Curriculum maps provide a record of what really happened in class. By using curriculum maps as the foundation for informed decision-making, teachers begin to communicate and collaborate like never before, looking for gaps and redundancy, and focusing on real curricular data, all in the pursuit of a coherent K-12 curriculum.
August 2005

Any search is more difficult when people don't know what they're seeking. Taking time to establish criteria for your curriculum will help to ensure that you recognize that curriculum when you find it. Knowing what you're looking for will also make it easier for you to rule out materials that don't meet your needs.
January 2006

Most effective schools have a planned cycle for curriculum review and textbook adoption. A good timeline for this effort would be to conduct a curriculum review and assessment during the first semester and then proceed into a textbook review and selection process in the second semester. This gives teachers the break between the school years to adjust lesson plans to reflect the new materials.
November 2006

A textbook is a learning tool, and we cannot expect to use any tool effectively if we don't know it. Become familiar with the basic philosophy underlying the textbooks that you use. Seek to grasp the author's primary objectives and the means by which he intends that they be achieved. As much as possible, make the author's goals your goals.
June 2007

Quality instructional materials provide the teacher not only with accurate, up-to-date, and reliable content information, but also with strategies and techniques helpful for facilitating student collaboration, assessment, and meeting special needs. Ideally, instructional materials assist the teacher in making biblical connections and applications in each lesson.
November 2007

In evaluating a curriculum, decision makers may find it hard to see the forest for the trees. It can be helpful to start with big-picture questions before checking to see how the content matches standards, whether the teacher manual is user-friendly, what kinds of online resources support the program, or how well the material syncs with other school resources.
January 2008

To encourage a love of learning and provide critical thinking skills that enhance learning across all disciplines, look for educational materials that bridge subject matter, teach critical thinking skills, and encourage a mindset of discovery.
November 2008

No matter how tight the budget, you want your teachers to be successful in their teaching. Therefore, they need not only the right teacher's editions, but the right student materials and teaching visuals. Of course, you can find textbooks with a price tag that seems more attractive, but the real test of a book's quality is not whether it contains the adequate amount of facts and figures, but whether it teaches truth.
June 2009

When looking for the best Christian education curriculum, schools should look for a Christ-centered curriculum that illustrates God's awesome creation, the control of God, and His unfailing compassion. Most importantly, a Christian curriculum shows students how special they are to God and how their lives will positively impact the world around them.
November 2009

To read any of these articles in their entirety, visit www.cspmag.com for our complete article archives.