[3] Key to the approach is that each teacher enters what is actually taught in real-time during the school year, in contrast to having an outside or separate committee determine decisions.
The entries by teachers are not left alone, however; in fact, because the work is displayed via internet-based programs, it is open to view by all personnel in a school or district.
[8] Jacobs (2004) defines a consensus map as one that "reflects the policy agreed on by a professional staff that targets those specific areas in each discipline that are to be addressed with consistency and flexibility in a school or district" (para.
[9] It provides an opportunity, by thoughtful reflection, for teachers to have a common ground for communication about their curriculum while also maintaining the necessary flexibility to do what is right for each child.
Hale (2008) adds that a consensus map functions as a communication tool to convey to stakeholders the students' learning expectations (p. 145).
[8] Ideally, it comes later in the curriculum mapping process – after horizontal and vertical data examination and after interdisciplinary or mixed-group review (Jacobs, 2004, para.
[10] A consensus map might include what they district staff have targeted as the "nonnegotiables that will be taught in each grade level or subject in a school or district" and should represent "best practices, 21st century curriculum, higher order thinking, high standards, and clearly defined grade- or course-level expectations" (Jacobs & Johnson, 2009, p. 65).
[9] These maps showcase what takes place in an individual classroom, ideally providing evidence of the students' learning with that teacher.