methodology
Course Pathways Methodology
Using the Syllabus as Evidence
The Maine Course Pathways Project is organized around a school-wide external review process that employs a criterion-based professional judgment methodology. This method allows teachers the freedom to articulate their courses in a useful and accurate format without having to submit multiple forms of evidence such as questionnaires or inventories. Trained content experts utilize explicit decision rules to make accurate, consistent judgments about the alignment of course syllabi with the MLR. Once all of the course syllabi from a high school are analyzed, an analytic system then identifies gaps in MLR coverage across all possible course pathways for graduation. Teachers and schools then have the opportunity to make adjustments or refinements to course syllabi to demonstrate that all course pathways provide students the opportunity to learn the MLR.
EPIC, under the direction of the Maine DOE, is conducting the syllabus review process utilizing expertise developed by EPIC for the AP® Course Audit. The syllabus and course pathways review process is an ideal tool for determining whether Maine high school students are being offered the opportunity to learn all of the MLR. By looking at the state standards addressed by the content of each syllabus, EPIC can analyze whether all standards are being taught and whether the course content is aligned with the standards both horizontally (i.e., within the same grade level or course title) and vertically (i.e., across grade levels or course sequences).
Course syllabi are powerful information sharing and learning tools. EPIC has conducted years of research on the content of college and high school course syllabi. Although a comprehensive syllabus has been more closely associated historically with college courses, Maine high school teachers will now have the opportunity to create high quality syllabi that will help students (and their parents) know what is expected of them in each course and how the course addresses the MLR. The benefits of having high quality syllabi for Maine high school courses include the following:
- Teacher participation in syllabus creation can promote collaboration among teachers and can serve as a professional development experience as teachers compare course content and receive feedback about their syllabi.
- Teachers will receive useful external validation for the quality of their syllabi along with information on how to modify the course syllabus so that it better reflects the relevant curricular expectations claimed for the course.
- Administrators and departments can learn more about school-wide expectations and curriculum content and alignment and can then encourage greater alignment among courses.
- Students and parents will be able to become familiar with the expectations and content present in each course syllabus, which helps students understand how to succeed and helps parents support their children to be successful.
