MTEL Curriculum Development and Design 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A curriculum developer is using backward design. What is the FIRST step in this process?
- Select instructional activities
- Choose appropriate textbooks
- Identify desired learning outcomes (Correct answer)
- Develop formative assessments
Correct answer: Identify desired learning outcomes
Backward design, developed by Wiggins and McTighe, begins with identifying desired results before planning instruction or assessments.
Question 2: Which curriculum model emphasizes the spiral approach, where concepts are revisited with increasing complexity across grade levels?
- Tyler Rationale
- Bruner's Spiral Curriculum (Correct answer)
- Bloom's Taxonomy
- Hunter's Direct Instruction
Correct answer: Bruner's Spiral Curriculum
Jerome Bruner's spiral curriculum revisits core concepts repeatedly across grades, deepening understanding at each encounter.
Question 3: A teacher wants to ensure her curriculum addresses multiple intelligences. Which theorist's work should she consult?
- Jean Piaget
- Lev Vygotsky
- Howard Gardner (Correct answer)
- Benjamin Bloom
Correct answer: Howard Gardner
Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences identifies distinct learning modalities such as linguistic, logical-mathematical, and spatial intelligence.
Question 4: In curriculum alignment, what does 'vertical alignment' refer to?
- Matching content across different subject areas at the same grade
- Ensuring content builds sequentially from one grade level to the next (Correct answer)
- Aligning curriculum with state and national standards
- Coordinating pacing guides among teachers at the same grade
Correct answer: Ensuring content builds sequentially from one grade level to the next
Vertical alignment ensures that curriculum content and skills progress logically and build upon each other from one grade level to the next.
Question 5: Which type of curriculum refers to what teachers actually teach in the classroom, which may differ from the official written curriculum?
- Null curriculum
- Hidden curriculum
- Enacted curriculum (Correct answer)
- Assessed curriculum
Correct answer: Enacted curriculum
The enacted (or taught) curriculum is what teachers actually deliver in practice, which can differ from the written or intended curriculum.
Question 6: A Massachusetts school district adopts the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. What is the PRIMARY purpose of these frameworks?
- To prescribe daily lesson plans for teachers
- To set grade-level learning standards and expectations (Correct answer)
- To mandate specific textbooks for each subject
- To determine teacher certification requirements
Correct answer: To set grade-level learning standards and expectations
The Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks establish grade-level standards and expectations that guide what students should know and be able to do.
Question 7: When developing a scope and sequence, a curriculum designer is primarily concerned with:
- The specific instructional strategies teachers will use
- What content will be covered and in what order across grade levels (Correct answer)
- How student progress will be reported to parents
- Which students qualify for advanced coursework
Correct answer: What content will be covered and in what order across grade levels
Scope refers to the breadth and depth of content covered, while sequence refers to the order in which content is taught across time and grade levels.
MTEL Curriculum Development and Design 2
A curriculum developer is using backward design.
What is the FIRST step in this process?