Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 8. Most people associate the time change with longer periods of daylight. However, in education this time signifies that another school year is coming to an end. Teachers will begin grumbling, "I don't have time to teach it all!" Following Daylight Savings Time are Snow Days, Early Release Days, Spring Break, Awards Assemblies and other disruptions to the written and taught curricula. These barriers occur each year, but we continue to allow teachers to race to the finish line without modifying the local curriculum.
Items To Consider:
1. Does our district have a 'guaranteed and viable curriculum'? (Marzano)
2. If our district has a 'guaranteed and viable curriculum,' how do teachers
communicate their individual decisions regarding 'what' to teach and
what to eliminate in the time remaining?
3. Does our district have a communication tool which allows teachers to
share their thoughts on the pacing and the written vs. taught curriculum?
4. Glatthorn (1987)recommends that school districts identify four kinds of
objectives in the written curriculum:
a. Mastery: The teachers have agreed that all students should learn these
objectives, skills and concepts.
b. Organic: Just as important as the mastery curriculum, if not more.
It doesn't require highly structured organization.
Examples: Appreciation of poetry, Develop a curiosity for the
natural world, etc.
c. Team Planned: The expectation is that departmental or grade-level teams
will plan this component, so that therre is no duplication
from year to year.
d. Student Determined: The unstructured enrichment part that does not
require specific planning, but can be left to the
emerging interests of the students in a particular
class.
Source: Glatthorn, A.A. (1987). Curriculum Renewal, pp. 5-7.
5. Identifying Essential Learning Outcomes:
Doug Reeves recommends that educators focus decisions about what
is ‘essential’ (i.e., state standards, concepts, skills, understandings)
by using the following criteria:
Endurance - Will this standard provide students with knowledge and
skills that will be of value beyond a single test date?
Leverage - Will this provide knowledge and skills that will be of value
in multiple disciplines?
Readiness for the next level of learning - Will this provide students
with the essential knowledge and skills that are necessary
for success in the next grade or the next level of
instruction?
Source: Reeves, D. (2002). The Leader’s Guide to Standards, pp. 49 – 52.
Additional Suggestions:
Curriclum Mapping District/Teacher Forums District Blog
Unpacking Standards Professional Learning Community
Curriculum Audit District Surveys on the Taught Curriculum/Pacing
Questions:
What strategies have you used to make certain that teachers and administrators teach the most essential curriculum, rather than trying to squeeze it 'all' into the final nine weeks of the school year?
Are teachers making these decisions in isolation or as a professional team?
RSS Feed