K-12 Curriculum Development

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, describes "The Hedgehog Concept" as a simple, crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of the three circles.  For more information on "The Hedgehog Concept" visit Jim Collins.com.

Using the three circles, educators can participate in a simple activity which creates professional conversations and allows a school or school system to identify programs and strategies which are aligned and which support the district's crystalline concept.

Using a flip chart or a computer, draw three overlapping circles.  Some educators may call this a triple Venn Diagram.  Label one of the circles with the word 'Curriculum'. Label the second circle 'Instruction'.  Label the third circle with the word Assessment.' Most school districts identify their crystalline concept or their purpose as student achievement.  If student achievement is your district's main focus, then each of the programs or strategies written in each circle will lead towards increasing student achievement.  

                 If everything is important, then nothing is important.
                                                               - Grant Wiggins, 1998, p. 223

Do educators in your school have a Hedgehog Concept?  The Three Circles activity may indicate that there are numerous programs and initiatives among buildings in a school district, but many of the initiatives seem to be in conflict with each other. Curriculum guru Fenwick English wrote, many school systems operate as a system of schools rather than a school system.  Alignment is a process and this simple activity can help teachers and administrators commit to working towards the district's Hedgehog Concept.