K-12 Curriculum Development

Parents often ask, “What are students learning in schools?  How is today’s high school different from the one I graduated from?  Are the schools preparing my child for life and work in the 21st century?”  The guiding mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education is that every public school student will graduate from high school, globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for life in the 21st Century.

Heidi Hayes Jacobs (2004) suggests that educators develop a timely curriculum, one that is both rigorous and relevant to the changing needs of our workforce and global economy.  As teachers meet in content-alike teams and district-level teams, they should continue to ask the following questions:  What is the purpose of this content?  How will these skills and/or concepts help students as they continue to pursue their goals beyond middle school and high school?  

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has identified the following characteristics of 21st Century Learning:

Global Awareness

Financial, Economic, Business and Entrepreneurial Literacy      

Civic Literacy

Health and Wellness Awareness

Critical Thinking and Problem-solving skills

Communication skills

Creativity and Innovation skills

Collaboration skills

Contextual Learning skills

Information and media literacy skills

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Literacy
(The ability to use technology to develop 21st century content knowledge and skills, in the context of learning core subjects)

Life Skills such as:  leadership, ethics, accountability, adaptability, personal productivity, personal responsibility, people skills, self-direction and social responsibility. 

For more information on 21st Century Learning Skills, visit: 

A Vision of K-12 Students Today (Teacher Tube Video)

How To Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century (TIME Magazine)

Partnership for 21st Century Skills

21st Century Skills English Map (NCTE)

21st Century Skills Map (NCSS)

Testing Our Schools explores the closely intertwined issues of Standards and Accountability. Standards are necessary, of course, and so is accountability, but are schools being backed into a corner? If they continue to live by test results, will they die that way? 'High stakes tests,' 'multiple test measures,' multiple opportunities to take tests– How these issues are resolved will shape the future of American public education.  This site shares multiple perspectives and views education policy from the presidential administrations of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. 

References:
www.pbs.org/merrow/ 

On March 10, President Barack Obama spoke at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Conference in Washington, D.C.  To view a full transcript of his remarks, provided by the White House, visit Education Reform.  Since this site is designed for educators in the United States and abroad to discuss K-12 Curriculum Development, please share your thoughts on state standards versus national standards and on the President's recent remarks regarding education reform.

Excerpt from speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce:

"So let's challenge our states -- let's challenge our states to adopt world-class
 standards that will bring our curriculums to the 21st century. Today's system of
 50 different sets of benchmarks for academic success means 4th grade readers
 in Mississippi are scoring nearly 70 points lower than students in Wyoming --
 and they're getting the same grade. Eight of our states are setting their
 standards so low that their students may end up on par with roughly the
 bottom 40 percent of the world.

 That's inexcusable. That's why I'm calling on states that are setting their
 standards far below where they ought to be to stop low-balling expectations
 for our kids. The solution to low test scores is not lowering standards -- it's
 tougher, clearer standards. (Applause.) Standards like those in Massachusetts,
 where 8th graders are -- (applause) -- we have a Massachusetts contingent
 here. (Laughter.) In Massachusetts, 8th graders are now tying for first -- first in
 the whole world in science. Other forward-thinking states are moving in the
 same direction by coming together as part of a consortium. And more states
 need to do the same. And I'm calling on our nation's governors and state
 education chiefs to develop standards and assessments that don't simply
 measure whether students can fill in a bubble on a test, but whether they
 possess 21st century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking and
 entrepreneurship and creativity.

"Curriculum is analyzed to find gaps - are there standards that have not been addressed?  Repetitions - are there topics in content that repeat without any significant changes in the material? Spirals - places where the curriculum spirals and builds in complexity?  Are thinking skills focused and to what level?"  These curriculum conversations help us to answer the question What do we want students to know and be able to do (p. xiii)?

References:

Kallick, B. & Colosimo, J. (2009). Using curriculum mapping and assessment data
            to improve learning.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Video:
An official update to the original "Shift Happens" video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, this June 2007 update includes new and updated statistics, thought-provoking questions and a fresh design. For more information, or to join the conversation, please visit http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com -- Content by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, design and development by XPLANE. 

 Are schools in the United States preparing students for life and work in the 21st century?  If schools within a state have a difficult time aligning their local curriculum to the state standards, then how aligned are the fifty states?  Are some students receiving a more rigorous second grade curriculum than their peers in other states?  Does an A+ in Algebra I mean the same in Massachussetts as it does in Mississippi?  Should the United States adopt national standards, or should states continue to develop the standards and objectives for public schools?

According to the Center for American Progress, "With more than 50 different sets of standards, there is no national measure/yardstick/ standard/benchmark for academic achievement at each of the grade levels. NCLB requires that states hold districts and schools accountable for getting all their students to 'proficient' achievement levels, but allows them to adopt their own definitions of 'proficiency.'"

"With the pressure to increase student performance, there has been counter pressure for states to game the system by lowering both standards and proficiency definitions...

...Only national curriculum standards and national definitions and measures of student performance at proficiency levels can prevent this behavior."

Do you agree with this statement? 

References:

The Case for National Standards, Accountability and Fiscal Equality
Center for American Progress (November 2005)

Additional Resources:

Achieve

NAEP: A Common Yardstick

“The essential question is conceptual commitment.  When a teacher or group of teachers selects a question to frame and guide curricular design, it is a declaration of intent.  In a sense you are saying”, ‘This is our focus for learning.  I will put my teaching skills into helping my students examine the key concept implicit in the essential question’ (Jacobs, 1997, pp. 27).

Grant Wiggins wrote an online article titled,
What is an Essential Question?

It is important that teachers and administrators have a common definition of an Essential Question.  Wiggins’ informational article provides educators with a starting point for evaluating current essential questions in your district’s local curriculum.

Please share your experiences with developing and implementing essential questions for K-12 students.

References:

Jacobs, H.H. (1997). Mapping the big picture: Integrating the curriculum &
        assessment K-12. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and
        Curriculum Development.

At the NCASCD Conference, I had the opportunity to hear a keynote speech by Dr. Bill McBride.  Dr. McBride described how video games can keep a child or teenager occupied for several hours.  He shared how he was flying across the United States and observed a young child who never took his eyes off the video game he was playing.  It made him ask, what features does a video game have that could be included in a K-12 classroom lesson?  Through research and observation, Dr. McBride has learned the following practical tips for engaging students in meaningful classroom assignments.

Six Features that Technology Uses to Engage Students:

1.  Choice
2.  Connection
3.  Competition 
4.  Challenge
5.  Communication 
6.  Collaborative Problem Solving 

Since I am a father of two children, I have observed our son playing XBOX 360 Live.  The games he enjoys offer multiple choices, not a simple solution.  He enjoys competing with friends online and around the world.  The headset that he uses allows him to communicate with his teammates and with the competition.  XBOX 360 Live allows players to use collaborative problem solving to beat the other team or to assist a teammate. 

Our daughter plays Web Kinz and other online games for younger children.  Web Kinz allows our daughter to have choice (i.e., multiple options and multiple pets), connection with her pets and with other friends, competition, challenge, communication and collaborative problem solving.

Dr. McBride asked educators to consider the following:

How can we use these strategies to our advantage in schools? 

Do our lessons provide students with these six opportunities? 
 
What can we do to modify our existing lessons to offer students choice, competition, challenge, communication, etc.? 

Presenter: Dr. Bill McBride
http://www.entertaininganelephant.com/index.html
Presenter's Web site

Reference:
2009 NCASCD Conference
Keynote Presentation
Pinehurst, North Carolina
February 12, 2009

According to Stephen Covey (2004), "we live in a constant, churning, changing environment.  In turbulent white water, every single person must have something inside them that guides their decisions.  They must independently understand the purpose and guiding principles of the team or organization" (p. 105).  K-12 education is changing at a rapid pace.  The demands for increased rigor and relevance continue to impact teachers and administrators. Student demographics are changing in schools across the United States.  State accountability tests, state mandates and NCLB have brought benefits to students and increased challenges to educators.  As the world continues to change and educators seek to prepare students for life and work in the 21st century, educators must take time to ask "Is our school district prepared for Permanent White Water?"

Questions for K-12 Educators to Address:

1.  Create a list of things or people that are changing at a rapid pace in your
     school district.  (i.e., Teaching Staff (retirement), Student Demographics,
     Central Office Staff (Revolving Door), Use of Technology in the Classroom,
     State Standards, State Assessments, State and Federal Mandates, etc.).

2.  How can teachers and administrators work together to keep the main thing
     (student achievement) as the central focus during times of constant change?

3.  How does permanent white water impact K-12 curriculum and instruction
     decisions?

4.  What can educators do to increase communication in times of constant
      change? (i.e., Blogs, Email, Online Curriculum Maps, Professional Learning
     Community, Common Planning Period, etc.)

5.  Covey wrote, every single person in an organization "must independently
     understand the purpose and guiding principles of the team or organization" 
     (p. 105).
     
     What are the guiding principles for your school?
    
     What are the guiding principles for K-12 curriculum decisions in your 
     school district?

Reference:
Covey, S.R. (2004). The 8th habit: From effectiveness to greatness. New York:
          Free Press. 

As a teacher and curriculum developer, do you ever feel like you are in a race against time?  At some point, most educators ask the question 'Is everything important?'  How do teachers and administrators in your school district make decisions about what is most worth knowing?  Curriculum development cannot be done in isolation if educators are seeking curriculum alignment, a purposeful curriculum, and a guaranteed and viable curriculum (Marzano). 

“Any curriculum aiming for student understanding requires uncoverage of the material – inquiring into, around, and underneath content instead of simply covering it” (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998, p. 98).  According to Brandt, "designing lessons for understanding begins with what we want students to be able to do and proceeds to the evidence we will accept that they have learned it”
(in Understanding by Design, p. vi).

Before there can be a rational curriculum, we must settle which things it most concerns us to know.....

                                                               - Herbert Spencer
                                                                 What Knowledge is of Most Worth (1854)

Seven Questions for Educators to Address: 

1.  What should students know and be able to do as a result of this course?

2.  What concepts and skills will every teacher at a specific grade level
     'guarantee' to teach?

3.  What will each teacher commit to doing when students do not learn the key
      concepts and skills for this course?

4.  How will teachers in our school district communicate with each other
     regarding curriculum and instruction? (Online Curriculum Mapping, Early
     Release Days, Common Planning Period, Professional Learning Community,
     Periodic Curriculum Audit, K-12 Writing Folders, etc.)

5.  Does the current recommended pacing outlined by our district allow enough
     time for student mastery of the key concepts and skills?

6.  How can classroom teachers provide input when they see a gap in the
     district's curriclum or when the pacing needs to be adjusted in order to
     support student understanding?

7.  Former college football coach Lou Holtz describes W.I.N., an acronym he used
     with his teams.  W.I.N. stands for What's Important Now (Holtz, 1998,
     Winning Everyday: The Game Plan for Success ).  At this point in the school
     year, What's Important Now (W.I.N.) in your course?  Would all teachers and
     administrators provide the same answer?

The term teacher leader is one that I am hesitant to use in 2009.  While I stand in awe of the way great teachers are able to juggle unit planning, parent-teacher conferences, building relationships with students, and after school meetings, while keeping their family as a priority, I have been in education long enough to see the meaning of teacher leader evolve.

As a first year teacher, the term teacher leader was reserved for someone in our school with ten or more years of experience.  The only way that I was going to become a leader was to wait nine more years or enter the field of educational administration.  While working with high school teachers, I have frequently observed the department chair as the teacher leader.  I suppose this makes the other teachers in department meetings teacher followers.

Within the past three years, I have observed teacher leaders who are entering the teaching profession and teacher leaders who are in their final year of teaching.  I have observed professional learning communities in which each teacher has a voice in selecting the team norms and each teacher is expected to contribute to the curriculum development for that specific course.

"No matter how competently managed a school may be, it is the extra quality of leadership that makes the difference between ordinary and extraordinary performance" (Sergiovanni, 1990).  Do we need one teacher leader in each department?  Do we need young teachers to wait until their ten year anniversary with the school district before they begin assuming leadership responsibilities?  What is your view of Teacher Leaders in 2009?  

 
References: 
Sergiovanni, T.  (1990). Value-added leadership: How to get extraordinary
          performance in schools. New York: Harcourt Brace Javonovich.