K-12 Curriculum Development

Michael Fisher maintains a website titled DigiGogy: A New Digital Pedagogy.
On the site, Fisher added Digital Bloom's, a visual representation that allows teachers and administrators to see how Web 2.0 tools can be used to support teaching and learning.  Fisher created this visual as a discussion starter and as a way for educators to relate the new tools to a taxonomy that educators have become familiar with over the past fifty years.  As I continue to learn about Web 2.0 tools, this visual will provide me with the opportunity to reflect on how each tool can empower students.

Bloom's Taxonomy was introduced to the world in a book titled, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals, Handbook I: Cognitive Domain (1956).  Bloom himself considered the Handbook, "one of the most widely cited yet least read books in American education."

Note:
For an overview of Bloom's Taxonomy (1956) and the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (2001), visit the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching.

If you are not familar with Web 2.0 Tools and strategies for using Web 2.0 Tools in the classroom, visit Web 2.0 & Why We Should Change (David Warlick, Feb. 8, 2008).

Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)
On Saturday, March 13, the Obama administration released its blueprint for revising the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which would ask states to adopt college- and career-ready standards and reward schools for producing dramatic gains in student achievement. The proposal challenges the nation to embrace educational standards that would put America on a path to global leadership.  Educators may read the Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the ESEA at Blueprint for Reform.

Common Core State Standards Initiative
As part of theCommon Core State Standards Initiative, the draft K-12 standards are now available for public comment. These draft standards, developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, seek to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.  The standards are open for public comment until Friday, April 2.  Click here to take the online survey.

Common Core State Standards Initiative FAQs

16 Finalists Announced in Phase 1 of Race to the Top Competition
States competing for Race to the Top funds were asked to document past education reform successes, as well as outline plans to: extend reforms using college and career-ready standards and assessments; build a workforce of highly effective educators; create educational data systems to support student achievement; and turn around their lowest-performing schools.  To learn more about Race to the Top, the sixteen finalists and how they were selected, and the timeline for distributing funds to states visit Race to the Top - Next Steps.

Additional Resources for Educators:

Ten Steps to Equity in Education - Policy Brief
Organisation For Economic Co-Operation and Development

National Education Standards: Getting Beneath the Surface (Free Online)
Education Testing Service (ETS) - 2009
By Paul E. Barton

A Test For Our Nation
The Huffington Post - Nov. 21, 2009
By Linda Darling-Hammond

Benchmarking for Success:
Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-Class Education 
(December 2008)

Comments regarding one of more of these documents are welcome.  The best way to play a role in education reform is to become part of the process.  While comments posted on this page will not help with education reform, K-12 Curriculum Development provides a forum for educators to share ideas, resources, and thoughts on issues which impact K-12 education.

Please read the documents listed in this article and make certain to take time to leave your feedback regarding the Common Core State Standards Initiative and the Reauthorization of ESEA.  Education matters and your voice matters as we seek to support all students and their right to a free and appropriate education. 

February 1, 2010, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the day the Greensboro Four held a sit-in at the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. At 8:00 a.m. (EST), a ribbon cutting ceremony took place in Greensboro, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary and the grand opening of the International Civil Rights Museum.  On February 1, I was able to tour the International Civil Rights Museum with my thirteen year old son.  

We saw exhibits which focused on segregated schools, lunch counters, movie theaters, churches, hotels, and public transportation.  We took a tour through the Hall of Shame, which featured graphic photos and reminders of hate crimes that took place throughout our nation's history.  The museum will serve as an learning laboratory for all ages.

The Little Rock Nine were featured in the new museum, along with James Meredith's admission to the University of Mississippi.  Revisiting the Civil Rights Movement reminds us of how far we have come as a nation, but it also reminds us how far we have to go.  

In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the court stated,

"Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society.....Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms."

Opportunity to Learn
Visiting the International Civil Rights Museum reminded me of our nation's commitment to provide free public education to all students.  While we are delivering on the intent of Brown v. Board of Education, we must continue to increase each student's Opportunity to Learn (OTL).

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.

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).  As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins and the courage of the Greensboro Four, we must act courageously to provide the opportunity to learn to each student in the United States and throughout the world.

References:

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.

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

This week, I had the privilege of attending the National Staff Development Council (NSDC) Conference in St. Louis, Missouri.  At the pre-conference, I attended a full day session with Ken Kay, President of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. 

Kay asked the following question:

Are we intentional about teaching 21st century skills?

This question is much more difficult to answer than "Are we teaching 21st century skills?"  The follow-up question K-12 curriculum developers need to ask is "Which skills are we teaching and how does our school and school system measure progress towards predetermined goals?"

Other Key Questions shared by Ken Kay:

1.  Will students leave our school district with skills that add value to their
     employer and to the workforce?

2.  What skills will we need to teach students in order to help them "add value" to
     their employer or to the workforce?

3.  How do you take a school system that is teaching core subjects/content and
     help the teachers make the transition to teaching 21st century skills in the
     core subject areas?

4.  If you decided that students need to become 'globally competent,' what steps
     would teachers and administrators need to take?

5.  What is the current reality in our school district?  
     Do teachers say they are teaching 21st century skills?  
     Is an assignment in the computer lab still considered a lesson which reinforces
     21st century skills? 
     Do teachers reinforce skills as students move upward through the school
     system?

Additional Resources for K-12 Curriculum Development:

Route 21 - Resources for 21st Century Skills

Route 21 - Rubrics and Implementation Tools

The MILE Guide: An Online Self-Assessment Tool for Schools and Districts

West Virginia Department of Education - Teach 21

A good activity for teacher teams is called "If We Can, Should We?"

See Examples Below:

If we can build a guaranteed and viable curriculum, should we?

If we can meet as a vertical team once per month, should we?

If we can raise student achievement through curriculum alignment, should we?

If we can gain greater clarity about 'what' to teach by unpacking the standards, should we?

If we can help more students through differentiated instruction, should we?

If we can help students develop critical thinking skills through writing essential questions, should we?

If we can improve curriculum development and instruction through data analysis, should we?

If we can develop a rigorous curriculum through teacher collaboration, should we continue to work in isolation?

The goal is to have teacher teams develop the questions, rather than having a list of questions for the teacher teams to answer.  There are multiple variations that teacher teams can use with this activity.  While the questions may sound like someone is challenging the group or individual members of the group, the intent of the activity is to help teachers begin a conversation which has the potential to improve teaching and learning.  When we begin to realize that our collective efforts can drastically improve each student's future, it is worth the time and effort to have this initial conversation.

A good follow-up activity is to begin developing SMART Goals.  SMART Goals will help teacher teams stay focused and will require a commitment to action.

Have you ever sat in a meeting with teachers and administrators and heard the term "those kids."  If you have heard someone utter, "those kids," then it is likely that you have also heard the following phrases:

"That group"; "They have been that way since elementary school."; "That side of town"; "They don't act like the other students."

As we begin the school year, I am frightened to think that a group of teachers would say "those kids" when referring to my own children.  If it is inappropriate to say about my children, then it is inappropriate to voice about other people's children.

In the book titled, Other People's Children, Lisa Delpit (1995) wrote, "If we do not have some knowledge of children's lives outside the realms of paper-and-pencil work, and even outside of their classrooms, then we cannot know their strengths.  Not knowing students' strengths leads to our 'teaching down' to children from communities that are culturally different from that of the teachers in the school.  Because teachers do not want to tax what they believe to be these students' lower abilities, they end up teaching less when, in actuality, these students need more of what school has to offer" (p. 173).

Questions for Educators to Consider:

1.  Do teachers in your school use the term, "Those Kids"?

2.  Is it addressed by the team, or do we all secretly feel like that is the best we
     can expect from "those kids"?

3.  Do students live up to the teachers' expectations?

4.  Do our perceptions of students impact curriculum planning and instruction?

5.  Do all students receive the (written curriculum) Key Concepts and Key Skills
     when teachers have lower expectations for one student or for a group of
     students?

6.  If we treat "other people's children" like our own children, does it change our
     views towards the curriculum, instruction and learning goals?

7.  How can we change our school culture to a culture where "those kids"
     become "our kids"? (See DuFour, DuFour, & Eaker, 2008).

       If teachers and principals believe the impetus for student learning
       remains outside of their influence and there is nothing they can do
       to overcome these external variables, the idea of school improvement
       will undoubtedly seem futile, if not downright ridiculous.
                                                           (DuFour, DuFour, & Eaker, 2008, p. 59)

Make a collective decision to eliminate the term "Those Kids".

References:

Delpti, L. (1995). Other people's children: Cultural conflict in the classroom.
        New York: The New Press.

DuFour, R., DuFour, R. & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisiting professional learning
        communities: New insights for improving schools. Bloomington, IN: Solution
        Tree.