Curriculum and Instruction
Director of Curriculum & Instruction:
Katrina Turbyfill
SWAIN CORE K-12 Curriculum Maps
SWAIN CORE Overview and History
During the 2014-2015 school year, Swain County Schools began the process of having all teachers participate in writing a guaranteed district-wide curriculum. District curriculum leaders recognized the value of having a shared vision for curriculum and instruction in order to improve the learning experiences of our students. Further, district leadership believed that teachers are the best front line developers of the curriculum. Superintendent Sam Pattillo coined the term “SWAIN CORE” for our guaranteed district-wide curriculum.
Our Vision: To create the guaranteed, viable SWAIN CORE curriculum which
Aligns with state standards
Identifies prioritized “big idea” concepts from state standards
Frames units around enduring understandings and essential questions of “big idea” concepts
Utilizes a variety of acceptable evidences of understanding
Plans learning experiences that best promote the intended learning outcomes
Embeds instructional best practices
The SWAIN CORE curriculum is
Guaranteed because all teachers of the grade level and/or subject area will utilize the collaboratively-developed documents to plan instruction for their classrooms, ensuring that all Swain County students in that grade level have access to the agreed upon core curriculum for their grade level/subject area
Viable because the curriculum development process is on-going, reflective, and continuously revised as needed
The result of the curriculum planning process is a written product which
Serves as a Curriculum Guide/Textbook for the grade level/subject area
Is shared in a digital format with other teachers, with parents, and with students
Includes links to instructional resources for teachers
The curriculum development process for SWAIN CORE is based on the principles outlined by Wiggins and McTighe in their works related to “Understanding by Design.”
What is “Understanding by Design”?