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Introduction - Curriculum Review Process

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Introduction - Curriculum Review Process

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Without data, all we have is an opinion.  It is often easy to choose the "flashiest" curriculum option or the one with which we have the most experience.  We always want to offer our students fun engaging activities and that is often our focus when choosing curriculum.  However, using data is essential to support claims with evidence and choosing a curriculum should always rely on data.  Working with a team to identify selection criteria in line with the agreed upon mission and vision will allow teams to make careful decisions that best serve our students. Review tools that provide rubrics allow teams to consider every angle when determining the best fit for students.  Data gathered allows teams to objectively choose the best curriculum.

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Jennifer Hathaway - Curriculum Inventory Review

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Equity

When teachers are provided with high-quality materials and aligned professional learning, this increases the opportunity for all students to learn and grow.

Indicator - Specific item that reviewers look for in materials.

Criterion - Combination of all of the individual indicators for a single focus area.

Gateway - Organizing feature of the evaluation rubric that combines criteria and prioritizes order for sequential review

Alignment Rating - Degree to which materials meet expectations for alignment, including that all standards are present and treated with the appropriate depth to support students in learning the skills and knowledge that they need to be ready for college and career

Usability - Degree to which materials are consistent with effective practices for use and design, teacher planning and learning, assessment, and differentiated instruction.

Key term definitions taken from:  https://edreports.org/process/review-toolshttps://edreports.org/process/review-tools

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As of May 2023, EdReports and the Center for Assessment (CfA) officially paused efforts to review commercial interim assessment products due to a lack of publisher participation. However, we hope that by sharing what we've learned on our extensive journey, and the tools we have created, educators can exercise their purchasing power to press the assessment market for greater transparency and quality. Students are counting on us-they deserve evidence-based support to help them learn and grow. Learn more here.
Interim Assessment Review Criteria
The interim assessment review criteria supports a sequential review process that reflect the importance of alignment to college and career-ready standards, evidence of publisher claims on design elements, and utility of the results to support teachers in appropriate ways. The criteria considers other high-quality attributes of assessments as recommended by educators and assessment experts.

The review process for assessments should be based on the uses publishers indicate their tests were designed to serve. The evaluation process includes three gateways, with each stage including specific criteria as follows:

Unlike EdReports' curriculum review tools, the interim assessment tools differ in a few significant ways should districts decide to use them for a review process:

Gateways are not designed to be sequential. Rather, reviews should be done using all gateways. The criteria used in gateways 2 and 3 would depend on the intended design of assessment products.

Scores for indicators roll up to criteria scores, but criteria scores do not roll up to gateway scores. Given the difference in criteria in the gateways, and the difference in scoring depending on claims and assessment design, EdReports and CfA felt scoring was more helpful at the criteria level.

The design process is meant for both educators and assessment experts. Gateway 1 is predominantly designed for educator reviews, gateway 2 for assessment experts with deep research and technical knowledge, and gateway 3 for both educators and experts.

Interim Assessment Evidence Guide
The interim assessment evidence guides complement the review criteria by elaborating details for each indicator including the purpose of the indicator, information on how to collect evidence, guiding questions and discussion prompts, and scoring criteria. The guides are essential for fully understanding the review criteria and working with teams to calibrate and discuss assessment quality.
Interim Assessment Implementation Guide
The interim assessment implementation guide was designed for vendors to better understand how the review criteria and evidence guides would be used to evaluate assessments as well as to clarify the type of information that would be needed to conduct a review. This guide can help those interested in using these tools to frame their request for information from assessment providers to better understand the products they are considering.

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As of May 2023, EdReports and the Center for Assessment (CfA) officially paused efforts to review commercial interim assessment products due to a lack of publisher participation. However, we hope that by sharing what we've learned on our extensive journey, and the tools we have created, educators can exercise their purchasing power to press the assessment market for greater transparency and quality.

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Three Dimensional Learning (link)- Three dimensional learning encompasses cross cutting concepts, core ideas and engineering practices when designing units of instruction.

NGSS (link) - The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are K–12 science content standards. Standards set the expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The NGSS were developed by states to improve science education for all students.

A goal for developing the NGSS was to create a set of research-based, up-to-date K–12 science standards. These standards give local educators the flexibility to design classroom learning experiences that stimulate students’ interests in science and prepares them for college, careers, and citizenship.

Phenomena (link)- A remarkable person, thing, or event. (follow link for more information)

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Check out this Presentation designed by jhathaway.

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Starting with mission and vision will allow us to reflect and focus on ideals, values and goals most important to our school district.  With these ideals, values and goals in mind, it is possible to move together on a shared path with common understandings.

These common understandings will ground our work together and bring us back to our shared path if our work causes us to diverge.

Mission:  Provide a caring, supportive, and safe environment that assists students in finding their purpose while developing skills that will prepare and empower them for life in an ever-changing world.

Vision: Lead with a focus on the success of every student. Create an innovative community that provides diverse curricular programming and a variety of approaches that challenge and engage all students.

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Curriculum is the standards based content and plan for instruction. It is made up of the instructional resources, methods, and assessments needed to help students develop critical skills and knowledge.  Curriculum is an essential element that enables students to learn and thrive.

Teaching is improving student learning by planning instruction, assessing learning needs, planning content delivery through classroom experiences, assessing student learning, and evaluating the effectiveness of instruction.

Learning is the change in a person’s knowledge or behavior due to experience.

Assessment: Assessment is the collection, review, and use of information about educational programs & experiences for the purpose of improving student learning and development.

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Staff Presentation - Why start with mission & vision? 

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Staff Presentation - Why start with mission & vision? 

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A strong leader will explain the "why" behind all new initiatives, changes and practices implemented within a school district.  The beginning slides in the presentation linked above can be used to begin PD on any topic within a district.  A reminder of the school district mission and vision is a valuable starting point to ground work and help everyone join their strengths towards shared goals. Allowing each group member to voice their understandings and perspectives of the mission and vision will allow the group to pool perspectives into one shared voice to help guide all work.

When reviewing common curriculum understandings, it is imperative to choose tools, guides and resources that meld with and support the mission and vision.

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When beginning the curriculum review process it is essential to build a team that includes all relevant stakeholders to ensure equity.  The team must develop criteria to focus work and aid in selection of review tools most closely aligned with the group mission and vision.  The curriculum review process must focus on collection of objective data to closely compare all curriculum options.  The review process will take time and a plan should be put in place to ensure the committee members are able to carefully review each curriculum.

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Introduction - developing, fostering, maintaining teacher efficacy

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Introduction - developing, fostering, maintaining teacher efficacy

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Developing, fostering and sustaining teacher efficacy depends greatly on the school culture and climate.  It is important to gain a firm understanding of the school and community culture through surveys, one-on-one meetings, research, etc. before determining the best strategies to develop and foster teacher efficacy.  The most important piece to build teacher efficacy in all settings is to foster trusting relationships between all members of the school community. Ways in which trust and mutual respect can be established:

Model trust and respect as an administrator/leader

Develop staff led committees

Actively involve staff in faculty meetings

Emphasize the importance of banding together as a team to reach shared goals

Take a Lesson Study approach to building teacher collaborative relationships

I believe the most important item on this list is creating a climate of collaboration among teachers.   It takes a lot of work to re-frame our thinking about teaching and learning but it is a very powerful way to approach our jobs as educators.  Most schools/districts don’t have the time to implement the full Lesson Study cycle but simply understanding and embracing the ideals of lesson study can have a profound impact on school culture and teacher happiness/efficacy.

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School Culture
Freiberg and Stein (1999) describe school climate as “the heart and soul of the school,” the feeling that either encourages teachers and students to engage, love the school, and to want to be a part of it, or to reject the school and disengage from it. It is the outcome of the school’s norms and values, the way in which people at the school relate to and interact with one another, and the way systems and policies manifest.

School Climate
Deal and Peterson (1998) define school culture as “norms, values, beliefs, traditions, and rituals built up over time.”

A school’s culture is always at work, either helping or hindering learning. It influences every decision and action in a school, from the leadership style of the principal to the way teachers choose curriculum materials and interact with students.

Collaboration
Collaboration means working with other individuals on a project, task, or idea. The goal of collaboration is to pool ideas and skillsets and achieve results that benefit the group. Communication, interpersonal skills, information sharing, and strategy are all necessary for successful workplace collaboration

Lesson Study (link)
Lesson Study is an inquiry cycle that supports teachers to experiment, observe and improve.

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Curriculum focused climate survey, obstacles and action plan

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Curriculum focused climate survey, obstacles and action plan

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Module 3, Curriculum Focused Climate Survey

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Introducing any new initiative, implementing a new curriculum, or forging a path in any new direction means working through obstacles. Obstacles can be sources of stress and huge time drains if the school culture and climate are not conducive to effective collaboration. Building systems that encourage collaboration, foster a tight knit community, and set expected routines make it possible to meet obstacles with a spirit of determination and creativity.

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Effectively sustaining curricular change is a monumental task when considering all of the potential speed bumps and road blocks within different phases of the process.  Creating systems and procedures that can be easily followed and picked up by new leaders is key.  The following are leadership skills I believe will aid any team of leaders in efficiently navigating all components of a curriculum renewal cycle.

A commitment to building strong partnerships with key stakeholders -  An important piece in any shared decision making process involves building partnerships with other committees, groups and individuals that can support your work.  Leaders who make these partnerships a priority and are creative when looking for partnerships, will have a much larger support system when needed throughout all stages of sustaining curricular changes.  In all leadership roles I have held, I have needed support from others and the larger my network, the more successful I could be.

Strong collaborative skills - building strong teams involving many stakeholders requires strong collaborative skills.  Collaboration isn't always easy with many different personalities and opinions but beginning by building trust between members is key.  leading with integrity, strong ethics and ability to take responsibility for mistakes will help to build this trust.  I also believe part of earning trust is showing resolve and determination by being decisive, delegating responsibility when necessary, and being results oriented.

Results Oriented - A results oriented approach helps to frame discussions, structure meetings, and focus on long term goals.  It's easy to get sidetracked or derailed in work that continues over a long time period.  Using benchmark data, monitoring feedback and being purpose driven helps all team members stay focused, positive and readjust quickly when needed to get work back on track.

Committed to continuous improvement - The leader and team must be committed to continuous improvement.  Improvement is always possible and maximizing outcomes requires a commitment to creating systems and practices that allow for reflection, feedback and growth during the process of sustaining curricular change.  Monitoring and evaluating the systems and practices requires that the leaders strive to be good listeners, make time for self reflection and lead with an open mind.

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Walk Through Observation/Tools (link)- Walk throughs are informal observations less than 30 minutes; these may be announced or unannounced. Informally Observe Often. The evaluator's presence in the classroom should send a positive message to teachers. Walk through tools are intended to help leaders provide feedback on practices associated with strengthening a teacher’s content knowledge as they shift to align with more rigorous standards and curriculum.

Benchmark Assessment (link) - Benchmark assessments are assessments administered periodically throughout the school year, at specifi ed times during a curriculum sequence, to evaluate students’ knowledge and skills relative to an explicit set of longer-term learning goals. The design and choice of benchmark assessments is driven by the purpose, intended users, and uses of the instruments. Benchmark assessment can inform policy, instructional planning, and decision-making at the classroom, school and/or district levels.

Artifact in project Management - In project management, a project artifact is a document designed to keep the project work aligned to project requirements and business goals. The PMBOK® Guide – 7th edition defines a project artifact as: “a template, document, output, or project deliverable.” (p. 153). Attributes of project artifacts include:

Created as part of overall project documentation

Tailored to specifics of the project

Linked to project management, not project deliverables

Created by the project manager and project team

Subject to change as project work progresses

Referred to as artifacts, documents, deliverables, and/or templates

Require formal updating

Artifacts in the classroom- Artifacts are a form of evidence that educators can use to tell the story of their classrooms and showcase their instructional practices.

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J. Hathaway Leadership Skills and Distributed Leadership

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J. Hathaway ED5030 Module 4 Smart Goal Template

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When considering the key leadership skills that are important in navigation curricular change I believe that I have grown the most in the importance I put on building strong partnerships and collaboration.  I strive to be self motivated, determined and independent but completing work independently without input and feedback from others often limits the success of the final outcome.  I've found that it sometimes takes longer to include many voices and ideas but the results are always a better reflection of the involved member's values, ideals and goals.  Active involvement from the group increases buy-in and builds trust.

Being results oriented and maintaining focus on the end goal is a strength for me but I find it sometimes creates a blind spot to the concerns and needs of others.  It's important to be results oriented to guide work and maintain progress but it's possible to do that and create a timeline that allows for needed diversions from the path or modifications to the original plan.

A commitment to continuous improvement is something that all educators should actively strive towards.  Standards are constantly changing, advancements in technology create constant changes in education, as individuals we grow throughout our career in our understanding of how our students learn best and new research provides many new opportunities for educators.  I believe that all educators are committed to continuous improvement but this is an area that I am concerned about as a future leader.  Many educators are very burned out by the need to constantly make changes and keep up with all that is recommended for educators. I have often felt myself resist the constant requests for me to make more changes before I feel confident in how I have adjusted to the last change.  I believe it takes careful management skills and consideration of what is most important when deciding how to commit to continuous improvement.

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This course has given me a clear understanding of the curriculum renewal process and more importantly, a new perspective from which to approach curriculum work. The organization of the course has provided a path to understand how to organize an action plan but also build in elements that create a culture of trust and collaboration to ensure an environment that fosters growth and helps team members achieve success. The work in this course was curriculum focused but I believe the same basic processes and ideals can be applied to many different topics in education.

I've worked with many different districts to implement the new NYS Science Learning Standards but have never looked at the schools' mission and vision statements before beginning work within these districts. Moving forward, my goal as a leader will be to focus first on laying the foundations with a clear mission and vision and then work to establish a strong team with well defined research based goals. With a strong foundation, clear plan, and invested leaders, any new initiative has the best chance of success.