The Power of Curriculum

Jim Riedl
Jul 21, 2008

Why is there such a demand for new curriculum development? After all we have been creating and revising curriculum for decades in schools. It is not the development that is critical but what is developed and how it is used after it is completed.

One of the biggest problems is the fact that we take far too long to get the job done. Teachers are asked to create a diary of everything they teach for a year before they start to think about what they should be teaching to make sure all students are receiving the content that will have the greatest impact on learning and achievement. This is a waste of time if we are really interested in changing the results we are getting in schools. The other problem with this approach is the fact that once all this time and energy have been expended most teachers are unwilling to make significant changes. They have invested too much into the work and believe they are doing what is needed.

Another problem with many curriculum development projects is their lack of a direct connection to both state standards and to the content being tested on state tests. Such projects are often dictated by textbooks or purchased programs that do not align tightly enough to standards and test to assure the right priorities are addressed.  The only way to make sure this happens is to start with the state standards and the objectives being tested on the state tests to determine the priorities that must be considered in classroom instruction. While it is true that state standards contain far too much content to be taught there must be a formal process for selecting the content that receives the majority of the instructional time.

It is not impossible to overcome these problems if we are willing to take a very different approach to standards based curriculum development. This approach begins with a thorough examination of the most critical objectives contained in the standards and the frequency of their being tested on the high stakes tests used in all states. We cannot ignore the tests if we want to give all students the opportunity to be successful. There is no room for the protests of "We shouldn't teach to the tests." If we do not consider the tests, to what should we teach? For too long teachers have made decisions about what they test based on personal likes and dislikes or outdated beliefs of what was important when they attended school.

The next important step in this approach involves having each grade level discuss their priorities with the grade level above and below their own. This allows for the discovery of gaps and redundancies that can be resolved early in the process. This step also allows teachers to have the valuable time, often denied, to converse about student learning rather than being caught up in the day to day focus on activities.

Once the priorities have been established the teachers need to cluster the objectives into manageable chunks of student learning. This can be done by establishing topics that contain objectives that are taught and learned within the same block of time. This time block is generally 2 to 3 weeks in length but is not limited to that amount of time. At the same time teachers are asked to identify key concepts within each of the topics in order to focus the instruction and activities within each. These concepts are found within the objectives and the knowledge, skills and understandings that represent exactly what students need to be successful in their learning. The development of lesson essential questions and the addition of key vocabulary within each concept further focus the student learning.

Next teachers will add instructional tools that might help someone else to deliver the content represented by the topics. These tools are no more than a suggestion to other teachers if they choose to use them, not something they must use.

All these steps represent the content we expect students to learn as a part of a prioritized and mapped curriculum. In order to make sure the sequence makes sense there is a tool for mapping the order of the topics and assigning a length of time for each topic. Some refer to this map as a pacing chart.

Remember curriculum represents what we want students to learn not how it should be taught. Once the curriculum is established the resources are then selected to support what should be learned. This allows textbooks, programs, simulations, etc. to be used in the best ways possible to strengthen student learning.

The Learning-Focused Toolbox provides an on-line tool to develop  a Power Curriculum based on the process detailed above. Such a curriculum can be developed in two - three days. For more information contact info@LEARNINGFOCUSED.com.