K-12 Curriculum Development

 
Those Kids 08/28/2009
 
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.
 
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.
 
 
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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.
 
Common Sense 07/15/2009
 
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Common Sense was published anonymously by Thomas Paine in January 1776. The purpose for this small pamphlet was to encourage change and to urge the American people to form their own government.



The purpose of this article is to offer some common sense advice which will impact K-12 education in any country. 

IN the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense; and have no other preliminaries to settle with the reader (Paine, 1776).

Education:
  • Students don't care how much we know until they know how much we
    care.

  • A guaranteed and viable curriculum is a critical factor to educational
    success.

  • Each student adds value to the classroom and to the school.

  • Character education makes the world a better place.

  • A focus on learning is more important than 'coverage' of standards.

  • Curriculum alignment should not be optional.

  • Closing achievement gaps is ethical and possible.

  • Differentiated instruction is good for all students.

  • Instruction which builds on prior knowledge increases student
    understanding.

  • Opportunity to learn has a greater impact on student achievement than
    the written curriculum.
*  Many different researchers have noted the items above and have
    described how student achievement increases when one or more of the
    processes or viewpoints are implemented.  For example, Marzano (2003)
    shared, the number one factor impacting student achievement is a
    guaranteed and viable curriculum (p. 22).  “Standards alone cannot
    change these realities.  Instead, successful change occurs when all
    aspects of the local curriculum are linked to standards through a
    purposeful, coherent system of process and products” (Carr & Harris,
    2001, p. 1). Wiggins and McTighe (2007) wrote, “Schooling at its best
    reflects a purposeful arrangement of parts and details, organized with
    deliberate intention, for achieving the kinds of learning we seek” (p. 9). 

         Please feel free to share your Common Sense recommendations
                                      for K-12 education.

References:

Carr, J.E., & Harris, D.E. (2001). Succeeding with Standards: 
      Linking Curriculum, Assessment, and Action Planning.
      Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
      Development.  

Marzano, R.J. (2003). What working in schools: Translating
      research into action.  Alexandria, VA: Association for
      Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Paine, T. Common sense (1776). The Library of Congress.
      Retrieved July 14, 2009, from 
         http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm028.html

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, G., (2007) Schooling by design.
     Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
     Development. 
 
 
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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.
 
 
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Smedley said, "A speech without a purpose is like a journey without a destination" (as cited by Koegel, 2007, p. 34).  The same can be said about curriculum development.  A curriculum without a purpose is like a journey without a destination.  Do the teachers and administrators in your school system have agreed upon learning outcomes for students at the end of each grade level?  Do teachers and administrators have time scheduled throughout the school year to discuss which instructional strategies are working with certain grade levels or even with individual students?

The list below contains several of the skills and understandings that most teachers and parents would agree students should develop during the K-12 experience(s).  If a parent moved from another state or country and asked teachers in your school district which skills and understandings are taught in the seventh grade, would the parent receive the same answer from teachers at three different middle schools?

Using the list below, add skills and understandings that you feel are missing.  Are some of the identified skills more essential than others?  Should some of the skills be taught in each grade, K-12?  Should some of the skills be deemphasized due to the skills required by a changing workforce?  Most importantly, what is the purpose for including each of these skills or understandings in the K-12 curriculum?  Is your district's current curriculum meeting its intended purpose?  What can be done to realign the district's curiculum in order to meet the agreed upon purposes during the 2009-2010 school year?

1.   Citizenship     
2.   Geographic Awareness     
3.   Decoding Skills
4.   21st Century Learning Skills     
5.   Presentation Skills
6.   Writing Skills     
7.   Problem Solving Skills
8.   World Languages
9.   Literacy Skills
10. Self-Awareness
11. Character Education
12. Healthful Living
13. Personal Financial Literacy
14. Apply Mathematics in a variety of settings
15. Communication Skills
16. The Arts
17. Career Development
18. Interview Skills
19. Critical Thinking Skills
20. How to Apply Skills and Understandings     

"All learners benefit from and should receive instruction that reflects clarity about purposes and priorities of content."
                                                        -  Carol Ann Tomlinson and Jay McTighe

References:

Koegel, T.J. (2007). The exceptional presenter. Austin, TX: Greenleaf Book Group
         Press.

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

In The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, Maxwell (2001) wrote, "Every team needs a vision to give it direction.  A team without vision is, at worst, purposeless.  At best, it is subject to the personal (and sometimes selfish) agendas of its various teammates.  As the agendas work against each other, the team's energy and drive drain away" (p. 91).  He describes this as the Law of the Compass.



Questions for School Districts:

1)  How do we determine the essential learning outcomes for each student?

2)  How do we monitor student progress towards essential student learning
     outcomes?

3)  Does our school system have an aligned curriculum or does each teacher
     determine the essential learning outcomes in isolation?

4)  Does the written curriculum drive the work of teachers and teacher teams?

"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). 

Wiggins (1995) wrote, "Curriculum guides must become more like a compass and a sextant - performance tasks and standards and troubleshooting guides.  We need more than a well-planned set of work requirements and supporting lesson ideas; we need clarity about how courses can help students attain objectives in the face of various adventures and detours.  That adjustment depends on knowing in advance the specific performance destination: the tasks students should be able to perform, and to what standard, as a result of our teaching" (p. 110).

References:

English, F.W. (2000). Deciding what to teach and test: Developing, aligning, and
        auditing the curriculum. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 

Maxwell, J. (2001). The 17 indisputable laws of teamwork.  Nashville, TN: Thomas
        Nelson, Inc.

Wiggins, G. (1995). Curricular coherence and assessment: Making sure that
        the effect matches the intent. Beane, J.A. (Ed.). Toward a coherent
        curriculum: The 1995 ASCD yearbook. Alexandria, VA: Association for
        Supervision and Curriculum Development. 


 
 

Recently, I read a book written by Malcolm Gladwell titled, Outliers. Gladwell (2008) wrote, "Marita doesn't need a brand new school with acres of playing fields and gleaming facilities. She doesn't need a laptop, a smaller class, a teacher with a PhD, or a bigger apartment......All those things would be nice, of course. But they miss the point. Marita just needed a chance" (p. 268-269).

Gladwell suggests that superstar athletes are given access to good coaches, private lessons, and additional opportunities.  This quote made me struggle with answers to the following questions.

Questions for Educators:

1.  What does it look like when all students have a chance or an "opportunity to
     learn?"

2.  What role does K-12 curriculum development play in providing each student
     with an "opportunity to learn?"

3.  What policies and procedures need to be developed in order to guarantee
     that each student receives the "opportunity to learn" a guaranteed
     curriculum?

4.  Is it ethical for sixth graders at School A to receive a different curriculum
     (key concepts, skills, understandings) than the sixth graders at School B?

5.  If the opportunity to learn is critical to student success, why don't educators
     discuss "opportunity to learn" on a regular basis?

Please share your thoughts.

 
 

According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000),

“A curriculum is more than a collection of activities: it must be coherent, focused on important mathematics, and well articulated across the grades.  A school mathematics curriculum is a strong determinant of what students have an opportunity to learn and what they do learn.  In a coherent curriculum, mathematical ideas are linked to and build on one another so that students’ understanding and knowledge deepens and their ability to apply mathematics expands.  An effective mathematics curriculum focuses on important mathematics – mathematics that will prepare students for continued study and for solving problems in a variety of school, home, and work settings.  A well-articulated curriculum challenges students to learn mathematical ideas as they continue their studies.”

This is a powerful definition of curriculum that could be applied to any content area.  As a K-12 curriculum developer, I am always humbled by the term opportunity to learn.  If curriculum development plays an important role in determining what students will learn at each grade level and impacts an individual’s opportunity to learn, then we must increase our efforts to develop quality curriculum, communicate about the curriculum, assess the curriculum, and make certain that our efforts do not result in a three-ring binder which is placed on the bookshelf in each teacher’s classroom. 

What is your definition of curriculum?  Does your school have a common definition?  What are the benefits of having a common starting point when defining and developing curriculum?

 
 

If K-12 curriculum development impacts "opportunity to learn," then teachers and administrators must create time to develop, assess, review and revise curriculum.  In business, the focus is on customer service.  In sales, the focus is on productivity.  In technology, the focus is on connectivity.  Each of these terms (customer service, productivity and connectivity) are also a priority for educators.  If educators create a hedgehog concept (Collins, 2001) of their main purpose they will continue to meet in collaborative teams to address "opportunity to learn."

Patrick (2006), wrote, "Every student should have access to the best education available, regardless of family income, background or geography.   Unfortunately, while some students will have access to a great education in their neighborhood schools - this is not universally true.  In fact 40 percent of high schools in the United States don't even offer a college preparatory curriculum" (p. 20).

What can school districts do to address "opportunity to learn?"  Please share strategies that have worked in your school or school district.

References:

Collins, J. (2001).  Good to great. New York: Harper Collins.

Patrick, S.D. (Autumn 2006). i.e. magazine.  New learning Models: Transforming curriculum and instruction in a digital age.