Curriculum Mapping: Templates for Success & Sustainability

One of the things I love most about being an art teacher is the community of people with whom I share my passion for art education. I had the amazing opportunity today to facilitate a discussion for Choice Art Educators, a special interest group of the National Art Education Association, about curriculum planning. I chose to lead a conversation on this particular topic because, of all the things we juggle as art teachers, charting a course for our students (and ourselves) is among the most challenging.

There are many aspects of planning a curriculum that must be considered such as district requirements, state and national standards, content, outcomes, assessments, stakeholders, resources, and limitations to name a few. But one thing that must always be at the forefront of our thinking is our students. In the Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) philosophy, the child is the artist. As long as we hold true to this tenet as we move forward (along with the others - the classroom is the child's studio, and pursuing the question 'what do artists do?'), we are on the right path.

When I first implemented TAB in my classroom, I was adamant about creating a scope and sequence. As many Choice educators know, accountability for our pedagogy and advocacy for our program are two of the most critical pieces of our work. TAB and Choice are consistently misunderstood by those unfamiliar with the approaches. Even more disconcerting than the misconceptions shared by general education advocates is the judgment that comes from within the art education community itself.

Verbalizing and visualizing the work that we do is not just for our own benefit - it is essential to sustaining our pedagogy and practice.

In an effort to help others brainstorm, synthesize, and create blueprints that serve as curricular guides, I created the following flowchart:

While curriculum maps provide guidance for teachers, students, and others in the school community, they should not be considered finite documents. Ample space and time for reflection/revision must be maintained throughout the process to stay true to the pursuit of a learner-directed classroom.

If you are interested in learning more, related resources can be found on the Choice Art Educator's website in the "Dive Right In! - Summer Share 2022" section.