# data[].attributes.body
- What are you doing in your building to make improvements to your curriculum?
- How are you implementing 21st-Century learning in your classroom or school?
- Does your school/grade use pacing guides? Is yours for one subject or all? Are they used by all?

# data[].attributes.body
Beyond the reality of having the actual technological devices and systems in public schools, educational leaders should be aware of a new educational culture and responsibility that comes with 21st-Century learning and schools. Twenty-first-century learning is about helping young learners be adaptable and literate in the cultural, societal, and technological aspects of their world.

# data[].attributes.body
Cultural building requires school leaders to give attention to informal, subtle, and multicultural aspects of school life. These social and cultural aspects of school tend to shape the beliefs and actions of each employee and each student. Changing school culture into a healthy culture inspires learning at all levels.

# data[].attributes.body
A key to improving programs of studies is the development of quality professional development protocols:
1. Sustained professional learning
2. Job-embedded professional learning
3. Collegial professional learning
4. Interactive professional learning
5. Integrative professional learning
6. Practical professional learning
7. Results-oriented professional learning

# data[].attributes.body
The five major issues that might be considered are the following:
1. Goal-curriculum alignment: To what extent does the program of studies reflect and respond to the school district's goals?
2. Curriculum correlation: To what extent do learning experiences in the various subjects correlate with one another at a given grade level?
3. Resource allocation: To what extent does the district's allocation of resources to the program of studies reflect district priorities and provide for equity of opportunity?
4. Learner needs: To what extent does the program of studies respond to present and future needs of the students?
5. Constituent satisfaction: To what extent are teachers, students, and parents satisfied with the program of studies?

# data[].attributes.body
The first step is to develop the program of studies assessment agenda. District administrators, school administrators, key faculty members, and parent leaders should meet to discuss these issues:
-How often should program assessment be undertaken?
-Which program-assessment issues should be addressed?
-What levels of schooling should be examined?
-What resources are available?

# data[].attributes.body
Areas with students showing the most improvement in student achievement include the following:
- Technology assisted instruction
- Integrated learning system technology
- Software that teaches higher order thinking
- Collaborative networked technologies
- Design and programming technologies

# data[].attributes.body
A pacing guide is a standardized format for long-range planning that groups learning objectives into units, allocates time to each unit, and sequences units on a calendar. Pacing guides provide a plan to teach the relevant curriculum before administering state-mandated assessments. Authentic pacing guides are imperative. Through this collaborative, team-oriented approach, teachers and administrators can partner to regain control of student success and tailored education.

# data[].attributes.body
A model CDT is often made up of about six members who are highly interested in helping schools improve curricular programs. A district administrator and/or building principal selects and leads the team. Members selected should be creative, innovative, contemporary, and visionary. A major purpose of the CDT is to provide briefings on the status of curriculum within the district. An early goal of any curriculum team is to visit selected schools, interview teachers and students, and review materials. After data has been collected and analyzed by the CDT, the role of the committee is to select specific topics or subtopics for which curriculum materials and accompanying units in the teacher's guide can be developed or enhanced. Topics to be covered might include examples of other school curricula, contemporary approaches to knowledge development, new approaches to curriculum design and development, evaluation and assessment, and educational leadership, as well as hands-on training in computers and Internet use and new technologies for classrooms. The process for developing a draft of curricular materials and a teacher's guide is primarily the responsibility of the committee.

# data[].attributes.body
Low-performing schools, many with students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and little prior experience, are facing challenged in making school-improvement changes as mandated by both state and federal programs. Educators are confronting serious problems such as low salaries, uncomfortable or unsuitable classroom conditions, lack of books, apathetic teachers, and disinterested students. In these situations cooperation of state and local agencies are a must. Also imperative is the development of some type of specialized district curriculum team that is dedicated to combining the best of the school's current curriculum with enhancements based on modern approaches to knowledge development, curriculum design, and teacher education. The formation of a curriculum- development team (CDT) is an example of how some school district are helping improve the program of studies.

# data[].attributes.body
A key to improving programs of studies is to prepare students to live in an increasingly interconnected global society. From this perspective, Ferrero shared that we need to recognize the three broad purposes of schooling: personal, economical, and civic. As part of reimagining education, improving programs of study will therefore require more than simply having good ideas. According to Hatch, educators must focus on developing technical, human, and social capital both inside and outside schools. Schools must create the conditions for individuals, groups, and organizations to adapt, innovate, and improve all the time.

# data[].attributes.body
As educators design and implement curriculum aligned to new standards and assessments, they can focus and organize their programs of instruction toward the goal of preparing more students for college and careers. With this new move toward career development and college, digital assessments and mobile learning continue to help lay out a new road map for major ideas, concepts, knowledge, and skills. This process is allowing current school leaders to redesign curriculum and instruction in ways that fully engage students at all levels.

# data[].attributes.body
Interdisciplinary courses are courses of study that either integrate content from two or more disciplines or ignore the disciplines totally when organizing learning experiences. At the elementary level, while not concerned with "humanities courses," innovative teachers have always developed interdisciplinary units that draw from such subject areas as language arts, social studies, science, and art. Course or units that ignore or transcend the disciplines are almost always thematically structured. Theses courses of both types can be offered either as a substitute for the standard required courses or as enrichment electives.

# data[].attributes.body
A key to school success is to strengthen and quicken efforts to improve the program of studies and help all students engage deeply in productive learning. With the current shift in focusing on state standards, an increase in governmental regulations continues to remain a key issue for curriculum planners. The problem is not mainly on the standards themselves. The primary issue remains on how to best plan, as well as how best to implement the standards.