This document discusses creating coherent curricular programs to increase student learning. It identifies seven dimensions of a coherent curriculum: inspirational agency, orderly operations, high expectations, coherent programs, distributed leadership, instructional assessment, and data-informed decision making. Several markers of an effective coherent curriculum are outlined, including aligned standards, resources, expectations, and assessments. The document cautions against decisions that limit learning and recommends balancing core standards with 21st century skills through technology integration and differentiated instruction.

1. Dr. Patricia (Pat) Reeves
Dr. Robert (Bob) Leneway

2. 2
Over All Agenda
Inspirational Agency
for School Renewal
Orderly School Operation
High, Cohesive, and
Culturally Relevant
Expectations for
Students
Coherent
Curricular
Programs
Distributive and
Empowering
Leadership
Real-time and
Embedded
Instructional
Assessment
Data-
Informed
Decision
Making

3. Goals
Importance
Characteristics
Where are You?
Increased Learning
for Students
3

4. Coherent Curriculum
4
Why? What?
How?
What’s
Next?

5. Why Should We Care?
A top correlation to
improving student
achievement.
Effect size drops when
not coupled
Per McREL (Marzano, et al) research
5

6. Markers?
• Core, essential, or “power
standards” aligned to state and/or
national standards.
• Horizontal and vertical alignment
• Aligned and student appropriate
learning resources (hard and
electronic).
6

7. Markers
• Clear and consistent
communication about learning
expectations and learning progress.
• Engaging & meaningful learning
experiences.
• Learning focused leadership
• Student participation in setting
personal learning goals. 7

8. Markers
• Aligned and effective
classroom instruction.
• Aligned and authentic curriculum
based assessments.
• Immediate and consistent feedback
• Continuous progress monitoring (for
every student/by every student).
8

9. Where are We?
Assessing
Teacher,
Principal, and
School
Practices
9

10. Where are we Going?
10
Student
Centered
Mandated
Standards

11. Sheer Number of
Curriculum Expectations
11

12. Rendering unto the
State Assessments
12

13. Education and Change
“Changing Education
is a lot like
changing a
cemetery –
You won’t get
much help from the
inhabitants.”
13

14. Or Innovating around
21st Century Skills
14

15. Are they Mutually
Exclusive?
Or Can Our Students Have the Best
of Both?
15

16. Local Control

17. Decisions to Avoid
17
Focus on the tests, giving short shrift to
the rest.

18. Decisions to Avoid
Continuing to let
learning remain
predominantly
teacher centered,
teacher controlled,
and teacher
designed.
18

19. Decisions to Avoid
Limiting learning to
traditional time slots,
traditional learning
resources, and
traditional learning
Activities; in fact,
limiting learning
at all!
19

20. Decisions to Consider
Make the Curriculum and Open Door to the World
20

21. What is a Classroom?
Is it This?

22. Is it Any of These?

23. Ask any Child

24. What Would They Tell Us?

25. Decisions to Consider
Balancing Core Curriculum Standards
• Learning to learn standards
• Life skill standards
25
Core Curriculum Area Learning, Research,
and Technology
Arts, Creativity,
Thinking
Life and Career
Eng Lang Arts
Math
Science
Social Studies

26. Decisions to Consider
• Learning through technology standards
26

27. Decisions To Consider
• Higher order thinking and reasoning
standards
• Post-secondary learning and career
preparation standards
27

28. Decisions To Consider
• Problem solving and
productivity standards
• Social development
(personal/interpersonal)
standards
• Arts and humanities standards 28

29. Differentiated Instruction

32. A 21st Century Vision

33. Harness the Power of
Technology

38. “Engage Them or Enrage Them!”

41. Give Them 21st
Century Skills
• 21st Century Technologies to support a
multi-dimensional learning system
• Personalized Learning and differentiated
instruction with on-demand access to
learning
• Empowered learners

45. What are we doing to work with
The Creative Class?
45

49. When we unleash the power
of Technology…
http://www.masternewmedia.org/images/making-sense-of-media-and-technology-painting-clouds
New and
Different
Learning

58. The Real Learning
Problem
“If we continue to do things that we
already know aren’t working, we
have to consider just who really
has the learning problem.”
(Ian Jukes, 2010)
58

59. Power of Curriculum
Integration
Start with these research findings:
Students in any type of interdisciplinary
or integrative curriculum do as well as,
and often better than, students in a
conventional departmentalized
program. (National Association for Core
Curriculum, 2000; Vars, 1996, 1997; Arhar, 1997)
59

60. Power of Curriculum
Integration
• Now, how might curriculum
integration better serve
students?
60

61. Power of Curriculum
Integration
Give students an interesting text and the
chance to argue about the characters and
issues within it, and they will do the rest
(William 2007).
How might this be a clue to a more
student centered and integrated approach
to providing guaranteed and viable
curriculum experiences for all students?
61

62. Curriculum Integration
How might we use these nine high
impact instructional strategies
(Marzano, Pickering, & Pollack, 2001) to
improve curriculum integration?
62

63. Curriculum
Integration (cont.)
1. Identifying similarities and
differences
2. Summarizing and note taking
3. Reinforcing effort and providing
recognition
63

64. Curriculum
Integration (cont.)
4. Homework and practice
5. Nonlinguistic representations
6. Cooperative learning
64

65. Curriculum
Integration (cont.)
7. Setting objectives and providing
feedback
8. Generating and testing hypotheses
9. Cues, questions, and advance
organizers
65

66. A Sad State of Affairs
• “Curricular chaos” — not coherence —
still prevails in most schools, a result of
our no-oversight, high autonomy culture
(Schmoker and Marzano 1999).
• Fortunately, many successful schools
have seen achievement levels soar after
developing coherent, high-quality curricula
— but only when they instituted monitoring
mechanisms for ensuring that it is taught.
66

67. A Systems Approach
Curriculum and
Assessment Mapping
Process Monitoring
Benchmarking Progress
toward Achievement Goals
67

68. Wayne-Westland’s Curriculum and
Instruction Model (Map)

69. Wayne-Westland’s Program Monitoring
and Evaluation (Progress Monitoring)
Annual
Review
Internal
Review
Summary
Evaluation
Forms
District
Improvement
Team
Continue or
Discontinue Program
or Intervention
Increased
Student
Achievement
Mechanism
Decision
Expected
Outcome

70. Wayne-Westland Process and
Progress Monitoring Examples:
Collaboration using “Data Walls”

71. Wayne-Westland Process and
Progress Monitoring Examples
Collaboration using “Data Walls”

72. More Examples from Wayne-Westland
Collaboration using “Data Walls”

73. Collaboration using “Data Walls”
meets the PLC Process at Wayne-
Westland

74. Where do you Need to Go?
74
How are You
Going to Get
there?

75. Coherent Curricular
Programs
• How will you harness the
power of coherent
curricular programs in your
school renewal work?
• How will you use the seven
dimensions in a systems
approach to school
renewal?
75

76. Final Thought
76