K-12 Curriculum Development

Opportunity to Learn was introduced by John Carroll (1963), who asserted an individual cannot learn a task if he or she is not allowed enough time to do so.  Since 1963, various national and international studies have been conducted in an effort to measure opportunity to learn.  The IEA Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), English Language Learners and Math Achievement: A Study of Opportunity to Learn and Language Accomodation, the Education for All Global Monitoring Report(s), and the National Educational Longitudianl Survey of 1988, are among the surveys and research studies that have analyzed how Opportunity to Learn impacts student achievement.

The purpose of this article is to focus on a few specific factors that impact Opportunity to Learn at the school level.  If educators agree that all students should be prepared for the next grade level and the goal is for 100% of our students to graduate, then we should develop a clear idea of how to support student achievement.  Robert Marzano (2003) cited several factors which impact student achievement.  He divided the factors into the following categories: School Level, Teacher Level, and Student Level.  His thirty year meta-analysis revealed that the number one factor impacting student achievement is a 'guaranteed and viable curriculum.'  In other words, according to Marzano's research, Opportunity to Learn is the number one factor impacting student achievement.

School Districts Can Increase Opportunity to Learn By:

1.  Developing a Guranteed and Viable Curriculum
Does our school district have a common curriculum?

2.  Monitoring Student Achievement
Does our school district administer common formative assessments or benchmarks to monitor student achievement results?

3.  Differentiating Instruction
Does our school district differentiate instruction while still providing every student with the Opportuntiy to Learn?

4.  Identifying Common Student Misconceptions
Does our school district provide teachers with time to focus on student misconceptions?  Do teachers collaborate and share strategies for teaching the common curriculum to all students?  Does our school district focus on 'coverage' of material or student understanding?

5.  Developing and Revising Pacing
Does our school district provide teachers with pacing guides, curriculum maps, online tools which allow for teacher collaboration, or other tools which assist in implementing a guaranteed and viable curriculum?  If the pacing is not working, do teacher have a voice in modifying the district's pacing and curriculum maps?

6.  Increasing the Number of Minority Students Enrolled in Advanced Courses
Does our school district have strategic plans in place for identifying students who would benefit from advanced course offerings?  Do Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors courses reflect the demographics of our student enrollment?

7.  Identifying Instructional Strategies Which Will Support the Learning Styles of Today's Student's
Will the instructional strategies used in our school district support student understanding of the district's guaranteed and viable curriculum?  Will students receive challenging assignments and the opportunity to learn regardless of school assignment or teacher assignment?  Are certain instructional strategies more effective than others?

Too often teachers and administrators make the mistake of:
1.  Celebrating success on the End-of-Grade or End-of-Course High-Stakes Assessments
or
2.  Becoming frustrated because student growth is decreasing annually according to High-Stakes Assessments

Educators should celebrate their success.  However, if we are only celebrating and not looking for patterns or identifying individual students who need academic support, then we may be missing the point.  It is also understood by most teachers and administrators that waiting to measure students' knowledge of the common curriculum or state standards at the end of the grade or course is too late to provide students with timely intervention and support.  Several educators also struggle with assessing student understanding using multiple choice exams.  Do we help all students meet the district's learning outcomes when we use one high-stakes multiple choice test to determine student achievement? 

Recently, Squires (2009) wrote, "It is of paramount importance to make sure students have the opportunity to learn more important content aligned with standards and assessments....Further, school districts, through their curricula, have the tools at their disposal to control and ensure what students learn" (p. 133).  Developing specific strategies which support Opportunity to Learn will impact student achievement.  Over forty years of research supports that "access to curriculum opportunities is a more powerful determinant of achievement than initial achievement levels" (Darling-Hammond, 2010, p. 54).

References:
Carroll, J. B. (1963). A model of school learning. Teachers College Record, 64
       (8), 723-733.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education: How America's
       commitment to equity will determine our future. New York: Teacher's
       College Press.

Marzano, R. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action.
       Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Squires, D.A. (2009). Curriculum alignment: Research-based strategies for
       increasing student achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Most teachers and administrators have experienced spending one to two years in meetings debating what students should know and be able to do, only to see the final document used as a book end.  Many school districts focus on creating documents and in lose sight of the bigger picture which is student achievement.

Curriculum development is "an ongoing process that asks teachers and administrators to think, act, and meet differently to improve their students' learning" (Hale, 2008, p. 8).  Have you ever thought about what it would look like to act differently and meet differently in schools?  Wiggins wrote, "The great scandal in K-12 education is that almost every K-12 system is actually not a system at all" (p. 24).

Working on the Work: An Action Plan for Teachers, Principals, and Superintendents (Schlechty, 2002) is a timeless classic.  If educators are seeking to improve student achievement, they can begin by focusing on the following quotes from Working on the Work.

"Schoolwork is a form of work intended to produce learning."

Teachers should purposefully create, design, identify, or otherwise make available to students authentically engaging activities, programs, tasks, assignments, and opportunities to practice that result in students learning those things it is determined that students need to learn to be judged well educated (p. xvi).

Resources for K-12 Curriculum Developers:

Ainsworth, L. (2003). Unwrapping the standards: A simple process to make
       standards manageable. Englewood, CA: Lead + Learn Press.

Ladder Against the Wrong Wall
Blog Archives

Hale, J.A. (2008). A guide to curriculum mapping: Planning, implementing, and
         sustaining the process. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Jacobs, H.H. (2010). Curriculum 21: Essential education for a changing world.
          Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Marzano, R. (Ed.). (2010). On excellence in teaching. Bloomington, IN: Solution
         Tree Press.

Schlechty, P.C. (2002). Working on the work: An action plan for teachers,
         principals, and superintendents. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Wiles, J. (2009). Leading curriculum development. Thousand Oaks, CA:
          Corwin Press.

Opportunity to Learn is often overlooked in U.S. schools.  Educators attend conferences and visit the exhibit hall looking for the next 'solution' to current problems.  What does it mean to have the 'Opportunity to Learn'?  If you ask three sixth grade science teachers this question would you receive a consistent answer?  K-12 Curriculum Development seeks to answer the question, "Learn What?"  Once we identify what each student should know and be able to do, we can begin developing course goals, enduring understandings, unit goals, essential questions, and common assessments.

Some school districts have professional documents, but the district leadership becomes so focused on developing teacher-friendly documents that they forget to monitor curriculum implementation and student understanding.  Recently, I discovered an article titled,

Opportunity to Learn: A High Impact Strategy for Improving Educational Outcomes in Developing Countries.

This article is a great introduction to "Opportunity to Learn."   According to the article, "In the 1960’s, John Carroll wrote that equality of Opportunity to Learn required increasing the amount of instructional time for the least prepared students to enable them to master the curriculum. In the 1980’s, RAND developed a set of institutional quality indicators, including teacher qualification, curriculum, and spending indicators."

The article cites Eight Factors Which Impact Opportunity to Learn.  One example is "an OTL study in Ghana found that the overly ambitious curriculum was poorly aligned with teacher capability, so that less than half of the material was actually covered during the school year. However, the national examinations measured learning on the entire curriculum, so that the theoretical maximum score that most students could achieve would be 50 percent, even if they learned all of the material covered perfectly."
 
For more resources and research on this topic, visit the Blog Archives at:
Opportunity to Learn

Feel free to share additional articles or resources related to "Opportunity to Learn." 

On January, 18, 2010, people across the United States and throughout the world will pause to remember the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968).  As a pastor, father, communicator, and community leader, Dr. King encouraged Americans to provide equal opportunities regardless of race.  It took education nearly fifty years to make the transition from segregated schools to integrated schools.  Dr. King's leadership and the efforts of countless others who believed in equal rights helped provide educational opportunities for all students.  In 1954, the United States Supreme Court ruled, "We conclude that the doctrine of 'seperate but equal' has no place.  Seperate educational facilities are inherently unequal" (Chief Justice Earl Warren in Brown v. Board of Education).

In Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. King wrote, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."  This letter was written on April 16, 1963, approximatly nine years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision.  Dr. King challenged seperate facilities for whites and blacks.  He also emphasized that a quality education should not be denied to any child.  The ongoing work of K-12 curriculum development focuses on reaching each child and supporting the priorities identified in state and local curriculum documents. 

Recently, I read a book written by Malcolm Gladwell titled, Outliers. Gladwell (2008) wrote, "Marita doesn't need a brand new school with acres of playing fields and gleaming facilities. She doesn't need a laptop, a smaller class, a teacher with a PhD, or a bigger apartment......All those things would be nice, of course. But they miss the point. Marita just needed a chance" (p. 268-269).  As we remember the legacy of Dr. King, educators can focus on "Opportunity to Learn" in each school.  Do African American students have access to advanced courses or do AP and Honors courses look like a school within a school (See Advancing Minority High Achievement, College Board, Feb. 2000)?  Do teachers have beliefs about students which cause them to have lower expectations for some students?  Do students receive a rigorous curriculum on both sides of town, or does a rigorous curriculum depend on school assignment or the neighborhood school?  Does injustice still exist in our school district?  How can injustice be addressed in our school district?  Does the achievement gap (which is a nationwide dilemma - See Facts on Achievement Gap, Harvard University) cause us to evaluate our current teaching practices in an effort to reach more students?  Do more African American students drop out of school?  How can we make Martin Luther King Day a day to focus on improving education for all students?  What other questions does our school district need to ask?

"As June approaches, with its graduation ceremonies and speeches, a thought suggests itself...Whatever career you may choose for yourself--doctor, l awyer, teacher--let me propose an avocation to be pursued along with it. Become a dedicated fighter for civil rights. Make it a central part of your life. It will make you a better doctor, a better lawyer, a better teacher. It will enrich your spirit as nothing else possibly can. It will give you that rare sense of nobility that can only spring from love and selflessly helping your fellow man . Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for human rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in."                                                         -- Martin Luther King, Jr. , 18th April, 1959


Resources for educators which address Brown v. Board of Education (1954) are available at:

http://www.landmarkcases.org
This site was developed to provide teachers with a full range of resources and activities to support the teaching of landmark Supreme Court cases, helping students explore the key issues of each case.  These resources include photos, speeches, political cartoons, DBQ's, Questions to Consider, and additional primary sources. 

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).

When parents and guardians send their students to school they want teachers to teach for understanding.  Simply assigning worksheets, fill-in-the blank, crossword puzzles, or other time killers will not support student understanding of key concepts and essential skills.  Most teachers would be insulted by the previous statement, because most professional teachers work extremely hard developing lesson plans, hands-on learning, ongoing assessments, and activities which will engage students.

Wiggins and McTighe (2005), identified the "Twin Sins" of curriculum development as activity-focused teaching and coverage-focused teaching.  Extremely hard working teachers can err on the side of developing such fun activities that the students end up remembering the activities and not the key concepts.  In today's high-stakes era of testing and accountability teachers feel pressure to 'cover' material, rather than teach for understanding.  Covering material may indicate that a teacher has taught content or checked off each state standard, but it does not mean that student understanding took place.

If you want to make a long-term impact on student understanding, consider reading one or more of the following books with a team of educators:

Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., Cocking, R. (Eds.). (1999). 
          How people learn: Brain,mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.:
          National Academies Press. 

Erickson, H.L. (2007). Concept-based curriculum and instruction for the thinking
          classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Gardner, H. (2006). Five minds for the future. Boston, MA: Harvad Business School
          Press.

Tomlinson, C.A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction and
          understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (Expanded 2nd ed.).
          Alexandria, VA: ASCD.


I would like to know the names of other titles that you feel worthy of mentioning under the topic of teaching for understanding.  I look forward to reviewing your feedback!

If you made New Year's Resolutions, you may have decided to change your diet, exercise more, spend more time with your family, develop a new budget, enroll in graduate school, help your favorite charity, read more books, focus on the 'main' things in your life, develop a 'seek first to understand' mindset, or other personal goals.

It is not a secret that many people around the world set personal goals that they do not keep.  Goal setting can be rewarding, but committing to a goal requires much more than clarifying our goal(s) on paper.  S.M.A.R.T. goals are recommended by business coaches, education consultants, and numerous leadership courses.  When someone makes a S.M.A.R.T. goal, it is:
 
S =  Specific
M =  Measurable
A  = Attainable
R  = Realistic and Results-Oriented
T  = Timely

When students returned to school in January, it felt like a "Race to the Finish Line" for several students and teachers.  Teachers were racing to cover material that will be on state high-stakes testing, AP tests, or other final exams.  Students try to cram as many facts into their heads, without gaining deeper understanding and teachers continue to appear overwhelmed with the sheer amount of material that must be covered in the final three weeks of the semester.

If we are going to improve teaching and learning in the new year, then we must define the purpose of our curriculum.  A good starting point is to reflect on 2009?

What did students achieve in 2009?

What common misconceptions did students have in 2009?

What instructional strategies seemed to be more relevant to this generation of learners in 2009?

What goals did our department, team, school, or school district achieve in 2009?

What stretch goals do we have for teaching and learning in 2010?

What will we do to adjust the pacing, so we don't have a "race to the finish" each semester?

How can we include more 21st century skills in our curriculum in 2010?

What do we want each student to know and be able to do at the end of our course?

Is our current curriculum, instruction and assessment designed to help us develop the kind of student(s) who can meet the course goals and contribute to society?

Resources for Educators:

Team S.M.A.R.T. Goal-Setting Plan (A great resource)
All Things PLC

Curriculum Development: What Should Students Know and Be Able to Do
Blog Archives

Five Questions For Curriculum Developers
Blog Archives

Determining Curriculum: A Non-Negotiable to Increasing Student Achievement
Blog Archives