K-12 Curriculum Development

Made to Stick is a New York Times Bestseller and should be on the bookshelf of K-12 Curriculum Developers.  The authors ask, “Why do some ideas succeed while others fail” (p. 10)?  What do advertisers know about customers that could translate into key concepts ‘sticking’ with students beyond the unit test?  You may not have seen this book at the most recent education conference, but the strategies shared are at the heart of curriculum development.    

The Stickiness Factor

The authors use the term stickiness, which they adopted from Gladwell’s (2000) book titled, The Tipping Point.  Do you remember the commercial with the woman yelling, “Where’s the Beef?”  Do you know which company tells customers, “I’m Lovin’ It”?  Do you know which company said “Just Do It”?  If you can name these companies, then the marketing firm did their job and years later the idea is stuck in your mind.  Educators have used Roy G. Biv to help students remember the colors of the rainbow.  Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally is a common way to teach Order of Operations in mathematics class.  Curriculum Developers must ask, what is essential for students to know and be able to do at this grade level and in this course?  The next step is identifying strategies which will help the knowledge, skill, concept or enduring understanding stick.  This book shares the six qualities of an idea that is made to stick.

The Curse of Knowledge

When educators are tempted to tell students everything, with perfect accuracy, when they should be providing just enough information to be useful, then a little more, then a little more, they have experienced the Curse of Knowledge (p. 57).  If a teacher has taught the same concepts every year, they become an expert on key concepts and enduring understandings.  The longer a person teaches the same course, it becomes increasingly difficult to avoid the Curse of Knowledge.  It is difficult for adults “to forget what it’s like not to know what we know” (p. 46). In order for students to truly understand key concepts, educators must allow students to research, experiment and explore the content and discover answers to their questions.

Resources for Educators

Heath and Heath wrote, “As a teacher, you’re on the front line of stickiness.  Every single day, you go to work and try to make ideas stick” (2007).  Recently, the authors developed multiple free resources which complement Made to Stick.  Educators will need to complete an online form and then they will have access to the free resources.  One of the free resources was developed specifically for teachers.  Visit http://www.madetostick.com/teachers.  

Made to Stick shares the six qualities of an idea that is made to stick, how to avoid the Curse of Knowledge, and how to break complex information into lessons that will stick.  Please feel free to share your thoughts on Made to Stick.

Heath, C. & Heath, D. (2007). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive 
        and others die. New York: Random House, Inc.

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