How to L.E.A.D. Teams 09/26/2009
 Fran Rees (1991) wrote How to LEAD Work Teams: Facilitation Skills. While this book was not written for the field of education, it has resources that can improve our collective efforts as curriculum developers. Curriculum development is a collaborative effort and it requires multiple perspectives. This article will describe how Rees’ book can help school districts as they continue to develop, revise and reflect on the curriculum in K-12 schools. Our school district has embraced the professional learning community model. A professional learning community consists of a group of teachers who meet on a weekly basis to identify what each student should know and be able to do. In an elementary school, a team could consist of each third grade teacher in a building. At the secondary level, a team could be all of the Algebra teachers in a high school. Ongoing reflection and scheduled team meetings help teachers learn strategies which are effective. Curriculum development and craft knowledge are shared in team meetings and through teacher blogs and emails. Teaching is a profession where one teacher is assigned a classroom of students. Traditionally, teachers have worked in isolation, preparing lessons for students and assigning letter grades based on student achievement of the determined learning outcomes. Rees’ (1991) research shares how teachers should approach team meetings. How to L.E.A.D. Teams Leaders can use a simple four-step model: L ead with a clear purpose E mpower to participate A im for consensus D irect the process In the absence of a clear purpose or identified learning goals, students are not given the opportunity to learn essential concepts and skills which will prepare them for the next level of learning. It is comfortable and safe for teachers to come to consensus when they meet. Most teachers do not wish to end a meeting with conflict or a debate. This model is not saying that teachers should avoid debate or that consensus is the only goal of a team meeting. Teachers without a clear purpose and groups with a single leader may not be increasing student achievement simply by coming to consensus. Another valuable chapter in this book is chapter three which is titled, Getting People to Work Together. As teachers begin to work together on building-level teams and district wide committees, team building skills and facilitation skills will become an important component of professional development. We must keep in mind that teachers value collaboration, but the culture in education has taught us to work in isolation. Additional Team Resources: Five Dysfunctions of a Team Professional Learning Communities Purpose Driven Curriculum References: Rees, F. (1991). How to lead work teams: Facilitation Skills. San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer and Company.  Curriculum is written by state government, local school districts, individual teachers, non-profit organizations, and other groups which offer lessons and academic materials for teachers and students. The written curriculum is designed to outline what students should know and be able to do and to support student achievement. Teachers and organizations have spent thousands of hours developing curriculum, only to have it sit on the shelf in a classroom or misinterpreted. What can teachers do to support student achievement? How can teachers and administrators monitor the written and taught curriculum to ensure alignment? The following curriculum types are important for teachers to understand as they reflect on curriculum, instruction and assessment. I. Intended The intended curriculum consists of the written curriculum or plans that have been predetermined prior to the class. II. Enriched The enriched curriculum is when teachers enhance the curriculum or develop opportunities for acceleration for students who have mastered the written curriculum. Enriched curriculum involves providing multiple opportunities for students to engage in key concepts and skills at their readiness level. III. Watered-Down Some teachers offer the enriched curriculum to the students who are prepared for acceleration and the watered-down curriculum to the students who have demonstrated low growth or who do not understand the key concepts and skills identified in the unit. IV. Received Many teachers and administrators fail to monitor the received curriculum. The received curriculum is what an individual student receives. If one student receives the enriched curriculum and another student receives the watered-down curriculum, then each student's chance for success will be drastically different. View Opportunity to Learn. Conclusion: All students should receive a guaranteed and viable curriculum (Marzano). If the received curriculum varies from one class to the next, then it will be difficult for teachers at the next grade level to build on prior knowledge and understandings. One of the goals of teaching is to ensure close alignment between the intended, taught, assessed, and received curricula. Questions to Consider: 1. Does your school have a guaranteed and viable curriculum? 2. How is the intended curriculum different from the received curriculum? 3. Do teachers implement the written curriculum/intended curriculum or do teachers create curriculum in isolation? 4. Ask yourself, would I want my son or daughter to experience the watered-down curriculum and miss out on parts of the district's intended curriculum? What the best and wisest parent wants for his or her own child, that must the community want, for all of its children. John Dewey As cited by Gene Carter, Executive Director ASCD ASCD Education Update - December 2006, p. 2 5. What mechanism does your school have in place to monitor the received curriculum? One of the tasks of curriculum leadership is to use the right methods to bring the written, the taught, the supported, and the tested curriculums into closer alignment, so that the learned curriculum is maximized. - Allan Glatthorn, Curriculum Renewal (1987), p. 4 Curriculum Mapping Resources 09/16/2009
Rubicon is one of several companies which offer tools to support curriculum mapping efforts. Educators interested in learning more about the curriculum mapping process should view the podcasts created by Rubicon at http://www.rubiconpodcast.com/. A great overview of Curriculum Mapping is titled Why Map? Additional Curriculum Mapping Resources are available at K-12 Curriculum Development: http://tiny.cc/Zpm4D Janet Hale (2008) wrote, “Curriculum mapping is an ongoing process that asks teachers and administrators to think, act, and meet differently to improve their students’ learning" (p. 8). Constitution Day 09/13/2009
Does your school have a coherent plan for implementing Constitution Day? In 2005, the United States Department of Education implemented Constitution Day and Citizenship Day based on legislation passed by Congress in December 2004 stating, “Educational institutions receiving Federal funding are required to hold an educational program pertaining to the United States Constitution on September 17th of each year” (118 Stat. 2809, 3344-45, Section III). An aligned approach to teaching students about the Constitution will enable and empower students. While social studies is taught in kindergarten-twelfth grade, the United States Constitution is not the central focus of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study at each grade level. An aligned K-12 method of implementing Constitution Day will give students more opportunities to study the United States Constitution and concepts such as citizenship. If school systems do not articulate a systematic plan, Constitution Day will become an annual day where students complete word find(s), worksheets, design mobiles (i.e., 3 branches of government), create acrostics to words such as freedom, play Bingo, watch videos and participate in other educational activities which will be repeated from one year to the next. Constitution Day will become more relevant to students when teachers begin working collaboratively to identify what is being taught, what knowledge is worth understanding and how connections can be made across the K-12 social studies experiences and across disciplines. The resources in this Constitution Day Teacher's Guide will assist teachers and administrators in developing a plan for Constitution Day 2009 and beyond. Additional Resources: Constitution Day: From Isolated Activities to Meaningful Experiences A Teacher's Guide for Planning and Implementing Constitution Day (Attached) Constitution Day Resource Guide Developed by Steven M. Weber and the NC Civic Education Consortium Constitution Day Presentation (Attached) Presented at the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies Conference (2008) - Feel free to use with your school staff. 
Curriculum Decisions 09/10/2009
Curriculum decisions are made by a variety of stakeholders. Parents make decisions regarding the curriculum when they elect to send their child to a private school, a charter school, a public school, a home school, or a boarding school. Policy makers impact policy through laws, state mandates, declarations, blogs and websites. School administrators impact the curriculum through holding teachers accountable for the written curriculum, facilitating curriculum development and revision, curricular reductionism, and encouraging teaching academics versus teaching the whole child. Classroom teachers make decisions regarding the written, taught, assessed, differentiated, concept-based, hidden, standards-based, integrated, rigorous, and excluded curricula. The following considerations are important for parents, policy makers, school administrators and classroom teachers to discuss. If student achievement is our main priority, then we must reflect on our existing policies, practices, and educational goals. What Do We Value? A Sea of Standards............................................Essential Standards Coverage of Standards..................................... Transfer of Learning Test Prep...........................................................Key Skills and Concepts Textbook Perspective........................................Multiple Perspectives Teacher Isolation...............................................Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum Pacing Guide(s)..................................................Student's Needs and Abilities Subject-Based Curriculum..................................Integrated Curriculum Focusing on Student Weaknesses.....................Focusing on Student Strengths Curriculum Chaos...............................................Aligned Curriculum Learning for Some..............................................Learning for All Project-Based Curriculum...................................Traditional Curriculum Teaching.............................................................Opportunity to Learn State Standards.................................................Unpacked Standards Standardization.................................................Differentiation Bloated Curriculum.............................................Narrow Curriculum Assessment of Learning.....................................Assessment for Learning Curriculum Clutter..............................................Curriculum Maps Multiple Graduation Tracks.................................College Ready Track Specific Facts and Information...........................Enduring Understandings Curricular Reductionsim......................................Well-Rounded Curriculum Written Curriculum..............................................Learned Curriculum Teaching.............................................................Learning Teaching Content................................................Teaching for Understanding You may review the options listed above and say, both options are good. This list of considerations is not meant to make stakeholders select one choice over the other. For example, the written curriculum is very important to teaching and learning. In most states and school districts, the curriculum is not optional. Therefore, a teacher could not select the learned curriculum and ignore the written curriculum. Regardless of your answer, the value in this activity comes from the reflection, collaboration, conversations about curriculum and instruction, and the impact that these conversations have on curriculum policy, curriculum alignment, and student achievement. If a school or school system has teachers and school administrators with conflicting values then the learned curriculum will be impacted. Please feel free to share what you value in education. How does your school district make Curriculum Decisions? | AuthorSteven Weber is the Director of Secondary Instruction for Orange County Schools in Hillsborough, NC. Weber has served as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, and state department of education consultant in Arkansas and North Carolina. He consults school systems in aligning their curriculum and in unpacking curriculum standards.  ArchivesMarch 2010 CategoriesAll | ||||
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