The Dynamic Process of Curriculum LeadershipWhat is the purpose of public schools?Are we preparing our students for our pasts or their future?

Syllabus

Understand the theories of curriculum Operational Philosophy Survey/GraphUnderstand clearly what makes a quality curriculumCurriculum AnalysisUse tools to assess a specific curriculumSurvey/Class ProjectApply knowledge to develop or improve a curriculum that you use or to develop an action plan to improve curriculum at your schoolFinal project options: Understanding by Design or SWOT Analysis and Action Plan for Curriculum Change in your District

Understand the theories of curriculum

Operational Philosophy Survey/Graph

Understand clearly what makes a quality curriculum

Curriculum Analysis

Use tools to assess a specific curriculum

Survey/Class Project

Apply knowledge to develop or improve a curriculum that you use or to develop an action plan to improve curriculum at your school

Final project options:

Understanding by Design or

SWOT Analysis and Action Plan for Curriculum Change in your District

GRADINGAssessment quality guidelines for the two major projects 1) curriculum assessment and 2) the action planAdvanced: Accurate, coherent application of the principles of the course in work that has been thoughtfully written, briefly and accurately presented to the class, and carefully constructed. The work shows that you clearlyunderstand the principles of the course and the responsibilities of curriculum leadership as an educational leader of a school or district.Proficient: Mostly accurate, coherent application of the principles of the course in work that has been mainly thoughtfully written, briefly and accurately presented to the class, and generally carefully constructed. Thework shows that you generally understand the principles of the course and the responsibilities of curriculum leadership as an educational leader of a school or district.Needs Improvement: (Your work will be returned to you and you may improve it if you choose.) Some inaccuracies in the application of the principles of the course in work that has been written and presented to the class is constructed with inaccuracies or missing elements. The work shows that you do not clearly or totally understand the principles of the course and the responsibilities of curriculum leadership as an educational leader of a school or district.

Essential QuestionAre we preparing our students for their futures not for our pasts?Critical Reading CircleAdapted from Literacy CircleUse for Non-fiction as well as literatureWhat is the purpose of education?Some answers:To prepare students for employmentTo prepare students to be citizens of the US or of the worldTo prepare students for college or for post-secondary education To expose students to the culture of the WestTo save the planet for the next generation

“Educationese” Wordshttp://www.ascd.org/Publications/Lexicon_of_Learning.aspx

Belief about knowledge—How do we know?Desired outcomes—What should be taught? What is worth knowing?Human nature—Are we good, evil, neutral?Nature of Intelligence—Who can learn? How? (Bell curve)Role of student—Active, passive, silent, engaged, etc.Responsibility of school to student—Why do schools exist?School structure—hierarchy, loosely coupled, school, classroom?Role of teacher—Responsible for all students?Instructional methodsAssessment—how do we determine if students learn? If not, is anything done?Role of Parents and communityAttitude toward change

Belief about knowledge—How do we know?

Desired outcomes—What should be taught? What is worth knowing?

Human nature—Are we good, evil, neutral?

Nature of Intelligence—Who can learn? How? (Bell curve)

Role of student—Active, passive, silent, engaged, etc.

Responsibility of school to student—Why do schools exist?

School structure—hierarchy, loosely coupled, school, classroom?

Role of teacher—Responsible for all students?

Instructional methods

Assessment—how do we determine if students learn? If not, is anything done?

Role of Parents and community

Attitude toward change

Old modelAInstructionTestingCurriculumTextThe ContentCMove OnI

Theories focused first on Content, then on Instruction and the teacher, then on testing, then.. finally on the studentAICImpact on Students

History Provide time, focused instruction then go on

NEW MODELContinuous improvement modelIAisC

NEW MODEL

What does a quality curriculum look like?

What is your assessment of the 1) Strengths 2) Weaknesses 3) possible dangers if you were to implement this curriculum, for example, would you need supplementary materials or experiences to make up for the weaknesses? 4) What might minimize the dangers and maximize the strengths?Curriculum AnalysisCurricula are products of districts, experts, publishing companies. Who created this document or program? Was it developed in your district? Was it developed with a consultant?Curricula are created with philosophies, sometimes consciously, sometimes without awareness. Briefly describe knowledge, student, teacher, instruction, goal of education, remediation,learning environment, assessment, response to change. Discuss the quality of the C, I, A, and IS: Consider the Curriculum (subject matter), the Instruction, the Assessment, and the Impact on Students. Which categories does your curriculum fall into? Consider: official, supported, tested, taught, learned, hidden.Which components are in your curriculum: benchmarks, common assessments, valid and reliable assessments, predictive of MCAS score, supported by appropriate materials?

System for Continuous Improvement of CIA POWER STANDARDSAlignment – Curriculum Committees Performance Standards – regular required school based Data Meetings protocols for LASW protocols for Lesson StudyC

System for Continuous Improvement of CIADefine Best Standards Based Practice for TeachersMinimally:Standards based unit/lesson design Posted measurable lesson objective Agenda Student-student communication Dip-sticking Rubrics/ExemplarsHOTS (Bloom’s taxonomy) Use of assessment data to drive instructionI

System For Continuous Improvement Of CIAEXPECT TEACHERS TO USE BEST PRACTICE IN THEIR LESSONSLearning Walks (Walkthroughs) Evaluation Data meetings to discuss changes in instructional practice based on results of student work and achievementI

When children, beginning in third grade were placed with three high performing teachers in a row, they scored, on average at the 96th percentile in Tennessee’s statewide mathematics assessment at the end of fifth grade.Stronge, J and Tucker, P. Teacher Evaluation and Student Achievement. National Education Association. 2000 p.2AIC

When children with comparable achievement histories starting in third grade were placed with three low performing teachers in a row, their average score on the same mathematics assessment was at the 44th percentile.Sanders, W. and Rivers, J. Cumulative and residual effects of teachers in future academic achievement (Research Progress Report) Knoxville TN. U of TN Value-Added Research and Assessment 1996 AIC

AI Teachers working alone, with little or no feedback on their instruction, will not be able to improve significantly – no matter how much professional development they receive. Tony Wagner: The Global Achievement GapC

A The only thing that really matters…….IWhat happens in the classroom between the teacher and the student.C

A “guaranteed” and “Viable”Curriculum

A “guaranteed and viable” Curriculum makes all the difference. Meta analysis Bob Marzano (2003), an educational researcher and popular presenter, focuses on this concept as one of five school-level factors (the one with the greatest impact), in his book on What Works in Schools: Translating Research into Action

The guaranteed curriculum, according to Marzano, is what we decide is imperative to teach – a curriculum that we communicate and assure to all groups. A viable curriculum is a curriculum that we can realistically teach during the time we have available during the course of a school year. We need to focus on what is essential vs. supplemental to teach in a school year. We must organize and sequence our curriculum to enable effective student learning – that is to say, checking to make sure the essentials are being taught and avoiding interruptions during instructional time.The work on the guaranteed and viable curriculum is designed to focus on the standards that are most essential to spend time on and, while not eliminating other standards, to make it permissible to spend less time (or no time) on them. The challenge is to decide what is essential.

What tools are used to evaluate The Curriculum?

What is good quality curriculum?

Group Work: Tools/UsecIAIS

Questions about Curriculum QualityDo we teach a standards-based curriculum?Are individual teachers’ lessons backward designed?Is our curriculum aligned to the frameworks?Is our curriculum aligned to the tested curriculum (MCAS, usually).Is this a good program to purchase?What are the gaps and redundancies in the curriculum?How are (all, some, a few) of our students performing?How are my students progressing this year?What should I do to help advance at risk, average, above average students?Do we all have the same expectations?Do we all teach the same curriculum?Does the implemented curriculum have rigor?Too many students are failing the MCAS? What are the causes?We don’t have enough advanced scores. Why?Are all students challenged?How much time is spent on core subjects every day? How is the year used for a course?What is the quality of the teaching of the curriculum? Is it consistent? How can I improve classroom teaching? How can I improve specific lessons?We don’t have time to cover this entire curriculum. How do we prioritize? How do we know what is essential?How do we use team or grade-level time to improve the curriculum? Where do we start if we don’t make AYP for subgroups? For all students?

What is the research base For success in CIA ?

Research:What Works at the SCHOOL level?

SEVEN STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, and ASSESSMENTAn urgency and understanding of the problem presented through dataA shared vision of good teaching which includes rigor, relevance, and respectAdult meetings that focus on instruction and model good teachingClear standards, assessments, and consistent understanding of quality student workSupervision that is frequent, rigorous, and focused on instructionPD that is primarily on-site, intensive, collaborative, and job-embeddedDiagnostic data that is used frequently by teams to assess learning and teaching

What Works for the TEACHER:discipline, student socialization, teacher behavior, organization, interactions, equity: routines, classroom climate Standards-based curriculum: backwards planGoal setting, measuring progress

Every study of classroom practice reveals that most teaching is mediocre--or worse. Goodlad; Sizer; Resnick; Powell, Farrar & Cohen; Learning 24/7 Classroom Study“The administrative superstructure of schools …exists to ‘buffer’ teaching from outside inspection, interference or disruption.”Richard ElmoreFor all our initiatives, programs and plans, we do not inspect: 1. WHAT is actually taught (essential standards) or 2. HOW WELL (effective lessons/units)Gordon; Elmore; Marzano; Tyack & Cuban; Hess; Berliner

Every study of classroom practice reveals that most teaching is mediocre--or worse.

“The administrative superstructure of schools …exists to ‘buffer’ teaching from outside inspection, interference or disruption.”

For all our initiatives, programs and plans, we do not inspect:

The most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is building the capacity of school personnel to function as a professional learning community.Milbrey McLaughlin (cited in Professional Learning Communities at Work by Dufour and Eaker)1. DATA - driven (academic) priorities2. GOALS: that are measurable/tied to an assessment3. TEAMWORK that produces short-term assessmentresults Focus on:What should students know and be able to do?How do we know if they know it?What do we do if they don’t?

The NUMBER ONE FACTOR that increases levels of learningMarzano; Porter; Lezotte“Direct involvement in instruction is among the least frequent activities performed by administrators of any kind at any level.” Richard Elmore 2000 This is not a matter of work ethic; it is a matter of misplaced priorities.

PROCESS:IDENTIFY lowest - scoring standards—from ASSESSMENTSMATH: “measurement; statistics/prob.” WRITING: “voice”; “word choice”School ClimateUSE formative assessment data (measurable results from lessons, units, etc.) to assess progress and meet quarterly at least to look at student work.

MATH: “measurement; statistics/prob.”

WRITING: “voice”; “word choice”

School Climate

K-12/COLLEGE SUCCESS: ANALYTICALREADING PERSUASIVE WRITINGWRITING AND MATH: 32% of college-bound are adequately prepared for college;58% are in remedial courses—College Knowledge READING: 34% of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it (66% cannot). NCED Statistic WRITING: 24% write at proficient level;4% at Advanced-NAEP“For all its unparalleled cognitive benefits, little or no real writing instruction takes place in regular classrooms.” Kameenuiand Carnine

sisyphuschronicles.wordpress.com/category/life/

Why is change so difficult in Education?Education4 Frames of Organizations PoliticalHuman ResourcesStructuralSymbolic

Final Projects

Internal Library AuditSWOT Analysis WorksheetVisionCommunity-Wide Strategic Planning Parents Teachers Students School committee Town officials Community members

Parents

Teachers

Students

School committee

Town officials

Community members

Understanding by DesignBackwards Design processStandards based curriculum design (A unit plan or a year’s plan)Stage I: Big ideas, essential questions, ultimate goal of unit (Where are you going?)Stage II: Assessments including performance-based, authentic tasks. (How do you know if you got there?)Stage III: Learning plan. What are the steps you will take to get there? “Examine your conscience” with WHERETO and GRASPS and 6 prisms.

Understanding by Design

BACKWARD CURRICULUM DESIGN TEMPLATE