K-12 Curriculum Development

February 1, 2010, marked the fiftieth anniversary of the day the Greensboro Four held a sit-in at the F.W. Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. At 8:00 a.m. (EST), a ribbon cutting ceremony took place in Greensboro, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary and the grand opening of the International Civil Rights Museum.  On February 1, I was able to tour the International Civil Rights Museum with my thirteen year old son.  

We saw exhibits which focused on segregated schools, lunch counters, movie theaters, churches, hotels, and public transportation.  We took a tour through the Hall of Shame, which featured graphic photos and reminders of hate crimes that took place throughout our nation's history.  The museum will serve as an learning laboratory for all ages.

The Little Rock Nine were featured in the new museum, along with James Meredith's admission to the University of Mississippi.  Revisiting the Civil Rights Movement reminds us of how far we have come as a nation, but it also reminds us how far we have to go.  

In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the court stated,

"Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. Compulsory school attendance laws and the great expenditures for education both demonstrate our recognition of the importance of education to our democratic society.....Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms."

Opportunity to Learn
Visiting the International Civil Rights Museum reminded me of our nation's commitment to provide free public education to all students.  While we are delivering on the intent of Brown v. Board of Education, we must continue to increase each student's Opportunity to Learn (OTL).

If educators agree that all students should be prepared for the next grade level and the goal is for 100% of our students to graduate, then we should develop a clear idea of how to support student achievement.  Robert Marzano (2003) cited several factors which impact student achievement.  He divided the factors into the following categories: School Level, Teacher Level, and Student Level.  His thirty year meta-analysis revealed that the number one factor impacting student achievement is a 'guaranteed and viable curriculum.'  In other words, according to Marzano's research, Opportunity to Learn is the number one factor impacting student achievement.

Recently, Squires (2009) wrote, "It is of paramount importance to make sure students have the opportunity to learn more important content aligned with standards and assessments.....Further, school districts, through their curricula, have the tools at their disposal to control and ensure what students learn" (p. 133).  Developing specific strategies which support Opportunity to Learn will impact student achievement.  Over forty years of research supports that "access to curriculum opportunities is a more powerful determinant of achievement than initial achievement levels" (Darling-Hammond, 2010, p. 54).  As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins and the courage of the Greensboro Four, we must act courageously to provide the opportunity to learn to each student in the United States and throughout the world.

References:

Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education: How America's
        commitment to equity will determine our future. New York: Teacher's College
        Press.

Marzano, R. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action.
       Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Squires, D.A. (2009). Curriculum alignment: Research-based strategies for increasing
       student achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

According to Phi Delta Kappa, "The Curriculum Management Audit is a third-party examination of the curriculum design and delivery system of a school or school district. Both curriculum policy and the system in which curriculum functions are analyzed by the audit team. The report provides specific recommendations to improve those functions."

According to Wiggins and McTighe (2007), "The job is not to hope that optimal learning will occur, based on our curriculum and initial teaching.  The job is to ensure that learning occurs, and when it doesn't, to intervene in altering the syllabus and instruction decisively, quickly, and often" (p. 55).

Examples of Curriculum Management Audits:

Anchorage School District (Alaska)

Clover Park School District (Washington)  

San Bernardino City Unified School District (California)

Wake County Public School System (North Carolina)

Frequently Asked Questions About the WCPSS Curriculum Audit

If your school district has completed a Curriculum Management Audit, please share your thoughts. 

How did it help you improve your work as an educator? 

What were the benefits of the Curriculum Management Audit? 

Did you conduct the audit through Phi Delta Kappa or did you develop a different evaluation instrument for your school district's curriculum audit? 

If curriculum alignment is the goal in most school systems, then why do districts fail to conduct a Curriculum Management Audit? 

School districts must confront the brutal facts of their current reality in order to improve (Collins, 2001).

References:

Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: why some companies make the leap and others
         don't.  New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2007). Schooling by design: Mission, action, and
        achievement. Alexandria, VA: Assocition for Supervision and Curriculum
        Development.

Curriculum is written by state government, local school districts, individual teachers, non-profit organizations, and other groups which offer lessons and academic materials for teachers and students.  The written curriculum is designed to outline what students should know and be able to do and to support student achievement.  Teachers and organizations have spent thousands of hours developing curriculum, only to have it sit on the shelf in a classroom or misinterpreted.  What can teachers do to support student achievement?  How can teachers and administrators monitor the written and taught curriculum to ensure alignment?  The following curriculum types are important for teachers to understand as they reflect on curriculum, instruction and assessment.

I.    Intended
       The intended curriculum consists of the written curriculum or plans that have
       been predetermined prior to the class.

II.   Enriched
       The enriched curriculum is when teachers enhance the curriculum or develop
       opportunities for acceleration for students who have mastered the written
       curriculum.  Enriched curriculum involves providing multiple opportunities for
       students to engage in key concepts and skills at their readiness level.

III.  Watered-Down   
        Some teachers offer the enriched curriculum to the students who are
        prepared for acceleration and the watered-down curriculum to the students
        who have demonstrated low growth or who do not understand the key
        concepts and skills identified in the unit.

IV.   Received
        Many teachers and administrators fail to monitor the received curriculum. 
        The received curriculum is what an individual student receives.  If one
        student receives the enriched curriculum and another student receives the
        watered-down curriculum, then each student's chance for success will be
        drastically different.  View Opportunity to Learn.

Conclusion:
All students should receive a guaranteed and viable curriculum (Marzano).  If the received curriculum varies from one class to the next, then it will be difficult for teachers at the next grade level to build on prior knowledge and understandings.  One of the goals of teaching is to ensure close alignment between the intended, taught, assessed, and received curricula.

Questions to Consider:

1.  Does your school have a guaranteed and viable curriculum?

2.  How is the intended curriculum different from the received curriculum?

3.  Do teachers implement the written curriculum/intended curriculum or do
     teachers create curriculum in isolation?

4.  Ask yourself, would I want my son or daughter to experience the
     watered-down curriculum and miss out on parts of the district's
     intended curriculum?
 
         What the best and wisest parent wants for his or her own child, 
                  that must the community want, for all of its children.

         John Dewey
         As cited by Gene Carter, Executive Director ASCD
         ASCD Education Update - December 2006, p. 2

5.  What mechanism does your school have in place to monitor the received
     curriculum?

    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.

                                                 -  Allan Glatthorn, Curriculum Renewal (1987), p. 4