Curriculum Survey

From UConn

Curriculum Survey

In my new capacity as an instructional specialist for the Department of Curriculum Development, I have recently been tasked to work with my colleagues to develop a survey of questions for teachers and administrators, grades K-12, across our school division to get a sense of the state of our current curriculum. Our aim was to keep positive and look forward, rather than backward. Our plan was also to keep the survey under 10 minutes because we are hoping for some really substantive feedback, but also realize that September is not exactly the best time to ask teachers and administrators for 10 minutes!

Throughout the creation process, one question kept rolling around in my head: How would I answer this question, 3 weeks after leaving the classroom and the world of curriculum consumers rather than producers? I thought it only fair that I answer the questions myself.

1.       What is essential and timeless in your curriculum?

• Inquiry (scientific, mathematical, historical, etc.):  One will always need to inquire, no matter the time or context.
• Written and oral communication: Basic writing and speaking skills connect us all and help us to understand one another. This may evolve over time (for example, Skyping skills or blogging), but will always be a relevant part of the way we connect.

2.       What is non-essential or dated in your curriculum?

• (Dare I say it?) HANDWRITING! This is not something we should teach over and over, but rather something we expect or practice over time. 
• Memorization of dates and names in the absence of conceptual understanding: Why bother? This is what our students are asking themselves (as they should be!).
• The "right" answers: I have a colleague who proclaims that nearly any right answer can be refuted if one "assembles an arguement with evidence".

3.       What should be created that is currently missing in your curriculum?

• Cohesive planning documents that help to integrate content, particularly at the elementary level: All subjects should agree and the order in which we teach should make intuitive sense to students.
• Flexibility guidelines: Explicit directions are needed for what can be changed and what must stay consistent throughout the years.
• An emphasis on LEARNING rather than on TEACHING needs to be evident when pacing guides are created.

4.       To what extent does your curriculum guide help you meet division objectives?

• Balanced assessment: The curriculum (in some areas) models a balanced assessment approach by providing formative and summative assessments, mostly in the form of performance tasks. In other areas, the formative assessment piece is lacking. A list of possible formative assessments or hints for places that may be good to evaluate students and provide feedback may help teachers make this a priority.
• Integration of technology: This is lacking. Specific tools are listed from time to time, but they can quickly become dated. Instead, a bank of different tools that suit different purposes could be included as well as hints for good places for KINDS of tools (such as social networking, collaboration tools, organizational tools, production tools, etc.)
• Responsiveness to student needs: The documents support it if the teacher prioritizes it. I would like to see a stronger emphasis on this part with tools for scaffolding. I would also like to see explicit pre-assessments that evaluate what individual students know/don't know against the standards with which the summative performance will be judged.

5.       The written curriculum is:

a.      rigorous and challenging for all (emphasis added) students. Disagree- Gifted units were locally developed to address this issue. In an ideal universe, this would not be necessary.

b.      engaging for all students. Disagree- This does not appear to be a priority in the curriclum beyond the superficial level

c.       differentiated to meet the needs of all learners. Disagree- Tiered tasks rarely appear and when they do, the activities are not equally engaging which is unfair and disrespectful.

d.      relevant to 21^st century learners. Disagree- Our curriculum (about 98% of the time) is firmly rooted in the 20th century, and occassionally in the 19th century.

Additional Comments: There is much room for improvement in the current curriculum, but there is also much good. Changes for conceptual understanding, transfer, engagement, and 21st century learning absolutely need to be made. Teachers are sporadically making these changes when given the chance and could have a lot to offer at a system-wide level.

What would YOU say?