals, establishing assessment targets, and planning curriculum and instruction that facilitates the transfer of learning to new and challenging situations. Key features include: Thinking prompts to spur reflection and inform curricular planning and design. Next-day strategies that offer tips for practical, immediate action in the classroom. Design steps that outline critical moments in creating curriculum for learning that transfers. Links to case studies, discipline-specific examples, and podcast interviews with educators. A companion website that hosts templates, planning guides, and flexible options for adapting current curriculum documents.