CPS Curriculum Development & Design 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which curriculum design model emphasizes starting with the end goals and working backward to plan instruction?
- Tyler Rationale
- Understanding by Design (UbD) (Correct answer)
- Taba Model
- Spiral Curriculum
Correct answer: Understanding by Design (UbD)
Understanding by Design (UbD), developed by Wiggins and McTighe, uses 'backward design' starting with desired outcomes before planning instruction.
Question 2: A psycho-educational specialist is designing curriculum for students with dyscalculia. Which accommodation is MOST directly aligned with their core deficit?
- Extended time on reading passages
- Use of graph paper to align numbers during computation (Correct answer)
- Preferential seating near the teacher
- Reduced homework quantity
Correct answer: Use of graph paper to align numbers during computation
Graph paper helps students with dyscalculia organize numerical columns, directly addressing spatial and procedural number difficulties.
Question 3: In Bloom's Taxonomy (revised), which cognitive level involves breaking down material into component parts and determining how parts relate to each other?
- Evaluating
- Creating
- Analyzing (Correct answer)
- Applying
Correct answer: Analyzing
Analyzing involves decomposing material into constituent parts and detecting relationships among them.
Question 4: Which approach to scope and sequence ensures foundational concepts are revisited at increasing levels of complexity across grade levels?
- Linear curriculum design
- Spiral curriculum (Correct answer)
- Modular curriculum
- Thematic curriculum
Correct answer: Spiral curriculum
Bruner's spiral curriculum revisits core concepts repeatedly with increasing depth and complexity as students mature.
Question 5: A CPS is reviewing a district's K-12 mathematics curriculum for vertical alignment. What is the PRIMARY concern in this process?
- Ensuring each grade level covers the same topics
- Confirming skills build logically from one grade to the next (Correct answer)
- Matching curriculum to standardized test formats
- Reducing redundancy by eliminating repeated content
Correct answer: Confirming skills build logically from one grade to the next
Vertical alignment ensures that learning objectives and skills progressively build upon prior knowledge across grade levels.
Question 6: When developing differentiated curriculum for gifted learners, which strategy replaces grade-level content with more advanced material?
- Enrichment
- Compacting
- Acceleration (Correct answer)
- Tiering
Correct answer: Acceleration
Acceleration moves gifted students to higher-level content earlier, replacing rather than simply extending grade-level curriculum.
Question 7: Which federal legislation most directly mandates that students with disabilities have access to the general education curriculum?
- No Child Left Behind Act
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
- IDEA 2004 (Correct answer)
- Every Student Succeeds Act
Correct answer: IDEA 2004
IDEA 2004 explicitly requires that students with disabilities have access to and make progress in the general education curriculum.
CPS Curriculum Development & Design 2
Which curriculum design model emphasizes starting with the end goals and working backward to plan instruction?