Give Feedback and Create Curriculum
We are creating a free electronic form of multimedia curriculum designed using scientifically based instructional principles (Direct Instruction, Precision Teaching (fluency), and Applied Behavior Analysis/Verbal Behavior Curriculum).
Parents and teachers can use the curriculum for Preschool and Kindergarten through 5th graders to teach Language, Reading, Science, and Math based on the teaching principles of explicit instruction. Depending on the use, it employs either a summary of what is to be taught or is a fully scripted curriculum that ensures an efficient teaching of skills and knowledge to mastery. Don't let the scripted option give you a sense of simplicity. There is much research and history in the principles of explicit instruction.
Benefits of Electronic Curriculum and Creative Commons Licensing
By placing curriculum into an electronic media format you gain the following benefits:
- Adaptable - if a set of instructions is weak, a teacher using the curriculum or a field testing teacher might login and either add to the discussion for the module (see tabs) or make a change in the module for the section. Furthermore, a teacher can make their own copy and customize it for his or her own use.
- Portable - curriculum and scripted teacher instruction can be placed on a tablet (ipad), laptop, and/or printed out. No more lugging books around. Student booklets can be easily printed in black and white or color and easily replaced. Software such as Goodreader on the ipad offer students the ability to fill out worksheets directly on the ipad.
- Reduced costs - This curriculum is free. Currently, student books cost $50-$80 each, consumable workbooks cost $10 to $20 each, and printed teacher editions cost $80 on up.
- Durable - electronic media can often be put into various types of formats such as a database, web page, or even printed in sections. Currently, teacher editions are spiral bound which can compress and become difficult to turn pages.
- Expandable - the use of hyperlinks to get more information on an idea or item can assist teachers in learning the curriculum more completely and quickly.
- Format/media - using electronic media allows curriculum to be developed in a way that is quicker for the teacher to learn to efficacy, thereby, allowing the teacher more time to work on student errors or more time to "punch up" the curriculum to make more fun. The use of small icons as cues can assist teachers in learning the curriculum more quickly.
- Multimedia - the ability for a teacher to use pictures and short videos to make a point. Also allows the multimedia to include current events thus making the lessons more timely and linked to the students point of view.
- Helpful for parents - parents of students (especially students with disabilities) can help pre-teach or firm areas for students that need extra practice. A teacher can print the information/workbooks or direct the parent to the wikiversity website.
- Transformable - can translate the curriculum to different languages and even communication style (i.e. from written to sign language).
- Free of Copyright restrictions - this curriculum can be discussed and reviewed without any copyright restrictions. It is legal to duplicate, modify, and discuss openly on the web or anywhere else.
Who Should Contribute
- Direct instruction curriculum experts
- Anyone interested in strong, effective, and efficient curriculum
- Anyone interested in explicit, direct instruction curriculum development
- Those that believe knowledge should be free
- Those that like the idea of providing schools with free, effective, field tested curriculum that will save money and give us a more educated, competitive populace
- Illustrators
- Copyright attorney
- Funders/granting agencies
How to Prepare in order to Contribute
To truly understand and participate in this community, it would be best to review the following sites & books:
- Direct Instruction Reading by Douglas Carnine and Jerry Silbert
- Direct Instruction in Reading Comprehension by Russell Gersten and Douglas Carnine
- The Precision Teaching Book by Rick Kubina ISBN 978-0-615-55420-4
- Verbal Behavior Approach by Mary Barbera
- Teaching Language to Children with Autism or Other Developmental Disabilities by Mark Sundberg and James Partington
Basic Definitions and Open Source
- Definition of curriculum
- Definition of Direct Instruction (DI)
- Definition of Free Curriculum - read and extrapolate from Free Software Foundation (FSF). I realize that FSF is for software but you can use your imagination to extrapolate.
- GNU Free Documentation Licence (GFDL) and Creative Commons
- How do I know what makes a DI program really based on DI? Rubric for Identifying Authentic Direct Instruction Programs
How to Contribute
*If you wish to contribute please read the Direct Instruction links above and post comments and curriculum ideas.
DO NOT SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED WORK even with permission! We can most certainly reinvent this wheel with enough time, energy, and people. Might as well get started now - the sooner we get started the sooner schools and individuals can use this curriculum.
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