7 Tips on Creating Curriculum

Dual language programs have been gaining momentum across schools countrywide and it’s with good reason. It’s not hard to notice the benefits of these programs to students. The metacognitive flexibility of bilingual students is always much better than that of monolingual students. We all know the many proven benefits through research that being bilingual has more advantages than being monolingual. Currently, many programs are in English and Spanish.

One way to create the prevalence of more languages in dual language programs is by learning how to create your own curriculum. By creating curriculum, you are satisfying the needs of your students, and opening up the possibility of creating more dual language programs and allowing others to profit off of your great ideas.

Having a good curriculum is vital in ensuring that all students can learn effectively and with interest. With a good curriculum, both native English-speaking students and English Language Learner (ELL) students will have equal learning opportunities. Here are some tips that you can use to create an effective curriculum!

1. Develop Your Objectives

Every learning activity has its’ objectives. Objectives are simply what you would like your students to learn at the end of the learning session. As a teacher, you should develop clear objectives for every learning session. The objectives should be easily achievable, beneficial to the students, and purposeful, ,especially if you are dealing with young learners.

2. Identify Your Resources

Once you have your objectives set, go ahead and identify which resources are around you. These are the resources that can help you achieve your objectives. This can be anything, from crafts, to house-hold objects, to toys, whatever supports the curriculum that you are teaching. Use your imagination and think outside the box- this will help support the imaginations of your students!

Continue reading to find out more on how to create your own curriculum…

3. Develop Experiences That Bind to Your Objectives

Learning is a process, and the best way to learn is through experiences. Through dual immersion programs, you can create learning experiences that will help you achieve the objectives you set. This means, take your students on field trips, create activities outside, allow them to see and sense other cultures to broaden their understanding of the importance of learning other languages.

4. Create Learning Aids

Studies have shown that the most effective learning methods are through visuals. This is because our minds remember much more of what we see than of what we hear. You can create charts or presentations to help you get across what you are teaching, especially in a bilingual setting, when many of your students may not understand your words. Utilizing visuals will allow you to drive home your points.

5. Outline Your Task’s Specifics

It’s important that you have completed steps 1-4 before you outline your role in each of the tasks that are ahead of you. This will enable you to prepare psychologically on what you are going to encounter. Revise your role as a teacher in the education programs. Think of yourself as a student first, to see how you would understand this curriculum.

Continue reading to find out more on how to create your own curriculum…

6. Create A Plan

For you to be successful, you need to have a good plan on how you will handle your students’ reactions to the curriculum. What questions will they ask? What will be difficult for them to understand? What do I need to provide to them to have my objectives met? Take your time to develop a good plan that will help you achieve this. Dual language education is a tough business, but well worth its’ many benefits, which is why you need the best plan.

7. Go for the Student’s Experience

Come up with a way to create a good learning experience for the students. This means, think of all aspects that the curriculum will need to be effective. You have your resources, your objectives, your plan and role, but now, how will this go for your students? Be flexible. If a curriculum isn’t working, don’t be afraid to make changes. This will help create the students’ interests in the lesson and therefore increase commitment from them. Dual immersion curriculum can be tuned to offer an impeccable student experience.

With these tips, you can create your own effective dual language curriculum that will go a long way in helping your students get the best out of their education. Imagine the opportunities that your students will have in the future because of the education you’re providing them. Think of how future teachers can utilize your curriculum! With an interesting, effective curriculum, the possibilities are endless!

Check back this October for more useful tools to create curriculum!

Author: Patricia Griselda Pérez

Dr. Patricia Pérez holds an A.A. from Ohlone College: B.A. and M.S. degree from California State University, East Bay and an Ed.D. from the University of San Francisco. She serves as an educator, consultant and teacher coach, which provides professional development, curriculum development and multicultural awareness services to local and international educational institutions and corporations. Dr. Pérez is fluent in Spanish and began her career as an elementary school teacher in a bilingual classroom. In the past two decades, she has developed a wide range of experience working at every level of public education, providing support to educators and directly to students. Her interest focus on promoting educational excellence through equity in order to overcome institutional barriers that confront underserved students of diverse backgrounds. Dr. Pérez is also an accomplished writer and has published in the areas of multicultural education and organizational management and leadership. She is a contributing author to Multicultural Education in Practice: Transforming One Community at a Time and Collaboration and Peak Performance: A Multidisciplinary Perspective for Emerging Leaders.