Week+1+Discussion+5335

Curriculum is the set of learning objectives and required skills to be taught in a given course.  The purpose of curriculum is not only to guide teacher instruction and define student outcomes, but to also provide a cohesive framework across the district and state. Because Texas has state mandated TEKS and an accountability test (TAKS) to determine if those knowledge and skills are being taught and learned, courses are more consistent and equitable from classroom to classroom, school to school, and district to district across the entire state.  Curriculum can be best designed by teachers and facilitators who know the subject matter best. They can best decide what should be taught, how it should be taught (Best Practices), and what order it should be taught in. Districts should provide a scope and sequence for a course to follow and a general timeline to help guide teachers in providing consistent instruction. Once the curriculum is designed, teachers can use various resources to best reach their students depending on a school’s particular needs. For example, if a school has a high population of economically disadvantaged student, teachers should use strategies that have been proven to work best with those types of students and understand the types of students they are teaching. As long as teachers are meeting the criteria of the outlined learning objectives, they can use varying techniques and strategies that work best for their students.  When it comes to curriculum management, this should be done from the top down. Principals should meet with each department as a whole initially to lay out expectations of teaching the curriculum. At our high school, each course makes up a collaborative team. Teachers teaching a specific course have conference times together and are expected to meet and coordinate what they are teaching. A team leader is appointed to conduct the meetings and report to the department head, who then reports to the principal. The team sets up team norms and SMART goals and establishes meeting times. An assistant principal or the principal can then attend a meeting periodically to monitor how the curriculum is being taught and to give feedback. The principals also conduct “snapshots”. They walk around the school and go into teachers’ classrooms and observe for a few minutes and collect data. They electronically record what they see at the time and then all the data is collected and feedback is given during department meetings. This system ensures accountability and support (especially for new teachers) across the entire school. Teachers aren’t just “doing their own thing”. They are constantly collaborating and synchronizing their efforts and being monitored. This is an effective way to manage the various curricula being offered at a high school. 
 * How do you define curriculum? **
 * What do you see as the purpose of curriculum? **
 * Given state requirements, how can curriculum best be designed and managed to reflect the goals of an individual school and the needs of its students? **