Mavy Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 how long should you use a curriculum before you can really recommend it to someone? Or when do you feel you are an "expert" in a curriculum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 That depends entirely on the curriculum and on my own subject expertise. When I looked through our math curriculum for the first time, I had a clear overview of the strengths of the curriculum after a few minutes and could already anticipate for what kind of student it would work and why. I can spend a few minutes with a physics text and after that give a pretty detailed recommendation - because these subjects are my area of expertise. OTOH, a curriculum for learning a foreign language I do not speak fluently is something I would have to use for the whole duration and judge its quality by the learning outcome of my student after one or several years- because I know nothing about teaching French. Before I could see that it really gets its job done in the long term, I would not feel comfortable recommending the curriculum, since this is for me the only way to discern quality in a subject like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I have sometimes mentioned curricula to people that I have not used at all, but that from what someone has asked sound like it/they could be a good fit for that person's situation. I've tried to be clear about my level of knowledge and experience. Or lack thereof. Sometimes people get multiple things to review before deciding, and those people can sometimes be very helpful even about things they have not used. Just as people who have used things for 18 years with 12 children can be helpful. And so can levels of experience in between. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I have sometimes mentioned curricula to people that I have not used at all, but that from what someone has asked sound like it/they could be a good fit for that person's situation. I've tried to be clear about my level of knowledge and experience. Or lack thereof. Sometimes people get multiple things to review before deciding, and those people can sometimes be very helpful even about things they have not used. Just as people who have used things for 18 years with 12 children can be helpful. And so can levels of experience in between. Same here. I'll often say to someone, we don't use it, but it sounds like X is what you want. And if we like something, I'm fine saying, well, we're really liking X even though we've only just started it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted November 7, 2012 Share Posted November 7, 2012 I think it's important to mention in a recommendation (or the opposite) whether I use the curric, and how long I've used it. But there are other less tangible things that play a role...my knowledge base that I bring to a curriculum, how it fits with my teaching style or a child's learning style, and so on. Also, a few times I've loved a curriculum one year, and then the next year it wasn't a fit at all. And a few times, I've hated a curriculum with one child and loved it with another. I think it's important to give as much of this contextual information as possible when I talk about a curriculum, and I also consider it important in reviews (positive or negative) that I read. A curriculum could be great, but if it's not going to fit how I teach or how my kids learn, it doesn't matter how well someone else knows the curriculum... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavy Posted November 8, 2012 Author Share Posted November 8, 2012 Thank you for all your input. I have people ask me all the time to recommend curriculum to them. I have really enjoyed all my curriculum last year and this year, but still have wondered if I am really qualified to give it a thorough review because we are just digging in. I think you are all right, the more information I give them the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Same here. I'll often say to someone, we don't use it, but it sounds like X is what you want. And if we like something, I'm fine saying, well, we're really liking X even though we've only just started it. I do this also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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