K-12 Curriculum Development

Curriculum development is an ongoing process.  Based on my experience working with schools, some teachers and administrators err on the side of celebrating when standardized test scores increase and search for a "quick fix" when there is a decrease in test scores.  While standardized tests are one method of assessing student learning, the best teachers I have observed and worked with understand that a focus on testing is a narrow approach to curriculum development.  One example of the consequences of focusing on standardized tests is curricular reductionism.  

The authors of the revised Bloom's Taxonomy Teachers recommend that teachers and administrators ask the questions below.

Four Important Organizing Questions:

1.  What is important for students to learn in the limited school and
     classroom time available? 
     (the Learning Question)
 
2.  How does one plan and deliver instruction that will result in high levels
     of learning for large numbers of students?
     (the Instruction Question)

3.  How does one select or design assessment instruments and procedures
     that provide accurate information about how well students are learning?
     (the Assessment Question)
 
4.  How does one ensure that the objectives, instruction, and assessment
     are consistent with one another?
     (the Alignment Question)
 
 Source:
             A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of 
                       Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives (2001)

The article below introduces educators to Purpose-Driven Curriculum and Instruction.  If you wish to build a Purpose-Driven Curriculum, take a moment to ask yourself and a co-worker or team of co-workers the Eight Questions Which Drive the Work of a Purpose-Driven School System (attached).

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Developing and Aligning a Purpose-Driven Curriculum
By Steven M. Weber,

           In 2002, author Dr. Rick Warren wrote The Purpose Driven Life, which sold over 30 million copies worldwide.  Warren wrote, the most basic questions every human faces in life are: Why am I here?  What is my purpose?  When teachers
and administrators develop curriculum they are faced with similar questions such as those posed by Warren.  Too many educators with individual purposes working together in a school can create curriculum clutter and a lack of clarity over curricular aims.  “Schooling at its best reflects a purposeful arrangement of parts and details, organized with deliberate intention, for achieving the kinds of learning we seek” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2007, p. 9).

          What is purpose-driven curriculum and instruction?  A purpose-driven curriculum allows teachers and administrators to focus on key concepts, skills, essential questions and enduring understandings which have been identified by educators for each course and grade level.  Once key concepts, skills, essential questions and enduring understandings have been identified, teachers use instruction and multiple assessments, including common formative assessments to check for student understanding. Over the past fifty years, several school districts have jumped from one program to the next.  Vendor products have been sold to school districts and educators have placed their hope in the product, rather than emphasizing ‘the process’.  According to Morris (2002), “too many people dream of the results of success and ignore the process” (p. 63).

          When educators choose to participate in purpose-driven curriculum and instruction, they make a conscious and collective commitment to have more than a one-year focus. Whether teachers use Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe), Curriculum Mapping (Jacobs), Differentiated Instruction (Tomlinson), Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction (Erickson), Unpacking the Standards (Ainsworth, Reeves, & Marzano), Professional Learning Communities (DuFour) or a combination of recommendations from authors and research, it is important to note that a clear focus on aligning the curriculum and communicating decisions across buildings will create a more intentional delivery in each classroom.  When educators participate in curriculum mapping efforts, they often focus on completing their map, rather than reflecting on how instruction could be differentiated or identifying gaps in the written, taught and tested curriculum.  When educators work together to unpack state and national standards, they often complete the task of unpacking and then look for next year’s school or district focus. 

          The difference between purpose-driven curriculum and instruction and traditional approaches to instruction is that each of the district’s initiatives are understood by the teachers and administrators and are seen as the main focus when making decisions regarding curriculum development, instruction, textbook adoption and assessment.  The attached chart titled What is a Purpose-Driven Curriculum? provides an overview of purpose-driven curriculum which can impact student achievement while preparing students for life.  As teachers continue to make curriculum and instruction more purposeful, students will be able to answer the questions:

         Why am I here? (Purpose)

         What is the purpose of this class? (Relevance)      

References:
Morris, T. (2002).  The art of achievement: Mastering the 7 C’s of success in
          business and life.  Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Warren, R. (2002).  The purpose-driven life.  Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
         Publishing Company.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2007). Schooling by Design.  Alexandria, VA:
         Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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What makes an idea stick?  Do you want the key concepts and enduring understandings to last with your students beyond the final exam?  What strategies do advertisers use that could assist K-12 educators?  The answer to these questions can be found in Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.

Malcolm Gladwell wrote about stickiness in The Tipping Point.  Made to Stick is an extension of The Tipping Point. 

A new resource has been posted on the Made to Stick web site at:
http://www.madetostick.com/bookresources
Teaching That Sticks
This resource is available at no charge to the public.

Questions for K-12 Educators:

1)  Do the key concepts and key skills "stick" with your students
     beyond the unit of study?

2)  How does this book apply to K-12 educators? 

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, describes "The Hedgehog Concept" as a simple, crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of the three circles.  For more information on "The Hedgehog Concept" visit Jim Collins.com.

Using the three circles, educators can participate in a simple activity which creates professional conversations and allows a school or school system to identify programs and strategies which are aligned and which support the district's crystalline concept.

Using a flip chart or a computer, draw three overlapping circles.  Some educators may call this a triple Venn Diagram.  Label one of the circles with the word 'Curriculum'. Label the second circle 'Instruction'.  Label the third circle with the word Assessment.' Most school districts identify their crystalline concept or their purpose as student achievement.  If student achievement is your district's main focus, then each of the programs or strategies written in each circle will lead towards increasing student achievement.  

                 If everything is important, then nothing is important.
                                                               - Grant Wiggins, 1998, p. 223

Do educators in your school have a Hedgehog Concept?  The Three Circles activity may indicate that there are numerous programs and initiatives among buildings in a school district, but many of the initiatives seem to be in conflict with each other. Curriculum guru Fenwick English wrote, many school systems operate as a system of schools rather than a school system.  Alignment is a process and this simple activity can help teachers and administrators commit to working towards the district's Hedgehog Concept. 

John Maxwell has been recognized as one of the leading authorities on the topic of leadership.  As an author, he has sold over sixteen million books.  The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership sold more than one million copies and made it to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List.  Maxwell's advice is invaluable to curriculum leaders, staff developers, classroom teachers and those who wish to receive buy-in once a curriculum document is implemented in a local school district.

Listen to Dr. Maxwell address:

The Law of Connection                Leaders connect with their followers

The Law of the Inner Circle        A leader's potential is determined by those 
                                                      nearest the leader

The Law of Empowerment          Only secure leaders give power to others

Please feel free to share how this podcast applies to your experiences in K-12 education.  Have you ever witnessed a curriculum document that was never fully implemented because there was no "buy-in"?  Have you ever focused on developing the product so much that you forgot to empower teacher leaders within each school?

Curriculum Developers should ask the following questions in order to create a purposeful curriculum:

1.  What are the priorities for this course?

2.  What should students know, understand and be able to do prior to entering
     this course (a.k.a., Constructivism)?

3.  What are the enduring understandings that students should have at the
     end of this course?

4.  What misconceptions have former students had when learning the priorities
     for this course?

5.  According to Doug Reeves, curriculum developers should ask the following
     questions:

     a.  Does this course have Endurance? 
          Will the skills and concepts listed in course/unit provide students
          with the essential knowledge and skills that will be of value beyond 
          a single test date?
 
     b.  Does this course have Leverage?  
          Will the skills and concepts listed in this course/unit provide students
          with knowledge and skills that will be of value in multiple disciplines?

     c.  Does this course provide each student with Readiness for the next level
          of learning?
          Will the skills and concepts listed in this course/unit provide students
          with the essential knowledge and skills that are necessary for the next
          grade or the next level of instruction?  


         "Schooling at its best reflects a purposeful arrangement of parts and
          details, organized with deliberate intention for achieving the kinds of
                        learning we seek" (Wiggins & McTighe, 2007, p.9).

Does your school district use curriculum maps to inform instruction?  Does your school provide teachers with time to discuss the 'guaranteed and viable' curriculum?  The attached tool will support teacher teams as they continue to discuss the written, taught and assessed curriculum.

"Reeves may refer to power standards, Marzano to a guaranteed and viable curriculum, and Lezotte to clear and focused academic goals, but they all are advocating the same principle: Schools are more effective when the teachers within them have worked together to establish a clear and consistent understanding of what students must learn" (DuFour, Eaker & DuFour, 2008, p. 186).

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The attached chart describes various types of curricula used in schools.  Teachers and administrators often focus on the Big Three, the written, taught and tested curriculum, in order to maximize the learned curriculum.  The brief descriptions below will introduce educators to types of curricula which impact student achievement.  This short list can assist collaborative teams in identifying strengths and weaknesses within a school as teachers and administrators continue to develop curriculum and assess student understanding of key concepts and skills.

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Curriculum is a difficult term to define.  For some educators, curriculum can be defined as the textbook, local curriculum documents and even state standards.  In 1860, Herbert Spencer wrote, "Before there can be a rational curriculum, we must settle which things it most concerns us to know."  According to Walker & Soltis (1992), "no substantial agreement exists among philosophers, the public, or educators on what should be the aims of a general education for all" (p. 79).  As we enter 2009, which 'things' are important for K-12 students to know and be able to do?