My+Experience


 * I can't say I have experience designing curriculum!
 * I'm a great editor, and I've edited the content (but not the overall idea) of a 5th Grade Life Skills for HIV Prevention Curriculum I pilot tested in rural Mozambique.
 * I've designed a resource kit of materials for preschools in Mozambique to support a curriculum someone else developed.
 * I plan lessons as a tutor, and I've worked as an ESOL teacher and program coordinator for urban ecology.
 * The closest I've come to designing curriculum is offering suggestions for literacy initiatives (but I'm not the specialist). Here I designed a method for teaching adults how to read with/ to kids and helped to implement a daily routine revolving around focused lessons teaching pre-literacy skills. I've also designed a series of experiences for different international student groups who each presented their own co-curricular objective.
 * The only instructional model I've used to design a curriculum has been common sense!
 * The most challenging aspect of curriculum design could be the vastness of it, and knowing how to //incorporate/ plan for eventualities//, eg. How to plan for day two knowing some students missed day one. eg. Having a plan in place of for working with various skill levels. I would imagine it would help to know the target audience intimately. I've rarely had that luxury and know the benefit of planning for the weakest link.
 * //I would like to learn techniques for how one teacher can support students at different skill levels in the same class.// Another challenging aspect of implementation is the time consuming nature of preparation and synchronization. When team teaching it is vital that everyone understands the overall objective of the curriculum. To be able to go with the flow and know when it's called for, especially when working with a team, is the most challenging aspect of implementation.

**From September 2010, here is an biosketch in 100 words!** Sarah Clarke assists with Early Learning Centers. After studying Communication, Media and Theatre she worked as an educator in Washington, DC and in Mozambique. Sarah has enjoyed designing a kit of learning materials for preschools, field testing curriculum, planning and implementing interactive workshops for children and adults, and teaching English as a foreign language. She established a small school library in Xinavane and coordinated a project of mobile libraries in Maputo. With Livro Aberto she is dedicated to helping children enjoy stories using activities such as theatre. Sarah creates books using recycled materials inspired by communities in Costa do Sol.