K-12 Curriculum Development

Benefits

1)  Improved Alignment

2)  Improved Communication

3)  Increased Relevance

4)  A Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum

5)  Equitable for all Students

What Does Research Tell Us About Purpose-Driven Curriculum?

Working on the Work (W.O.W.) entails teachers' purposefully creating, designing, identifying, or otherwise making available to students authentically engaging activities, programs, tasks, assignments, and opportunities to practice that result in students learning those things it is determined that students need to learn to be judged well educated.

                                                       -  Phillip Schlechty, Working on the Work (2002)

Many educational programs do not have clearly defined purposes.

                           - Ralph Tyler, Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction (1949)

Leadership involves purposes and direction.  Leaders know the ends toward which they are striving.  They pursue goals with clarity and tenacity, and are accountable for their accomplishments.

As cited by Robert Marzano in School Leadership that Works: From Research to Results. Leithwood, K.A. & Riehl, C. (2003). What do we really know about successful school leadership? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago. 

The attached document outlines Purpose-Driven Curriculum and Instruction (Weber, 2008).

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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.

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.

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

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 article below introduces educators to Purpose-Driven Curriculum and Instruction.  If you wish to build a Purpose-Driven Curriculum, take a moment to ask yourself and a co-worker or team of co-workers the Eight Questions Which Drive the Work of a Purpose-Driven School System (attached).

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Developing and Aligning a Purpose-Driven Curriculum
By Steven M. Weber,

           In 2002, author Dr. Rick Warren wrote The Purpose Driven Life, which sold over 30 million copies worldwide.  Warren wrote, the most basic questions every human faces in life are: Why am I here?  What is my purpose?  When teachers
and administrators develop curriculum they are faced with similar questions such as those posed by Warren.  Too many educators with individual purposes working together in a school can create curriculum clutter and a lack of clarity over curricular aims.  “Schooling at its best reflects a purposeful arrangement of parts and details, organized with deliberate intention, for achieving the kinds of learning we seek” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2007, p. 9).

          What is purpose-driven curriculum and instruction?  A purpose-driven curriculum allows teachers and administrators to focus on key concepts, skills, essential questions and enduring understandings which have been identified by educators for each course and grade level.  Once key concepts, skills, essential questions and enduring understandings have been identified, teachers use instruction and multiple assessments, including common formative assessments to check for student understanding. Over the past fifty years, several school districts have jumped from one program to the next.  Vendor products have been sold to school districts and educators have placed their hope in the product, rather than emphasizing ‘the process’.  According to Morris (2002), “too many people dream of the results of success and ignore the process” (p. 63).

          When educators choose to participate in purpose-driven curriculum and instruction, they make a conscious and collective commitment to have more than a one-year focus. Whether teachers use Understanding by Design (Wiggins & McTighe), Curriculum Mapping (Jacobs), Differentiated Instruction (Tomlinson), Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction (Erickson), Unpacking the Standards (Ainsworth, Reeves, & Marzano), Professional Learning Communities (DuFour) or a combination of recommendations from authors and research, it is important to note that a clear focus on aligning the curriculum and communicating decisions across buildings will create a more intentional delivery in each classroom.  When educators participate in curriculum mapping efforts, they often focus on completing their map, rather than reflecting on how instruction could be differentiated or identifying gaps in the written, taught and tested curriculum.  When educators work together to unpack state and national standards, they often complete the task of unpacking and then look for next year’s school or district focus. 

          The difference between purpose-driven curriculum and instruction and traditional approaches to instruction is that each of the district’s initiatives are understood by the teachers and administrators and are seen as the main focus when making decisions regarding curriculum development, instruction, textbook adoption and assessment.  The attached chart titled What is a Purpose-Driven Curriculum? provides an overview of purpose-driven curriculum which can impact student achievement while preparing students for life.  As teachers continue to make curriculum and instruction more purposeful, students will be able to answer the questions:

         Why am I here? (Purpose)

         What is the purpose of this class? (Relevance)      

References:
Morris, T. (2002).  The art of achievement: Mastering the 7 C’s of success in
          business and life.  Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Warren, R. (2002).  The purpose-driven life.  Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan
         Publishing Company.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2007). Schooling by Design.  Alexandria, VA:
         Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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