K-12 Curriculum Development

Time for a Tune-Up: Comprehensive Curriculum Evaluation
By Lisa H. Meyers
Principal Leadership - September 2005

"How important is a high-quality curriculum?  A school without a quality curriculum is like a car without an engine - neither goes anywhere.  One responsibility of a school administrator is to ensure that quality curriculum is designed, adopted, and implemented."
                                                                                                    - Lisa Meyers

Prior to this afternoon, I had not read this article.  This informative article provides educators with several key considerations for K-12 curriculum development, curriculum alignment, curriculum evaluation and renewal.  I highly recommend this article! 

For additional information related to curriculum evaluation and a curriculum audit, visit these K-12 Curriculum Development topics:

Curriculum Management Audit

Curriculum Clutter

Curriculum Development

Share your thoughts on
Time for a Tune-Up: Comprehensive Curriculum Evaluation

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.

Curriculum development is an ongoing process which requires collaboration, conflict-resolution and reflection.  Too often, schools approach curriculum development as a product to be created.  When teachers come to a fork in the road, they often blame weaknesses in the document and resort to their own curriculum.  It is difficult, if not impossible, to have curriculum alignment when each teacher chooses essential skills and key concepts in isolation.

Collaboration:  Since classroom teachers decide what every student should know and be able to do, then they should be involved in the curriculum development process.  Unpacking the standards, curriculum mapping, unit development, writing generalizations, developing essential questions and creating common formative assessments are each opportunities for collaboration.

Conflict-Resolution:  Conflict is often avoided when teachers discuss curriculum development.  Lencioni (2002) identified "The Fear of Conflict" as one of the five dysfunctions of teams.  When teachers debate which skills are essential and what content can be ommited, curriculum development becomes a matter of conflict resolution.  When teacher teams embrace conflict and encourage conflicting opinions they are supporting student achievement.

Reflection:  When teacher teams reflect on the written, taught and assessed curricula, they will improve the district's curriculum.  When teachers develop curriculum and fail to assess its effectiveness, it is difficult to know if the curriculum is meeting the needs of each student. 

Five Questions For Curriculum Developers:

1.  Does our school have a 'guaranteed curriculum'?

2.  Is our curriculum aligned (Vertically and Horizontally)?

3.  Do teachers have a tool or method for communicating the strengths and
     weaknesses of the 'guaranteed curriculum'?

4.  When teachers develop common formative assessments, do they use the
     district's curriculum as a guide for developing assessments?

5.  Are teachers meeting on a regular basis to reflect on the written, taught, and
     assessed curricula?

If curriculum drives the work of teacher teams, then schools must create time for teachers to collaborate, engage in conflict and provide time during the school day for reflection and revision.  Curriculum development should be a priority in schools, rather than something that is handed to teachers as a top-down product.  When teachers collaborate to develop the curriculum, they will have
co-workers who support them when they come to a fork in the road in instruction.

By July, most school systems have received data from student report cards, state testing results, feedback from parents/guardians, and student portfolios which demonstrate the student's growth from the beginning of the school year until the last day of school.  What processes will teachers and administrators use to improve the written and taught curriculum in the upcoming school year?  What strategies should be developed to provide additional support to struggling readers?

According to Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski, and Flowers (2004), "Most change initiatives that end up going nowhere don't fail because they lack grand visions and noble intentions.  They fail because people can't see the reality they face"
(p. 29).  A tool for identifying the realities faced by a school and one which will help your team determine 'next steps' is a SWOT Analysis.  A SWOT Analysis looks at and defines the strengths and weaknesses of the internal environment of the school or school system, as well as the opportunities and threats within the environment external to the organization or organizational unit.

Once educators have identified the existing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, they can build plans to support student achievement.  Instructional priorities will based on the outcomes of the SWOT Analysis, rather than focusing on 'what worked' last year.  Educators will notice that what is perceived as a threat for the upcoming school year could also be a new opportunity. 

"Systems don't change by themselves. Rather, the actions of individuals and small groups working on new conceptions intersect to produce breakthroughs"
(Fullan, 1993).

Resource:
SWOT Analysis Template (See attached document)

References:

Fullan, M. (1993). Change forces: Probing the depths of educational reform.
        London: Falmer Press.

Senge, P., Scharmer, C.O., Jaworski, J., & Flowers, B.S. (2004). Presence: An
          exploration of profound change in people, organizations, and society.
          New York: Doubleday.

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.