K-12 Curriculum Development

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

View Colbert Report
Aired on October 5, 2009

View this short clip for a a little laughter and an interview with Secretrary of Education Arne Duncan.  Since 1997, Colbert was the longest-tenured and most diverse correspondent on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." He helped the show win numerous Emmy and Peabody Awards as an on-air personality and writer for the news satire. "The Colbert Report" has been touted by The New York Times as "one of the best television shows of the year" and praised as "The Best Show of the Year" by Entertainment Weekly. "The Colbert Report" has garnered ratings and critical success as one of the top shows on television.  

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.

One of the first books that introduced me to curriculum development was Renewing the Social Studies Curriculum, by Walter Parker. 






Parker (1991) described a 'Home-Grown Curriculum.'  A 'Home-Grown Curriculum' "comes from the hearts and minds of people who actually work with children in the schools and on whose shoulders the burden of implementation lies" (p.v).

Too often, educators assume that state standards are the curriculum.  Erickson (2007) reminds us that "Academic standards are not a curriculum; they are a framework for designing curriculum.  A curriculum is a coherent, teacher-friendly document that reflects the intent of the academic standards" (p. 48).

Some educators believe that each teacher is a curriculum developer and that individual teachers know what is best for the students in their classrooms.  Both of these statements are true.  Teachers develop curriculum and they are the experts when it comes to the learning needs of their respective students. Anderson (2002) cited increasing evidence that a well-aligned curriculum has a considerable impact on student achievement and an even greater impact on achievement among minority students.  An aligned curriculum will provide clarity about instructional purposes and priorities.  In order to develop alignment in a school or in a school system, teachers cannot work in isolation.  I believe this is the type of work that Parker described in Renewing the Social Studies Curriculum.  While Parker's book is written for social studies educators, the concepts described in this book apply to all content areas.

If educators believe that curriculum development impacts student achievement, then we must ask the following questions:

1.  Do we have a 'Home-Grown Curriculum'?

2.  What are the benefits of a 'Home-Grown Curriculum'?

3.  If our district is required to use state and national standards to develop
     curriculum, do all teachers have the same interpretation of priorities in
     the standards?

4.  Does our school system have a document which outlines key concepts,
     key skills, enduring understandings and district priorities
     (i.e., a Guaranteed Curriculum)?

5.  "All learners benefit from and should receive instruction that reflects
     clarity about purposes and priorities of content" (Tomlinson &
     McTighe, 2006, p. 6).  How can Parker's description of 'Home-Grown
     Curriculum' development help our school system identify the curriculum
    that reflects clarity about purposes and priorities of content?
 
References:

Anderson, L.W. (2002). Curricular alignment: A re-examination. Theory into
      Practice, 41, 255-260.

Parker, W.C. (1991). Renewing the social studies curriculum.  Alexandria, VA:
      Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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

Tomlinson, C.A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction
      and understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision
      and Curriculum Development.

Author's Note:
I would like to thank Walter Parker for his influence on my career as an educator.  Renewing the Social Studies Curriculum provided me with a foundation in curriculum development and curriculum theory.  Since reading Parker's book, I have read several other books which describe curriculum development.  Parker's book is worn out and yet I still find new insight each time I revisit the book.  In my opinion, this book is timeless and it provides educators with the foundation for developing a 'Home-Grown Curriculum' which is aligned to state and national standards.  If the United States moves to a national curriculum or common core state standards, the art of deliberation and curriculum development will still be needed in school systems.  Renewing the Social Studies Curriculum is available for Free at ERIC or for purchase at Amazon.

Are curriculum documents accessible in your school system?  Do teachers know where curriculum documents are stored?  Can the curriculum be revised electronically or are the district's curriculum documents still stored in three-ring binders?



Location, Location, Location is frequently used by realtors to describe property that may be valuable to potential buyers.  Educators need to use this same phrase when they describe the location that K-12 curriculum is archived.  Some school districts use Microsoft Office products.  Popular vendor products which store curriculum documents include Curriculum Mapper, Curriki, Rubicon, TechPaths, and Understanding by Design.  This short list does not include all products available to educators, nor does it include an endorsement of any particular product. 

Our school district utilizes Drupal.  Drupal is a free software package that allows an individual or a community of users to easily publish, manage and organize a wide variety of content on a website. Tens of thousands of people and organizations are using Drupal to power scores of different web sites.  If your school district is seeking location, location, location, but you are operating on a small budget, Drupal offers the opportunity for 24 hour access to your district's curriculum, the opportunity for ongoing communication within a school and across schools, and the chance for group editors to make timely revisions to the district's curriculum maps.

Questions For Educators:

1.  Do teachers and principals have access to the district's K-12 curriculum?

2.  Can the K-12 curriculum be modified using Web 2.0 tools or the Internet?

3.  Does the online tool which stores our district's K-12 curriculum allow for
     comments and reflection on the written, taught and assessed curriculum?

4.  Do teachers have access to multiple curriculum documents?
     (i.e., vertical alignment and interdisciplinary curriculum)

5.  Is the current tool teacher-friendly?

6.  Is the location a prime location or does the school district need to revisit the
     location of the district's curriculum documents? 

Have you ever heard the saying, "Curriculum development is messy"?  There are several reasons why curriculum development is viewed as 'messy'.


 


1.  Curriculum Development is a process.  It may take 3-5 years to develop a
     quality curriculum.  Most educators want to develop a product and they get
     tired with the process of curriculum development.

2.  Curriculum Development involves multiple perspectives.  When multiple
     perspectives are involved, the process becomes 'messy'.

3.  Curriculum Development involves values.  What do we value?  What will we
     choose to eliminate from the curriculum? What values will impact K-12
     curriculum and instruction?  Since values are not neutral, curriculum
     development is not neutral.

4.  Curriculum Development requires time.  It is difficult to develop a curriculum
     document in a school district, due to the limited time available to work with
     teachers.  You can work with teachers after school, but they are tired from
     teaching students from 8-4.  You can work with teachers on an Early Release
     Day, but there are limited Early Release Days in a school year.  You can work
     with a limited number of teachers during the summer and you can develop a
     quality curriculum, but you only have the input of a limited number of teachers.
     The lack of time available to work with teachers makes curriculum development
     messy.

5.  State standards are sometimes vague.  When teachers at the same grade
     level have multiple interpretations of a single state standard, it makes
     curriculum development and horizontal curriculum alignment difficult.
     Standards-based curriculum development is messy.

Curriculum development is a challenge and some school administrators would prefer to avoid the 'mess'.  If educators avoid curriculum development because it is 'messy', then students will receive a disjointed curriculum. 

"Curriculum development is the essential function of school leadership.  Whether the role is carried out by a principal, an assistant principal for curriculum, a team leader, a department head, or by leading classroom teachers, the curriculum defines all other roles in a school" (Wiles, 2009, p.2).

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

Curriculum development takes place at the state department of education, at the district or central office, in classrooms, at the coffee shop and within profit and non-profit organizations. Curriculum development requires reflection, debate, multiple perspectives and input from multiple stakeholders.  The attached document outlines the research of Ralph Tyler, Grant Wiggins, Jay McTighe, Larry Ainsworth, Douglas Reeves, Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, Robert Eaker, Lorin Anderson and other educators.  These educators each offer a criteria for developing and assessing curriculum.    

An essential act of our profession is the design of curriculum and learning experiences to meet specified purposes.
-  Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Understanding by Design (1998), p. 7

What questions does your team use to assist with the development and assessment of K-12 curriculum?

Journalism students are taught to answer six questions in the articles they submit for publication.  The Five W’s and One H are well known to journalism students and educators.  Using this strategy, educators can clarify what they want to teach in a lesson or unit of study.  The questions below will assist educators as they develop lesson or unit plans. 

The Five W’s and One H for K-12 Curriculum Development:

1.        Who is the target audience?

2.       What state standards, skills and concepts will be taught?

3.       When will the unit/lesson be introduced to students (Dates/Pacing)?

4.       Where will the students be when they begin the unit/lesson
       (Prior Understandings/Misunderstandings)?

5.       Why do students need to learn the skills and concepts identified in #2?
       (Purpose/Relevance)

6a.       How will I teach this unit/lesson?
        (Instruction style, materials needed, technology needed, guest speakers,
         and other resources)


6b.  How will I assess student understanding of skills, concepts and identified
       enduring understandings?


This strategy is also an effective way for teachers to develop differentiated lesson plans and units.  This tool will support teachers as they identify ‘what’ students should know and be able to do, prior understandings and misunderstandings, and ‘how’ the lesson will be taught.  For additional resources on Differentiated Instruction, visit Differentiated Instruction – Tomlinson.

The attached chart will assist teachers and administrators in using the 5W’s and One H to develop and revise curriculum.

Curriculum development requires educators ask the following questions:

1.   What content is worth knowing?
2.   What concepts are worth understanding?  (Erickson, 2002)
3.   What skills are worth knowing?
4.   What should be left out of the curriculum or moved to a different part of the
      curriculum?
5.   Should the curriculum teach for Introduction, Review, Mastery or Deep
      Understanding at this grade level?  Where does the curriculum address this
      content, skill, or concept before or after this grade level or course?
6.   Will this standard or the curriculum provide students with knowledge and
      skills that will be of value beyond a single test date (Reeves*)?
7.   Will this standard or curriculum provide students with essential knowledge
      and skills that are necessary for success in the next grade or the next level of
      instruction (Reeves*)?
8.   What educational purposes should this course/the school seek to attain?
      (Tyler, 1949)
9.   What do we want students to uncover (Coverage vs. Uncoverage)?
      (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005)
10. Is the curriculum aligned with the criteria for 21st Century standards?
      See 21st Century Standards  

What criteria do educators in your school district or state use when developing K-12 curriculum?  

Do you agree or disagree with the criteria listed above?

A great article for K-12 Curriculum Developers was written by George Nelson (2001).  Nelson's article titled Choosing Content That's Worth Knowing provides educators and other stakeholders with essential questions for curriculum development.  To view the article online, visit  http://tiny.cc/VlwsR


K-12 Curriculum Development was developed as a site for educators 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.   

References:

* Excerpted from Ainsworth, L. (2003). Power Standards, pp. 10-14, Englewood,
          CO: Advanced Learning Press.

Erickson, H. L. (2002). Concept-based curriculum and instruction: Teaching beyond
          the facts (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.