The Multiple Menu Model for Developing Differentiated Curriculum16

Teachers and others associated with the educational process often create successful lessons plans that they would like to tum into curricular units either to publish or share with their colleagues. As these emerging curriculum writers try to use these lesson plans as a basis for writing curriculum, they soon realize that developing curriculum is a difficult and demanding process. They also find that there is little practical guidance available to help them translate their ideas into a publishable unit of instruction. A second dilemma that emerges is illustrated with the following question: How does a curriculum developer balance rigor and content authenticity with motivating instructional techniques that accommodate individual differences? The Multiple Menu Model helps can help to solve these dilemmas by providing a set of six practical guides or menus that a curriculum writer can use to design in-depth curriculum units for classroom use. It provides a curriculum writer with a range of options within each component of the model. The menus encourages a curriculum developer to design in-depth units that bring together an understanding of the structure of a discipline, its content and methodologies, and the wide range of instructional techniques educators use to create meaningful teaching and learning experiences. The Multiple Menu Model is based on theories of knowledge, theories of curriculum development, and research on related issues in learning such as a focus on higher level thinking skills, developing student motivation, and optimal instructional sequencing. The curriculum developer is responsible for determining the degree of complexity within each unit of instruction that might be appropriate for a given age or ability group. In the final analysis, it is the curriculum developer's understanding of the content field and instructional techniques plus an under-standing of cognitive and developmental psychology that will determine the level of knowledge and content that is appropriate for a particular age group. Three conditions are necessary for the effective use of this model. First, the curriculum writer must understand the concepts presented on the menus. The appropriate use of an instructional activity will elude authors of curricular materials if they do have a practical understanding of the concepts being taught and how they can put them to work in a learning situation. Both the curriculum developer and teachers who will use the materials must understand the basic principles, functional concepts, and methodologies of the field of study on which the unit is based. The second condition for successful use of this model involves a plan for synthesizing the menus at the practical or output level. In developing this model we have chosen to place knowledge at the center of the planning process and require curriculum developers to carefully consider what content and process understandings will become the focus of the instructional unit. Lesson Planning Guides, a Multiple Menu Model Unit Plan, and an Artistic Modification Template are available to assist the curriculum developer in the planning process. The curriculum developer using this model will be more effective if she or he has thought about the following issues and questions. What will the end product be? What group of students is the target audience for this curriculum? What is a discipline or a field of study? Where does the curriculum developer go to find out about and learn the principles, concepts and methodologies of a field of study? How does the curriculum writer go about making sure that the unit of study "appeals to the imagination" of students? What artistic modification can be suggested to enhance this unit?