Benefits of curriculum mapping
Throughout the curriculum mapping process, teachers engage in practices that reveal the benefits of it (Corwin Press, 2008). Teachers regularly collaborate to discuss what the key indicators are, how they are being taught, and how will they know if the students are meeting the goals set. The conversations may uncover gaps in the curriculum or what indicators are repeatedly being taught and the depth at which they are being taught. If a consistent curriculum is being used, teachers can collaboratively reflect on the effectiveness of teaching strategies and how they will address students who have mastered the content or those who may be struggling. The shared vision (curriculum) of the district is reinforced throughout the process; this avoids teachers working in isolation and also allows vertical articulation within content areas. It insures students are learning what they need for the next course so they may be successful in grade-level content. As the process progresses, the conversations shift from teacher-centered to student-centered learning. The process will be time-consuming at first, but eventually, the organization of it will lead to a decrease in the amount of time teachers spend preparing lessons and materials. If a teacher leaves the district, new teachers have access to what was taught, how it was taught and the student data.
References:
Keys to Curriculum Mapping [Video file]. (2008). Corwin Press. Retrieved January 17, 2016, from Academic Video Online: Premium.

* * * How can curriculum mapping benefit the student and engagement in the classroom? When developing the curriculum map for your classroom you must keep the non-negotiables in place and add to your map what it needed for your students. When doing this you are looking at data and collaborating with other teachers in regards to the materials on the curriculum map. Doing so helps you with modifying your map. This involves what is needed for the high achieving, moderate and low achieving students. Which gives us our differentiated instruction. Collaborating with fellow educators we can pick each other's brains and share what works and doesn't work. We can use that to modify our curriculum map to better meet every student's needs. By doing this we are benefiting our students. This will also impact the engagement in the classroom. The materials delivered will not be monotone. It will be delivered in various ways to meet the student's needs. This can include auditory, visual, hands on or kinesthetic styles of learning. Key Elements of Curriculum Mapping There are multiple different ways of approaching curriculum mapping and even many different software programs to assist the process. Regardless of the approach, curriculum mapping has several key elements. Curriculum Mapping generally adheres to three concepts: Communication, Curricular Dialogue, and Coherency (Hale, 2015). Communication is an essential part of creating and updating a curriculum map. Teachers and administrators have to be able to collaborate effectively to ensure that all parties are in agreement and on the same page. This also helps to make sure that the mapping covers essential benchmark areas at the appropriate time. Curricular dialogue is used to help teachers make “data-based decisions about grade-level, cross-grade level, disciplinary, and cross-disciplinary curricula and instructional practices” (Hale, 2015). Coherency involves the process of documenting and evaluating both the planned and actual learning. This allows educators and administrators to effectively address issues in the mapping process to ensure that the content is effective and getting the proper results.

References:
Hale, J. (2015). Curriculum Model - Curriculum Mapping 101 | Curriculum Mapping 101. Retrieved from http://curriculummapping101.com/curriculum-mapping-general