A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

APPLICATION NO :  R215G30026 APPLICANT      :  Connecticut State Department of Education                   Division of Teaching and Learning                   165 Capitol Avenue                   Hartford, Connecticut  06106 CONTACT PERSON :  Mitchell Chester TELEPHONE      :  (203) 566-5871 AWARD TO DATE  :  $747,905 PROJECT PERIOD :  07/01/93-06/30/96 

The purpose of this proposal is to provide the State of Connecticut with three new curriculum frameworks: one in geography, one in the arts, and a multidisciplinary arts and geography framework. These frameworks will delineate the curricular, instructional and assessment components of world-class geography, arts, and multidisciplinary geography/arts programs for ALL students. In conjunction with developing the frameworks, the project will produce supporting materials (e.g., examples of good assessment practices) to serve as resources for school districts as they implement the frameworks, provide training for teachers and curriculum specialists in the implementation of the frameworks, and disseminate the frameworks throughout the state. The curriculum frameworks will help the state achieve its goals of significantly reducing racial isolation in the state's public schools, and providing quality, integrated education for all students.

The project's design for the development of these frameworks entails a broadly based collaborative process with teachers of geography and the arts, selected school districts, the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, the Connecticut Geographic Alliance, the staff of the State Department of Education, and selected outside experts and resource people. In addition, the process utilizes the expertise of the state's Regional Educational Service Centers, institutions of higher education, professional education organizations, business organizations and community groups.

As of the close of the project's second year, comprehensive draft documents of the frameworks in the arts and geography have been completed, and efforts have turned to the multidisciplinary arts/geography framework. Content development teams have developed prototype learning activities and student assessments that illustrate the content and performance standards in the frameworks. Pilot tests of these tasks have been conducted, and multimedia exemplars of student performances and learning activities have been collected. Scoring protocols for the prototype student and teacher assessments are also being developed. Project activities in the coming year will emphasize completing and refining the frameworks along with teacher training, technical assistance to school districts, and dissemination of the frameworks.

[Models for Excellence in...]

[Integrated Curriculum Framework...]