What are things to consider when determining curriculum for an art course or grade level?

When determining curriculum, I think it is essential to first understand who you are as a teacher. It is important to teach to your strengths as teacher and to teach to what you believe in and reflect on how that ties into what you want to teach in your curriculum. Curriculum varies depending on the grade level or the class being taught. Personally, I think interdisciplinary teaching and discipline based art education is very important and can be implemented over all levels of art education. When writing lesson plans I always refer and reflect to DBAE as I try to incorporate what the students already know from tools, techniques and processes, to what they are learning in other classrooms, how can I incorporated history, and how to get them involved in higher thinking strategies like discussions, debates and critiques. I also think it is important to make connections from previous art courses and build upon what they already know. Building upon learning from prior experiences is something that can be implemented in other classrooms also, as it is a tool essential for continuous learning. Getting to know my students on an individual level is also extremely important. I can meet the needs of my students as a teacher if I know my students and what they have interests in and what they would like to learn. Art should be used as a tool for discovery, as making art should be enjoyable and something students should be passionate about. By getting to know my students, this is more feasible. Lastly, when writing curriculum I think it is important to think about the overall big picture or theme of what I want my students to learn. Are they meeting benchmark expectations and standards? By making connections, incorporating what they already know, infusing history and participating in higher thinking strategies like critiques, this umbrella allows for unlimited learning opportunities.