 Social networking is the new buzzword. According to a recent online article titled, 20+ mind-blowing social media statistics revisited: Facebook currently has in excess of 350 million active users on a global basis. Six months ago, there were 250 million active users....meaning around a 40% increase of users in less than half a year. At the current rate, Twitter will process almost 10 billion tweets in a single year! LinkedIn has over 50 million members worldwide. This means an increase of around one million members per month since August 2009. There are more than 3.5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, etc.) shared each week on Facebook. What Does This Mean for K-12 Educators? The statistics are staggering. There is a good chance that you recently created a blog, updated your Facebook account in the last 24 hours, or sent a photo to a friend or relative using your phone or computer. Ten years ago, it was difficult to share information with teachers in the same school. Web 2.0 and online discussion boards are making it possible for a middle school science teacher in Colorado to connect with a middle school science teacher in Canada, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Ohio without attending a state or national conference. Ongoing professional conversations can improve teaching and learning and teachers can impact students well beyond the walls of their classroom. What Social Network Sites Are Available for K-12 Educators? This is a short list of resources and online communities that educators can navigate and join. When blogs started appearing on the Internet, they were typically one-way communication or message boards. The sites below allow you to be a full participant and you can even steer the direction of the conversation. You can post questions, share your teaching strategies, and connect with other professionals. http://englishcompanion.ning.com/ English Companion Ning by Jim Burke Nings have borrowed the tools of Facebook and MySpace—the ability to post a personal profile, upload media, and have multiple asynchronous and synchronous conversations—while allowing for the customization around a particular subject. http://www.classroom20.com/ Classroom 2.0 Ning http://ncssnetwork.ning.com/ National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Ning http://ascdedge.ascd.org/ ASCD EDge http://www.allthingsplc.info/ Professional Learning Communities Social Networking and Learning Communities Social Networking enables teachers to accelerate their professional development and to connect with their friends and colleagues more frequently than the annual conference. While there are obvious benefits from attending state and national conferences, social networking allows educators to stay connected. What Social Networking sites do you recommend for K-12 educators? Please share your thoughts regarding Social Networking for educators and your thoughts on participating in these virtual learning communities. About This Site: K-12 Curriculum Development was designed to encourage teachers, administrators, curriculum coordinators and others to share ideas, discuss recent books about curriculum, share tools for supporting the work of teachers and administrators, and foster an online professional learning community. Curriculum Development - 4th Nine Weeks 03/03/2010
As we enter the second semester, many teachers and administrators are meeting around the country to determine the best use of time for the remainder of the school year. Some staff members call this pacing, some call it curriculum alignment and some staff may even call it survival. What should every student know and be able to do? This may be the most fundamental question asked by K-12 curriculum developers. At this point in the school year, it may feel like a race to Spring Break, followed by a final sprint to summer vacation. According to Jay McTighe (2010), "The most successful teaching begins with clarity about important learning outcomes and about the evidence that will show that learning has occurred" (p. 274). What can school administrators do? Provide classroom teachers with uninterrupted time during the workday or on early release days to focus on curriculum development and curriculum revision. Many teachers state that they desire to participate in collaborative conversations, but the central office staff or the building administrators conduct so many other meetings that curriculum conversations get lost in the shuffle. What can teachers do? Using Web 2.0 tools such as a curriculum blog, wiki, threaded discussion, Skype or Google docs will allow teachers to communicate with their grade level and with teachers in other disciplines and across the school district. While this is no substitute for the time that administrators should provide teachers, these online tools make communication possible 24/7. Collaborative decisions can be made prior to the meeting and the online collaboration will allow each teacher to use face-to-face meetings for the topics that require a face-to-face meeting. Why is K-12 Curriculum Development important? "Curriculum for school districts is no longer 'just nice to have.' Curriculum is a necessity for furthering student achievement. Further, school districts through their curricula, have the tools at their disposal to control and ensure what students learn" (Squires, 2009, p. 133). K-12 curriculum development allows educators to identify key concepts and skills, identify important content, reflect on student understandings and misunderstandings, and create plans for ensuring student success at the next grade level or level of learning. The end of the school year is filled with awards assemblies, guest speakers, fundraisers, grade level parties, field day, job shadow day, spring break, AP exams, state assessments and other events. These events happen each year and we should be prepared to balance our instruction around interruptions. Wiggins and McTighe (2005), wrote, “In the absence of a learning plan with clear goals, how likely is it that students will develop shared understandings on which future lessons might build” (p. 21)? If your school system does not have a common curriculum, select one of the following strategies and watch student achievement soar: 1. Unwrap State and National Standards 2. Begin Curriculum Mapping 3. Clarify Content Priorities 4. Determine what you will Stop Teaching 5. Write Generalizations/Enduring Understandings/or Learning Outcomes for each unit of study and for each course 6. Identify Areas where the Curriculum can be Integrated 7. Use a Share Drive, Google Docs, or other Online Tool to Communicate what is essential 8. Develop a commitment to "guarantee" certain parts of the curriculum to all students 9. If your district already has a common curriculum, begin to develop assessments to identify student strengths and weaknesses. 10. Begin to conduct vertical conversations to discuss what students should know when they enter your course and what they need to know at the next grade level. These conversations can be handled online in the beginning and teachers can get together at the end of the school year to discuss next steps. It may be impossible to have a district meeting in the spring, but Web 2.0 tools make communication possible and efficient. Skype, Dim Dim, and other free tools make face-to-face communiction possible and teachers don't have to leave their classroom. If you have thoughts regarding K-12 Curriculum Development or additional strategies that you use in your school, please join the conversation and share how your school or district provides time for teachers to collaborate to identify what every student should know and be able to do. References: McTighe, J. (2010). Understanding by design and instruction. In Marzano, R. (Ed.), On excellence in teaching. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Squires, D.A. (2009). Curriculum alignment: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Wiggins, G., and McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD. Nearly fifty years ago, Jerome Bruner wrote: "If the hypothesis.....introduced is true - that any subject can be taught to any child in some honest form - then it should follow that a curriculum ought to be built around the great issues, principles, and values that a society deems worthy of the continual concern of its members." - Jerome Bruner, The Process of Education, 1960 This statement is as true today as it was in 1960. Questions for Educators to Consider: 1. Can any subject be taught to any child in some honest form? 2. What do we expect all students to know and be able to do? 3. Do we have a process for identifying Essential Learning Outcomes for each course? 4. Do we have a clearly defined purpose for each course? (i.e., Thinking with the end in mind) 5. What current events, local issues, or community norms should be included in the curriculum? 6. Is the role of this course to prepare students with academic knowledge or do we want to develop students who can apply their understanding of content in an ethical manner? 7. Should each teacher identify what students should know and be able to do or should teacher teams or district teams work together to establish a common curriculum? What would Bruner recommend? 8. Should curriculum focus on state standards or should it go beyond the state standards to include locally determined Essential Learning Outcomes? 9. Is everything identified in the curriculum of equal importance? 10. What impact, if any, does it have on students if our school system has not developed a curriculum built around the great issues, principles, and values that a society deems worthy of the continual concern of its members? Teachers are more likely to implement a curriculum that has grown out of their own conversations and meetings, that allows for teacher autonomy and that represents their own beliefs about what should be taught - See Home-Grown Curriculum. References: Bruner, J. (1960). The process of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Back-to-School 08/04/2009
“As teachers engage in this dialogue regarding what their students must know and be able to do as a result of this unit they are about to teach, they become more clear, more consistent, and more confident in their ability to help all students learn” (DuFour, DuFour, & Eaker, 2006, p. 43). This quote reminds us of the power of teacher collaboration and determining essential learner outcomes at the beginning of the school year. When I entered the teaching profession, I was given a key to my classroom, a grade book, a set of Teacher's Guides, the state standards and a lesson plan book. While a first year teacher has creative ideas, a passion for teaching, and a desire to make a difference in the lives of students, a collaborative team is more powerful. Guiding Questions to Consider When Teams Meet: 1) What essential understandings and skills do our students need? 2) Which standards can be clustered or incorporated into others? 3) What are the Big Ideas/Enduring Understandings I want students to discover on their own after learning these concepts and skills? The time it takes to meet as a team (vertical, horizontal, content alike, district wide, or other team structure) is worth the time and effort. "When school staff have a more informed conception of curriculum, a teacher's daily decisions about how to deliver instruction not only affect student achievement in that classroom but also future student achievement, for it is assumed that students will be entering the next classroom prepared to handle a more sophisticated or more expanisve level of work" (Zmuda, Kuklis & Kline, 2004, p. 122). While several theorists and professional organizations have debated the ‘what’ of curriculum, implementation of curriculum and curriculum decisions are made daily by K-12 classroom teachers. Begin the year with the end in mind and provide teachers with time to work as a collaborative team. Analyzing a District's Curriculum 07/31/2009
As we begin a new school year, teachers will develop lesson plans and units of study based on a curriculum. Some school districts still allow each individual teacher to develop curriculum, while other districts have established a common curriculum. According to English (2000), “curriculum is any document that exists in a school that defines the work of teachers by identifying the content to be taught and the methods to be used” (p.2). The following list will assist collaborative teams in identifying areas of strengths and weaknesses within a school as teachers and administrators continue to develop curriculum and assess student understanding of key concepts and skills. A general awareness of each of the curriculum types listed below can assist teachers and administrators in increasing student understanding and raising student achievement. 1. Written The written curriculum specifies what is to be taught and is produced by the state, the school system, the school, and the classroom teacher. The written curriculum will have little impact on student achievement unless it becomes the taught curriculum or more importantly a ‘guaranteed and viable’ curriculum (Marzano, 2003) which is agreed upon by a team of teachers. 2. Taught The taught curriculum is what teachers actually teach in the classroom. Traditionally, the written curriculum (state and local documents) has not matched the taught curriculum among teachers within a school. Jacobs (1997) wrote, “If there are gaps among teachers within buildings, there are virtual Grand Canyons among buildings in a district" (p. 3). 3. Assessed The assessed curriculum provides valuable feedback about each student’s understanding of essential content, concepts and skills. If the assessed curriculum is not aligned with the written curriculum then teachers, students and parents will have a difficult time assessing the student understanding. “The extent to which any test is useful in reteaching any given curriculum is the extent to which that test does indeed measures the curriculum in the first place" (English, 2000, p. 65). Recommended Reading 07/25/2009
 As we begin preparing for another school year, teachers and administrators will benefit from reading one or more of the following resources. Are You a Graduate of the John Wayne School of Leadership? By Peter M. Smith Dealing with the Challenging Employee By John Baldoni Good to Great – Short Video Clips and Excerpts from the Book By Jim Collins How to Create a Shared Vision Statement By Dan McCarthy Nelson Mandela: His Eight Lessons of Leadership By Richard Stengel On the Frontier of School Reform with Trailblazers, Pioneers, and Settlers By Phillip Schlechty Our Iceberg Is Melting – Dealing with Change By John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber Team Leaders in a Professional Learning Community By Robert Eaker and Janel Keating The Culture Builder By Roland Barth Triangle Leadership Academy - Tools for Leaders After you read an article, feel free to post your thoughts on the K-12 Curriculum Development blog. Have a great school year! Teachers Control Opportunity to Learn 07/23/2009
 Opportunity to learn, a concept introduced by John Carroll (1963), is controlled by classroom teachers. State and national standards define what every student should know and be able to do. "Curriculum design and delivery face one fundamental problem in schools. When the door is shut and nobody else is around, the classroom teacher can select and teach just about any curriculum he or she decides is appropriate" (English, 2000, p. 1). Four Decisions Which Impact Opportunity to Learn: In designing the enacted curriculum, or the taught curriculum, teachers make content decisions about: 1. How much time to spend 2. What topics to cover within that time 3. Which students are to study what content and 4. To what standards of achievement (Porter, p. 437, 1994) If students are to be held accountable for their learning, then schools must be held accountable as well by demonstrating that they provide each student with opportunities to learn the standards that have been established. Opportunity to learn impacts student achievement during their current grade level and determines their ability to understand key concepts and skills in the next grade level. For more information on Opportunity to Learn, visit: Opportunity to Learn References: Carroll, J.B. (1963). A model of school learning. Teachers College Record, 64, 723-733. English, F.W. (2000). Deciding what to teach and test: Developing, aligning, and auditing the curriculum. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Opportunity to Learn 07/12/2009
 How do school systems guarantee that the same skills and concepts are taught from one classroom to the next?Teachers and administrators understand the importance of aligning curriculum, instruction, and assessment. However, “curriculum design and delivery face one fundamental problem in schools. When the door is shut and nobody else is around, the classroom teacher can select and teach just about any curriculum he or she decides is appropriate” (English, 2000, p. 1). If education becomes dependent on a three-legged stool (curriculum, instruction, and assessment), then students may not receive the opportunity to learn a ‘guaranteed’ curriculum. Opportunity to learn, a concept introduced by John Carroll (1963), is controlled by classroom teachers. Curriculum mapping is a process for aligning the written and taught curriculum, but unless teachers guarantee they will teach the key skills, concepts and content outlined on the map, students will not receive the same opportunity to learn information which is considered essential. Ravitch (1996) wrote, identifying what children are expected to learn is necessary for educational improvement because it is the starting point for education. “When educators fail to agree on what children should learn, it means that they have failed to identify their most fundamental goals” (p. 134). Once a common curriculum has been established, instruction and assessment can be organized to help each student learn the prioritized curriculum or the essential curriculum. What systems are in place in your school or school district which guarantee that each student will receive the opportunity to learn? The Professional Learning Community Model is one example of how teachers can utilize curriculum maps to identify and share the school district’s curriculum. Having a plan is an important first step, but communicating the plan and developing benchmarks to check student understanding of the written curriculum throughout the school year is essential. The Professional Learning Community Model Four Guiding Questions in a Professional Learning Community 1. What is it we want our students to learn? (Developing a Curriculum) 2. How will we know that they have learned it? (Assessing Opportunity to Learn) 3. What will we do when they don't learn it? (Revisiting Opportunity to Learn in a new way) 4. What will we do when they already know it? (Taking Opportunity to Learn to a new level or building on the learned curriculum) (DuFour & Eaker, 1998) Glatthorn (1987) wrote, “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” (p. 4). If educators are expected to raise student achievement, then opportunity to learn must be addressed. Questions to Consider prior to the 2009-2010 School Year: 1) Does our school district have a common curriculum? 2) How do educators obtain a copy of the common curriculum? (i.e., online, password protected site, three-ring binder, etc.) 3) Will educators meet prior to the first week of school to guarantee that the curriculum will be provided to each student? 4) How will educators know if students are learning the district’s curriculum? 5) How often will school administrators schedule uninterrupted time for classroom teachers and school staff to discuss curriculum and student understanding? 6) How will teachers communicate about curriculum and instruction with teachers in other schools? (i.e., blog, web site, wiki, Ning, email, videoconferencing, etc.) 7) How will teachers and administrators know if each student had the opportunity to learn the district’s curriculum? References: Carroll, J. B. (1963). A model of school learning. Teachers College Record 64: 723-733. DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (1998). Professional learning communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement.Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree. English, F.W. (2000). Deciding what to teach and test: Developing, aligning, and auditing the curriculum. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Glatthorn, A.A. (1987). Curriculum renewal. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Ravitch, D. (1996). The case for national standards and assessments. The Clearing House 69: 134-36. Curriculum Renewal 07/03/2009
 By July, most school systems have received data from student report cards, state testing results, feedback from parents/guardians, and student portfolios which demonstrate the student's growth from the beginning of the school year until the last day of school. What processes will teachers and administrators use to improve the written and taught curriculum in the upcoming school year? What strategies should be developed to provide additional support to struggling readers? According to Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski, and Flowers (2004), "Most change initiatives that end up going nowhere don't fail because they lack grand visions and noble intentions. They fail because people can't see the reality they face" (p. 29). A tool for identifying the realities faced by a school and one which will help your team determine 'next steps' is a SWOT Analysis. A SWOT Analysis looks at and defines the strengths and weaknesses of the internal environment of the school or school system, as well as the opportunities and threats within the environment external to the organization or organizational unit. Once educators have identified the existing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, they can build plans to support student achievement. Instructional priorities will based on the outcomes of the SWOT Analysis, rather than focusing on 'what worked' last year. Educators will notice that what is perceived as a threat for the upcoming school year could also be a new opportunity. "Systems don't change by themselves. Rather, the actions of individuals and small groups working on new conceptions intersect to produce breakthroughs" (Fullan, 1993). Resource: SWOT Analysis Template (See attached document) References: Fullan, M. (1993). Change forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. London: Falmer Press. Senge, P., Scharmer, C.O., Jaworski, J., & Flowers, B.S. (2004). Presence: An exploration of profound change in people, organizations, and society. New York: Doubleday. 
 Does your school system have an established method or strategies which assist teachers and administrators in determining the K-12 curriculum? Each year, parents send their children to school with the hopes that the teachers and the educational experiences offered will prepare students for the next grade level and for life in an ever changing, interdependent world. Should each teacher determine the curriculum? According to DuFour (2004), “Despite compelling evidence indicating that working collaboratively represents best practice, teachers in many schools continue to work in isolation. Even in schools that endorse the idea of collaboration, the staff's willingness to collaborate often stops at the classroom door” (p. 8). The following strategies will assist collaborative teams of professional educators in unwrapping state standards, prioritizing curriculum, aligning skills and concepts which spiral throughout the curriculum, and most importantly begin a conversation about the essential curriculum (a.k.a., Power Standards – See Ainsworth). Select one strategy and begin developing your plan for students. Strategies for Determining the K-12 Curriculum I. Unwrapping Standards: “Unwrapped standards provide clarity as to what students must know and be able to do. When teachers take the time to analyze each standard and identify essential concepts and skills, the result is more effective instructional planning, assessment, and student learning” (Ainsworth, 2003, p. 1). For the process, seeUnwrapping Standards: A Simple Process to Make Standards Manageable (Ainsworth, 2003) II. Curriculum Mapping: “Choosing important knowledge, sequencing it well, and getting it behind every classroom door in every grade” is an important part of ensuring that all students receive a rigorous and relevant education (Parker, 1991, p. 84). For the process, see Mapping the Big Picture: Integrating Curriculum and Assessment K-12 (Jacobs, 1997). See Using Curriculum Mapping and Assessment Data to Improve Learning (Kallick & Colosimo, 2009) III. Identify Declarative and Procedural Knowledge: Jane Pollock (2007) distinguished between declarative (content mastery) and procedural (skill mastery) knowledge. She wrote, “In a curriculum document, the statements of declarative knowledge (facts, concepts, generalizations and principles) are identified by the words understands or knows” (p. 35) that “serve as placeholders for active verbs, which translate into activities and experiences that help students organize declarative knowledge.” For procedural knowledge, a statement of student learning would begin with “a verb that describes the steps that need to be practiced to attain automaticity such as add, compose, sing, draw, or graph” (p. 36). The latter requires extensive repetition and practice. Does your school system’s curriculum clarify the difference between declarative and procedural knowledge which is guaranteed to be taught at each grade level? IV. Clarify Content Priorities: “Because we typically face more content than we can reasonably address, and because it is often presented as if everything were equally important for students, we are obliged to make choices and frame priorities” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 70). Planning Tool - See Figure 3.3 (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 71). V. Use Dr. Reeves’ Criteria for Identifying Power Standards: a) Endurance b) Leverage c) Readiness for the next level of learning Use the following question: What do your students need for success – in school (this year, next year, and so on), in life, and on your state tests” (Ainsworth, 2003, p. 14)? VI. Determine What You Won’t Teach: Jacobs reminds educators, “Given the limited time you have with your students, curriculum design has become more and more an issue of deciding what you won’t teach as well as what you will teach. You cannot do it all. As a designer, you must choose the essential” (as cited by Ainsworth, 2003, p. 12). Conclusion: Wiggins and McTighe (2005), wrote, “In the absence of a learning plan with clear goals, how likely is it that students will develop shared understandings on which future lessons might build” (p. 21)? If your school system does not have a common curriculum, select one of the strategies above and watch student achievement soar. References: Ainsworth, L. (2003). Power standards: Identifying the standards that matter the most. Englewood, CO: Lead + Learn Press. Ainsworth, L. (2003). Unwrapping the standards: A simple process to make standards manageable. Englewood, CO: Lead + Learn Press. DuFour, R.(2004, May). What is a professional learning community? Educational Leadership, 61(8), 6-11. Jacobs, H.H. (1997). Mapping the big picture: Integrating curriculum & Assessment K-12. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Kallick, B., & Colosimo, J. (2009). Using curriculum mapping and assessment data to improve learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Parker, W. C. (1991). Renewing the social studies curriculum. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Pollock, J. E. (2007). Improving student learning one teacher at a time. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design: Expanded 2nd edition. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. | 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 | ||
RSS Feed