Network Awards--Curriculum Studies

Competition Guidelines

Updated Submission Instructions

Last year, we moved submission procedures to electronic considering COVID-19. As a result, we learned new things and found a more efficient way of submitting units for the NAGC Curriculum Network competition

Guidelines found on this Curriculum Network Award page remain the same. Send your Submission fee in as directed. The main change is instead of sending hard copies of your unit to the address in the guidelines, you will share your unit, application form, the unit to rubric letter, evidence data etc. using Google Drive. This is a free storage resource and allows for large files to be shared. You will upload your documents and share them with the awards co-chair, Christine Briggs cbriggs@louisiana.edu using Google Drive. You will need to establish a gmail account but this is free. As stated in the guidelines, all submissions are due and must be uploaded by June 1.

Once units are in Google Drive, each will be shared with two reviewers from around the country who will conduct a blind review.  Please make sure to remove any identifying information in the unit. The only identifying information should be on the application form. All of the reviewers are experts in curriculum and will review your unit with outcomes to you no later than September 1^st.

If you have any questions, please contact Awards co-chairs: Christine Briggs (cbriggs@louisana.edu) or Carol Ann Williams (caw51@comcast.net)

Contact Information

Please contact Christine Briggs or Carol Ann Williams with any questions on the information below. 

Award Submissions

Award submissions uploaded no later than June 1 to be considered for this year's competition. Upload submissions to a Google Drive and share with Christine Briggs  (see above for more information)

See past winners of the Curriculum Award.

Documents Required

Three (3) complete copies of your unit and all support materials.

Completed Application Form OR email Carolyn Kaye to receive the form.

Submission Limitations

Any individual, institution, or organization may submit or sponsor only two (2) units total per year.

You must be a member of NAGC to participate. Click to join now if you are not.

Competition Fee

A $15.00 submission fee is required per unit (no more than 2 units per individual, institution, or organization). Please make your checks out to NAGC and mail to:

NAGC
Curriculum Award
1300 I St. NW
Suite 400E
Washington, DC  20005

Award Distribution

No more than six (6) awards will be given by the Network to individuals collaborating on one unit. Additional awards (apples) are available for purchase through the Curriculum Network for units with more than six authors. Awards will be presented at the NAGC Annual Convention.

Scoring Information

Any unit receiving two (2) scores of 1 on rubric attributes will be eliminated from the competition.

If a score of 1 is earned in either the differentiation or talent development, the unit will be eliminated from the competition.

Implementation of curriculum is required. Evidence of student(s)' growth is a critical rubric element.

Feedback

Lead authors of winning curriculum units will be notified in writing no later than September 1 to ensure winners can make arrangements to attend the NAGC Annual Convention to receive their award and take advantage of early registration. While qualitative feedback will be sent to the lead author, actual copies of rubrics used by scorers will not be distributed.

Required Parameters

Before a unit will be evaluated the following must be present:

• A goal statement for unit/objective tied to national or state standards and benchmarks.
• Unit to rubric explanation: For each attribute in the rubric, explain how the submitted unit addresses the criteria found in that attribute. This might include highlights of lesson elements that address differentiation, opportunities for talent development, how student growth is measured, etc. For example, Evidence of Use: "The unit was used in two 4th grade, heterogeneous classrooms. Students demonstrated growth through pre/post tests, reflective journals and teacher-student interviews. The results indicated increased knowledge of the content and skills in the area of cultural anthropology." State concepts, principles, methodologies and dispositions in unit explanation.
• Self-assessment: For each of the criteria included in the rubric, explain how the submitted unit addresses the criteria/attributes. For each section, include a summary of the ways the unit demonstrates the criteria. For example, this might include highlights of lesson elements that address differentiation, opportunities for talent development, how student growth is measured, etc.

• Include a brief narrative to describe how are you addressing the 2019 NAGC pK-12 Gifted Programming Standard- 3.1 Responsiveness to Diversity:

  • 3.3.1. Educators develop and use curriculum that is responsive and relevant to diversity that connects to students’ real-life experiences and communities and includes multiple voices and perspectives.

  • 3.3.2. Educators encourage students to connect to others’ experiences, examine their own perspectives and biases, and develop a critical consciousness.

  • 3.3.3. Educators use high-quality, appropriately challenging materials that include multiple perspectives.

• Unit submissions must be self-contained. Everything that is needed for evaluating the unit must be submitted with the unit. Evaluators will not do outside research.
• To be considered for an award, submitted units must include evidence of effectiveness (student growth). This can include copies of student work samples, pre/post assessments, student case study describing individual student growth as result of this unit.
• The unit must demonstrate appropriate challenge for use with gifted students grouped in heterogeneous instructional settings or gifted classrooms.
• Written components of the unit must be complete and substantive. For example: unit must be written to allow outside teachers to implement individual lessons. This would include activities, resources, step by step instructions, teacher questions/talk, and background information for teacher knowledge.
   

Rubric

The scoring rubric will only be applied to those units meeting the above criteria. In preparation for submission, please review the rubric to be aware of the required components.  Each qualifying unit will be assessed according to the Rubric. Please send any comments to Christine Briggs.