A Guide to Curriculum
Development: Purposes, Practices, Procedures
STEFAN PRYOR
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction
Connecticut State Department of Education
165 Capitol Avenue
P.O. Box 2219
Hartford, CT 06145
Telephone: (860) 713-6740
Fax: (860) 713-7018
Connecticut State Department of Education
165 Capitol Avenue
P.O. Box 2219
Hartford, CT 06145
Telephone: (860) 713-6740
Fax: (860) 713-7018
The purpose of this guide is to provide some general instructions to
school districts as staff begin to develop or revise their curriculum
guides. This document provides an
overview of the curriculum development process and suggests a series of steps
to follow in creating curriculum documents.
Currently, the State Department of Education has comprehensive program
development guides in Mathematics, Physical Education and World Languages located
at the curriculum web site.
Overview
A curriculum guide is a structured document that delineates
the philosophy, goals, objectives, learning experiences, instructional
resources and assessments that comprise a specific educational program. Additionally, it represents an articulation
of what students should know and be able to do and supports teachers in knowing
how to achieve these goals.
Accordingly, an exemplary guide is a tool that assists in
planning and implementing a high quality instructional program. It:
- establishes a clear philosophy and set of overarching goals that guide the entire program and the decisions that affect each aspect of the program;
- establishes sequences both within and between levels and assures a coherent and articulated progression from grade to grade;
- outlines a basic framework for what to do, how to do it, when to do it and how to know if it has been achieved;
- allows for flexibility and encourages experimentation and innovation within an overall structure;
- promotes interdisciplinary approaches and the integration of curricula when appropriate;
- suggests methods of assessing the achievement of the program's goals and objectives;
- provides a means for its own ongoing revision and improvement; and
- provides direction for procurement of human, material and fiscal resources to implement the program.
The formulation of such a school or district curriculum
guide should not be viewed as the culmination of the curriculum development
process, but rather as an essential step in the process of ongoing curriculum
development and implementation. Thus, no
guide will be perfect. No guide will ever be a finished product cast in
stone. No guide will be free from
criticism. However, to be effective, a
guide must earn acceptance by teachers and must be deemed educationally valid
by parents and the community at large.
This acceptance will be far easier to attain when the curriculum guide
is:
- consistent with what is known about child growth and development;
- compatible with the general philosophy of the school system;
- based upon clear convictions about teaching and learning;
- representative of instructional activities to meet the needs of students with varying abilities and needs;
- articulated from kindergarten through grade 12;
- easy to use by all educators;
- filled with samples, examples, and suggested resources;
- developed collaboratively by a broadly-based committee of teachers and other interested stakeholders; and
- linked to teacher evaluation goals and professional development.
The Curriculum Development Process
The development of an effective curriculum guide is a
multi-step, ongoing and cyclical process.
The process progresses from evaluating the existing program, to
designing an improved program, to implementing a new program and back to
evaluating the revised program.
Many school districts carry out this process in a planned
and systematic manner that includes the eleven components listed in Figure
1-1. Each of these components is
addressed in the sections that follow.
Figure 1-1
Components of an Effective Curriculum Development Process
A. Planning:
1. Convening a Curriculum Development
Committee
2.
Identifying Key Issues and
Trends in the Specific Content Area
3. Assessing
Needs and Issues
B. Articulating
and Developing:
4. Articulating a K-12 Program
Philosophy
5. Defining K-12 Program, Grade-Level
and Course Goals
6. Developing and Sequencing of
Grade-Level and Course Objectives
7. Identifying Resource Materials to
Assist with Program Implementation
8. Developing and/or Identifying
Assessment Items and Instruments to Measure
Student Progress
C. Implementing:
9.
Putting the New Program into
Practice
D. Evaluating:
10. Updating the Program
11. Determining the Success of the Program
A. Planning
1.
Convening a Curriculum Development
Committee. Such a committee,
consisting primarily of teachers who represent the various schools and grade
levels in a district, administrators, members of the public and perhaps
students, becomes the driving force for curriculum change and the long-term
process of implementing the curriculum.
It is critical that an effective, knowledgeable and respected
chairperson lead such a committee and it includes knowledgeable and committed
members who gradually become the district's de facto “experts” during the
development phases of the process as well as the implementation phases.
2.
Identifying Key Issues and Trends in the
Specific Content Area. The first
step in any curriculum development process involves research that reviews
recent issues and trends of the discipline, both within the district and across
the nation. This research allows a
curriculum committee to identify key issues and trends that will support the
needs assessment that should be conducted and the philosophy that should be
developed.
Research often begins with a committee's reading and
discussing timely, seminal and content specific reports from curriculum
associations. Committee members should
examine what is currently being taught in the curriculum. They should examine state and national
standards in the discipline. Committee
members should also be provided with recent district CMT and CAPT results and
be familiar with the instructional materials and assessments in use throughout
the program. In addition, the committee
should become familiar with newly available instructional materials –
particularly those that may eventually be adopted to help implement the new
curriculum. Committee members should
also broaden their perspective and gather information by visiting other school
systems that are recognized leaders in education.
As a result of this process, committee members are
likely to identify many of the following issues and trends that will need to be
addressed as the curriculum development process moves forward:
·
meeting the needs of all students;
·
learning theory and other cognitive psychology
findings on how students learn;
·
what determines developmental readiness or
developmental appropriateness;
·
the current expectations of the field;
·
the knowledge of and readiness for change on the
part of teachers;
·
the availability of resources;
·
the role and availability of information and
technology resources;
·
scheduling issues;
·
methods and purposes of assessments; and
·
professional development.
3.
Assessing Need and Issues. Curriculum development should be viewed
as a process by which meeting student needs leads to improvement of student
learning. Regardless of the theory or
model followed, curriculum developers should gather as much information as
possible. This information should
include the desired outcomes or expectations of a high quality program, the
role of assessment, the current status of student achievement and actual
program content. The information should
also consider the concerns and attitudes of teachers, administrators, parents
and students. The data should include
samples of assessments, lessons from teachers, assignments, scores on state
standardized tests, textbooks currently used, student perception and feedback
from parents.
Armed with a common set of understandings that arise
from the identification of issues and trends, a curriculum development
committee is wise to conduct a needs assessment to best ascertain the
perceptions, concerns and desires of each of the stakeholders in the
process. By examining this data
carefully, it may reveal key issues that should influence the curriculum
design. For example:
·
teachers may be dissatisfied with older content
and techniques in light of recent research;
·
test scores may be declining or lower than
expected in some or all areas;
·
teachers may not have materials or may not know
how to use materials to enhance understandings;
·
teachers may want to make far greater use of
technology to enhance learning;
·
teachers and others may wish to relate the
content of the program more closely to contemporary problems and issues;
·
teachers may be looking for ways to increase the
amount of interdisciplinary work in which students are engaged;
·
students may express a need for different and
enriched curricular opportunities;
·
parents and others may have concerns about
implementation.
Whatever the particular
circumstances, an effective curriculum development process usually entails a
structured needs assessment to gather information and guide the curriculum
development process.
The information, commonly gathered
through surveys, structured discussions and test data, most frequently
includes:
·
teacher analysis of the present curriculum to
identify strengths, weaknesses, omissions and/or problems;
·
sample lessons that illustrate curriculum
implementation;
·
sample assessments that illustrate the
implementation of the curriculum;
·
identification of what teachers at each grade
level perceive to be the most serious issues within the curriculum;
·
a detailed analysis of state and local test
data, including CMT and CAPT scores, grade-level criterion-referenced test data
and course final examination results;
·
suggestions for change and improvement generated
by meetings with teachers, guidance counselors and administrators; and
·
parent and other community members concerns and
expectations for the program obtained through surveys and invitational
meetings.
An excellent resource for
conducting a needs assessment may be found in various publications of the
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (www.ascd.org) and discipline specific
professional organizations.
The data collected from the needs
assessment in conjunction with information obtained from research and various
resources become the basis upon which the entire written curriculum - from
philosophy to goals to assessment – is then built.
B. Articulating and Developing
4.
Articulating a K-12 Program Philosophy. These fundamental questions guide the
overarching philosophy of the program.
²
"Why learn (specific
discipline)?"
²
"Upon what guiding principles is our
program built?"
²
"What are our core beliefs about
teaching and learning in (specific discipline)?"
²
“What are the essential questions?”
²
“How will we use assessment to improve the
program and student learning?”
As such, the program philosophy provides a unifying
framework that justifies and gives direction to discipline based instruction.
After having studied curriculum trends and assessed
the current program, curriculum developers should be ready to construct a draft
philosophy guiding the K-12 program.
Such a philosophy or set of beliefs should be more than just "what
we think should be happening," but rather "what our curriculum is
actually striving to reflect."
Figure
1-2 provides a checklist for evaluating program philosophy statements.
Figure 1-2
An effective philosophy statement has the
following characteristics:
A. Accuracy
-
The philosophy represents claims that are supportable.
- The philosophy states an
educationally appropriate case for the
role of
(specific discipline) in the K-12 curriculum and its
importance in the education for all
students.
B.
Linkages
-
The program philosophy is consistent
with the district's
philosophy of education.
-
The philosophy provides a sound foundation for program goals
and objectives.
-
The district's teachers are sincerely committed to each belief
outlined in the philosophy.
C.
Breadth and Depth
-
The philosophy is aligned with sound pedagogical practices.
-
The philosophy provides a clear and compelling justification for
the program.
D.
Usefulness
-
The philosophy is written in language that is clear and can be
understood by parents and other
non-educators.
5.
Defining K-12 Program, Grade-Level and Course
Goals. The purpose of the K-12
program philosophy is to describe the fundamental beliefs and inform the
process of instruction. The curriculum
guide delineates K-12 program goals as well as grade-level and course goals
that address the key cognitive and affective content expectations for the
program.
An effective set of program goals has the following characteristics:
·
Each goal is broadly conceived, to provide
for continuous growth K-12 and into adult life.
·
Each goal grows logically out of the
philosophy of the specific discipline and the linkage is clear.
·
Each goal grows out of a district goal and
the linkage is clear.
·
The goals are comprehensive enough to provide
the basis for a quality K-12 program for all learners at all places on the
learning continuum.
·
The goals include each of the outcomes
suggested by the philosophy.
·
Each goal is realistic.
·
There is a manageable number of goals
(usually between 4-8).
·
Each goal lends itself to developing one or
more objectives.
6.
Developing and Sequencing of Grade-Level and
Course Objectives. If the philosophy
and goals of a curriculum represent the guiding principles of the curriculum,
then the grade-level and course objectives represent the core of the
curriculum. The specific grade-level and
course objectives include clear expectations for what each learner is expected
to know and be able to do and how it will be measured.
The committee should consider several key questions
to identify, select, write and sequence objectives:
·
Is the objective measurable and how will it be
measured?
·
Is the objective sufficiently specific to give
the reader a clear understanding of what the student should be able to do,
without being so detailed as to make the statement labored or the objective
trivial?
·
Is the objective compatible with the goals and
philosophy of the program and the real and emerging needs of students?
·
Is the objective realistic and attainable by
students?
·
Are appropriate materials and other resources
available to make the objective achievable?
As objectives are selected and written, they should
be organized in an orderly fashion. This
order can be achieved in numerous ways: by grade, by strands, in units, in
sequential levels of instruction, through essential questions or through some
combination of these. Decisions about
the organization of a curriculum guide should be made carefully and reflect the
overarching philosophy of the program and the preferences of the teachers who
are to use the guide.
·
A graded structure organizes objectives
by the grade in which a student is enrolled and is the most commonly used
structure.
·
An organization by units groups
objectives by main topics. Units may or
may not be of differing difficulty and may be large or small, sequential or non
sequential. A unit organization is most
commonly used for middle or high school courses.
·
A strand organization places all of the
objectives for a specific topic or strand together in a sequential order,
without regard to specific grade. Such
an organization lends itself to individual instruction and continuous progress
within a strand.
·
A sequential organization outlines
objectives in a continuous chain without regard for grade level or strand, and
allows for individual student progress along a continuum of skills and
experiences.
·
An organization by big ideas or essential
questions centers the curriculum on enduring understandings. This method develops assessments and
determines criteria of acceptable performance related to the essential
questions.
Often, an effective guide
will incorporate more than one format.
For example, a common arrangement lists objectives grouped by strand
within each grade level. In this manner
the third grade teacher is provided with a complete listing of the third grade
objectives organized by strand or major topic.
However, it is important for this teacher to have access to the second
grade objectives containing skills that may have been introduced, but not
taught for mastery, as well as forthcoming fourth grade objectives. This information is often provided in a scope
and sequence listing by strand that would place a specific third grade
objective, for example, in the context of the entire K-8 strand. Thus, one of the most important roles of
grade-level and course objectives is assuring smooth transitions and curricular
coordination among levels, particularly between elementary schools and middle
schools, and between middle schools and high schools.
In addition to the delineation
and sequencing of content through objectives, many curriculum guides provide
additional information to help teachers more effectively implement the
curriculum. For example, some curriculum
guides:
·
provide an example of what is meant by each
objective;
·
suggest instructional techniques and strategies
for teaching specific objectives;
·
suggest appropriate instructional materials that
support instruction of specific objectives;
·
provide examples of how to differentiate
instruction and modify curriculum materials to meet the needs of high
performing and/or highly interested students;
·
provide information on how the objectives can be
evaluated; and
·
suggest interdisciplinary links, such as
literature connections.
Accordingly, curriculum
developers have a range of options for formatting and designing an effective
curriculum guide.
7.
Identifying Resource Materials to Assist with
Program Implementation. An effective
curriculum guide goes beyond a listing of objectives and identifies suggested
instructional resources to help answer the question, “What instructional
materials are available to help me meet a particular objective or set of
objectives?” As teachers and programs
move away from a single textbook approach and employ a broad range of
supplementary materials, instructional modules for particular units, computer
software and the like, it is increasingly important that the curriculum guide
suggests and links available resources to curriculum objectives.
8.
Developing and/or Identifying Assessment Items
and Instruments to Measure Student Progress.
In many cases, a set of grade-level criterion-referenced tests,
performance based tasks and course final examinations that answer concretely
the question, "How will I know that my students know and are able to do what
is expected of them?" holds an entire curriculum together. This piece of the curriculum development
process helps to focus instruction and ensures the often elusive, but critical,
alignment of curriculum, instruction and assessment. Essentially the assessment piece of a
curriculum is what drives curriculum.
The assessments measure not only student progress, but also the
effectiveness of the goals and objectives of the curriculum in meeting student
needs.
Common grade-level, course criterion-referenced
assessments and performance-based assessments should be created along with the
curriculum and become part of the curriculum guide itself. The assessments should include clear
performance expectations and a rubric that clearly defines the expectations for
students and teachers alike. They help
to clarify exactly what the grade or course objectives mean and provide a
common standard for evaluating how successfully they are achieved.
C. Implementing
9.
Putting the New Program into Practice. Too often, traditional practice entails
sending a committee away for several after-school meetings and two weeks of
summer writing as prelude to a back-to-school unveiling and distribution of the
updated or revised curriculum. The
process envisioned here entails a much more in-depth and systematic approach to
both development and implementation.
Instead of assuming that the process ends with the publication of a new
guide, an effective curriculum committee continues to oversee the
implementation, updating and evaluation of the curriculum.
It is important to remember that
any innovation introduced into a system - including a new curriculum – requires
time and support to be fully implemented.
First, teachers need time and opportunities to become aware of
the new curriculum and its overall design, particularly how it differs from the
past. Then teachers need time and
opportunities to become familiar with the new curriculum - often school
or grade level sessions that focus on those specific parts of the curriculum
for which individuals are responsible.
Next, teachers need at least two years to pilot the new
curriculum and new materials in their classrooms. It is not unusual for this period to take up
to two years before the new curriculum is fully implemented and comfortably
integrated into day-to-day practice. It
is critical that the curriculum development committee, resource teachers and
principals are aware of this process and are available to nurture it.
D. Evaluating
10.
Updating the New Program. In this age of word processing and
loose-leaf bound curriculum guides, it is easier than ever to update the guides
and keep them as living, changing documents.
One of the most common methods of periodically updating a curriculum
guide is through grade-level meetings designed to share materials, activities,
units, assessments and even student work that support the achievement of the
curriculum goals that were unknown or unavailable when the guide was first
developed. These approaches are
invaluable professional development opportunities wherein teachers assume
ownership of the curriculum they are responsible for implementing. In this way, the guide becomes a growing
resource for more effective program implementation. Resource teachers are particularly effective
vehicles for the preparation and distribution of these updates.
11.
Determining the Success of the New Program. The curriculum development cycle ends and
then begins again with a careful evaluation of the effectiveness and impact of
the program. Using surveys, focused
discussions and meetings like those described in section 3, a curriculum
development committee needs to periodically gather data on perceptions of
program strengths, weaknesses, needs, preferences for textbooks and other
materials, and topics or objectives that do not seem to be working
effectively. This information should be
gathered from data that represents overall student performance that is linked
closely to daily instruction. Teams of
teachers responsible for the specific discipline could accomplish this by
sharing samples of assessments, performance tasks, student work, lessons and
instructional practices related to the curricula.
The data from these surveys and meetings must then
be combined with a careful analysis of more numerical data on the program such
as:
·
ongoing grade-level and course
criterion-referenced exam data;
·
teacher developed assessments, performance
assessments, student portfolios;
·
CMT results (overall, over time and by
objective);
·
CAPT results (overall, over time and by objective);
·
course enrollments (particularly by level in
middle and high schools); and
·
SAT and AP results.
This detailed review and analysis of quantitative
and qualitative information on the program's impact and on people's perceptions
of its strengths and weaknesses forms the foundation for the next round of
curriculum development and improvement.
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