According to the Medford School District 549C, an instructional coach is defined as a teacher who has both content and instructional expertise particularly in reading, writing, and/or math. The Instructional Coach focuses on enhancing teacher ability to provide instruction that (1) builds student understanding and skills, (2) is academically rigorous, (3) addresses the curriculum standards and frameworks, and (4) enhances student sense of engagement in and ownership of learning (Medford 2008). When deciding an interview candidate, I chose our instructional coach because of the intricate part they play in the development and implementation of the curriculum at the school level. During our interview, I posed several questions to cognize her viewpoint of the role of stakeholders in local curriculum development as well as its execution. These premeditated questions were asked to guide her thinking as she reflect upon curriculum development. The nine questions and subsequent responses are as follows: 1. What is the definition of the term curriculum? “The outline of what should be taught within an allotted amount of time.” 2. How curriculum is developed in our school? “Our curriculum is based on Common Core Standards (Math and Reading) and GPS (Science and Social Studies). Teachers incorporate differentiated activities based on what is expected in the curriculum and the results of test data.” 3. What input was provided by the stakeholder in the development of our curriculum? “No
The word curriculum can mean something different to different people, even to different teachers who use the term almost daily (Manning & Butcher, 2012). However, it boils down to curriculum being what a student learns, both in terms of core subject content, as well as though social activity and elective/activity courses. However, there has often been a disconnect between different states and districts over what exactly should be in the curriculum for various grades and what is needed to prepare students for life beyond school, as well as providing little basis for comparing the US to other countries. That’s where Common Core State Standards (CCSS) come in. According to Teaching in the Middle School (2012), the Common Core standards were created in an attempt to provide curriculum standards that are “rigorous, internationally benchmarked, and aligned with college and work expectations”. Since its implementation in 2009, 42 US states and the District of Columbia have integrated the standards into their curriculums. (Core Standards, 2015)
Ms. Avery, the principal instituted specific curriculum goals and objectives that aligned with the school district. She organized a team of parents and teachers who was in charge of developing new
Curriculum is a slippery term with different definitions. According to van den Akker (2004), curriculum is a Latin word which means a course or a track that have to follow. It is referred as the central learning activity and the plan for learning.
The origins of the word curriculum date back to ancient times and in fact the work comes from the Latin word of currere: a course or race or to run (Smith, 1996,2000). Over many decades, people have argued over the various definitions. Tanner (1980) defined it as “the planned and guided learning experiences and intended outcomes”, whilst Pratt (1980) defined it as a written document describing goals planned, objectives, content and evaluation. So s it a course of study? Or can it be defined as content or a product( Marsh, 2008). Marsh (2008) goes on to include that at a variety of learning sites are a set of objectives for student learning. We can also relate this to Tyler’s objective curriculum model being that the first step to curriculum is always to set the objective. The Model of Taba from 1962, is the same model at Tyler’s but includes interaction and flow between all four stages, so we do not always need the objective before we start writing the content to the curriculum.
Ralph Tyler (1957) describes curriculum as “. . . all the learning experiences planned and directed by the school to attain its educational goals (Glatthorn, 2011, p.3). Going by this definition, one can regard curricula as encompassing what is taught in the classroom, as well as
Curriculum, as stated by Glickman (2014) “is the what of instruction”. Additionally, Ornstein and Hunkins, (as cited by Glickman, Gordon and Ross-Gordon, 2014) have listed the elements of the curriculum and they “are sequence and continuity, scope and balance”. The mastery with which a teacher can incorporate the elements of the curriculum in instruction is categorized by levels. The levels of teacher involvement in curriculum implementation are described and exemplfied
For Curriculum it does not matter the religion or the nationality, children are educated into particular modes which can make sense of their experiences and the environment around them, and also into a set of behavioral expectations, skills and knowledge, which the society requires for its future.
There are many approaches that can be taken in order to develop a school’s curriculum, or the material that the students will learn. If there were no federal regulation of curriculum, then it would not be possible to compare student achievement across districts or even states. The federal program, Common Core State Standards, assists in equaling education across the nation. The Common Core has reinvented the perception of student learning which, in turn, has caused American education to become a corporate institution. As a result, there has been a threat to states’ rights for education as more rigorous content has been implemented into classrooms by the government, which ultimately changes the role of the teacher.
The following information was gathered during a discussion with Dr. Clayton Mork from the Crescent School District. He shared his personal view of the role of an instructional leader. Also his view of how instructional leadership practices relate to student achievement. Dr. Mork shared two instructional leadership actions and outcomes he implemented at Crescent School District related to student achievement. Dr. Mork also explained his philosophy of curriculum development regarding involvement of teaching staff.
Brady and Kennedy (2010) define the term curriculum as ‘the means by which young people and adults gain the essential knowledge, skills and attributes they need to be productive and informed citizens in a democratic society.’ However the term has many varied definitions, it can be described as being the subject matter, the overall plan for teaching or the outcome of what is taught (Wiles, 2005). Marsh and Willis (cited in Marsh, 2009, p. 3) break curriculum down into three individual areas of ‘planned curriculum’, the objectives and aims, ‘enacted curriculum’, how the objectives are
Common Core State Standards, or Common Core for short, has been making headlines in 2014. Not a curriculum, Common Core is a set of standards defining the skills in which students from kindergarten through 12th grade need to have each year in order to be prepared for the next grade. Creating these national academic standards was a state-led initiative that included a coalition of educators and governors. Administrators, educators and parents participated in the developement of the actual standards. Here's a look at how Common Core evolved.
Some advocates of Common Core insist that Common Core is “not a curriculum” and that it will promulgate “an academic curriculum based on great works of Western civilization and the American republic.” But the standards are being used to write the tables of contents for all the textbooks used in K-12 math and English classes. This may not technically constitute a curriculum, but it certainly defines what children will be taught, especially when they and their teachers will be judged by performance on national tests that are aligned with these standards.
Establishing a culture of where individuals think deeply about their work is a hallmark of a 21st Century school district. A crucial role the Director of Curriculum and Instruction is fostering an organizational climate where stakeholders are imbued with a sense of agency. The Director of Curriculum and Instruction needs to interact with educators, students and parents on a personal level to engage individuals in reflective conversation about current practice and to brainstorm
In the surprisingly positive aftermath of a recent interview with Scott Munro and a plethora of Elementary principals I was encouraged to present a proposal to you with regard to ways in which I may be able to offer my support as our district moves toward digital personalized learnings.
According to Blaise and Nuttall (2011), to understand curriculum, we must first understand what is meant by the term curriculum. Within curriculum there are five key concepts, they are the intended curriculum The Intended curriculum is the curriculum that the teachers want the children to experience in order to develop particular knowledge, skills, and attitudes. (Blaise & Nuttall, 2011, p. 82). The enacted curriculum is what teachers want students to experience. important reason why the intended curriculum is enacted differently from teacher to teacher, from classroom to classroom, is that a key part of a teachers work is to interpret the official curriculum, taking into account a wide range of variables that are specific to their classroom and school setting.