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Curriculum vs Resource

A curriculum is what is taught, while a resource is what is used to teach. Too often, these words are used interchangeably. Worse still, too often, the resource becomes the reading and math curriculum. This happens at all grade levels, and when the resource is technology-based, it becomes even easier for teachers to simply follow its path. A multitude of issues arise when the resource is used in the curriculum.

Resource writers are hired for their expertise in a topic, but they are not experts in the students' learning from their resources. Their pathway may not be the right one, but when the resource is followed as the curriculum, teachers will do section 1.1 on Monday, 1.2 on Tuesday, etc. This could work great, but what happens when students fall behind or learn quickly? What about students with gaps in their learning for any reason?

I hear school district representatives from around the country talk about their new math or reading "curriculum" when they have adopted a new resource. Students get workbooks, teachers get an edition with answers and tips, PowerPoint presentations are developed for each section of the book, and a test bank is supplied. The whole package has everything needed to get through a year, and each "lesson" is connected to relevant standards.

This is NOT curriculum. Curriculum is a local decision about what is taught and when. It factors in relevant standards, student needs, abilities, interests, course sequences, and classroom structure. Curriculum should leave decision-making about how to teach the material up to the professional in the classroom, who is responsible for getting all students to learn.

When an administrator gives a resource to a teacher and tells them, "Here is our new curriculum" it signals to the teacher that the resource is what they follow. Whether they understand the resource, whether any given day is the lesson students need, and whether the questions and examples are relevant and meaningful in any way to the students. When the resource is the curriculum where is the room for innovation or differentiation.

Curriculum and resource are used interchangeably but have significantly different meanings. Many schools allow for the purchased resource to make all decisions for the faculty. It is nice for teachers to have materials to pull from and some resources are made well. But any resource should be a tool for the teacher to use to meet students' needs. Curriculum directors who mandate that all teachers be at the same place at the same time are another major, but that is for another blog post.

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