Curriculum Development

Because of its extensive experience in development of standards for learning and assessment--both at national and state levels, InterPrep is frequently called upon to assist schools and districts in design and redesign of curriculum and instructional frameworks.

In working with teachers to design curriculum, InterPrep believes that local direction must first be informed by national and state foreign language frameworks. Teachers are then led through a process to "make it their own" by:

• identifying their commonly held beliefs about foreign language teaching and learning;
• determining what students should know and be able to do by the end of each year´s instruction [and to also develop this information in a format easily accessible by students and their parents]; and,
• creating sample performance-based assessments that measure what students can DO with the language at the end of each year of instruction.

InterPrep believes that a "backward design" approach helps teachers envision and formulate well-focused, meaningful instructional experiences for students. Determining (1) what students should know and be able to do; (2) how they will show what they know and what they can do; and then–and only then–(3) designing instructional activities to get to the end points will ensure that the spirit and intent of the curriculum is carried out.

InterPrep´s work with school systems in design of curriculum generally occurs over a period of months. Typically, teachers come together initially for several days during the summer to kick-start the experience and then continue their work at set-aside days during the following school year. Or, the reverse may occur when the curriculum design venture begins during release days in the school year and continues in a more intense fashion during the summer.

Here are two scenarios that illustrate how InterPrep has assisted two different school systems in designing foreign language curriculum.

Richland County School District One
Columbia, SC

Forsyth County Schools
Cumming, GA