The following blog post is published with permission from the author, Steven Weber. Connect with him on Twitter @curriculumblog. You can read the original post here.
What is a curriculum leader? A second grade teacher can serve as a curriculum leader. Principals and assistant principals should also be viewed as curriculum leaders. A central office staff member may have the title of chief academic officer or curriculum director, but that does not mean they are the only curriculum leader in the school district. Once teachers begin communicating with teachers in the same grade level and make connections with the next level (i.e., middle school and high school transition), students will benefit from increased clarity on the essential learning outcomes.
Curriculum leadership involves working with multiple people to ensure that the curriculum is aligned both horizontally and vertically. “Curriculum development is the essential function of school leadership. Whether the role is carried out by a principal, an assistant principal for curriculum, a team leader, a department head, or by leading classroom teachers, the curriculum defines all other roles in a school” (Wiles, 2009, p.2). This article addresses ten leadership truths that apply to first year teachers as well as veteran curriculum directors at the central office level.
Curriculum leadership involves working with multiple people to ensure that the curriculum is aligned both horizontally and vertically. “Curriculum development is the essential function of school leadership. Whether the role is carried out by a principal, an assistant principal for curriculum, a team leader, a department head, or by leading classroom teachers, the curriculum defines all other roles in a school” (Wiles, 2009, p.2). This article addresses ten leadership truths that apply to first year teachers as well as veteran curriculum directors at the central office level.
1. Priorities Matter…You Revisit Them Daily
“All learners benefit from and should receive instruction that reflects clarity about purposes and priorities of content” (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006, p. 6).
2. Curriculum Development Is A Process, Not A Product
Curriculum mapping is an ongoing process which asks teachers to develop curriculum goals, identify essential content, skills and concepts, and reflect on the taught curriculum. Some school districts make the mistake of diving into curriculum mapping and attempting to complete a product. When teacher teams become satisfied with the product, then the process is at risk. Curriculum development is “an ongoing process that asks teachers and administrators to think, act, and meet differently to improve their students’ learning” (Hale, 2008, p. 8).
3. Communication Matters
Curriculum gaps create a barrier for student learning and have a detrimental effect on students’ opportunity to learn. Gaps are created by a lack of communication among educators, varying implementation practices, available resources, and decisions about pacing. According to English (2000), “Curriculum design and delivery face one fundamental problem in schools. When the door is shut and nobody else is around, the classroom teacher can select and teach just about any curriculum he or she decides is appropriate”(p. 1).
4. It’s Lonely At The Top
John Maxwell (2008) wrote the statement, “It’s lonely at the top was never made by a great leader. If you are leading others and you’re lonely, then you’re not doing it right. What kind of leader would leave everyone behind and take the journey alone? A selfish one. Taking people to the top is what good leaders do.” Empowering others is one of the main roles of curriculum leaders. If you are feeling lonely, take a moment to reflect on why no one seems to be following.
5. What Gets Measured Gets Done
Developing curriculum is essential for any school district. However, educators need to know if the curriculum is meeting its intended outcomes. Teachers may indicate that they value 21st century learning skills, but if the district’s benchmark exams and the high-stakes state exam measure lower-order thinking skills and do not measure 21st century skills, then there will be a temptation to teach to the test. Curriculum leaders understand that curriculum alignment consists of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Without a method of measurement, then it is highly unlikely that the curriculum will be implemented across classrooms.
6. Alignment is Critical
Curriculum Developers can spend so much time developing curriculum documents that they forget to take time to analyze alignment and have conversations with multiple groups. “Poorly aligned curriculum results in our underestimating the effect of instruction on learning. Simply stated, teachers may be “teaching up a storm,” but if what they are teaching is neither aligned with the state standards or the state assessments, then their teaching is in vain” (Anderson, 2002, p. 260). If alignment is important for your vehicle, it is even more critical when dealing with children’s lives and their future aspirations.
7. Gaps Exist In Every School District…Seek Solutions
Jacobs (1997) wrote, “If there are gaps among teachers within buildings, there are virtual Grand Canyons among buildings in a district” (p. 3). Curriculum Leaders can conduct a Gap Analysis. Another method is to have ongoing conversations with teams of teachers to analyze common student misunderstandings. Data analysis has become more prominent in public schools over the past ten years. The use of quality data can help schools identify gaps. Curriculum gaps create a disjointed curriculum. In Toward a Coherent Curriculum: The 1985 ASCD Yearbook, Stellar wrote, “The curriculum in numerous schools lacks clarity and, more important, coherence. Students move from teacher to teacher and subject to subject along a curriculum continuum that may or may not exhibit planned articulation” (p. v).
8. Curriculum Development Is Never Neutral
If you have ever worked with a team of teachers to develop curriculum maps, align the school district’s curriculum, or evaluate curriculum, you understand that curriculum development is a political act. Fenwick English (2000) wrote, “Knowledge is never neutral. The selection of knowledge is fundamentally a political act of deciding who benefits from selecting what in the school’s curriculum and who is excluded or diminished” (p. 30).
“Curriculum is always a means to somebody’s end…..No selection of curriculum content can be considered politically neutral” (English, 2000, p. 53). If you are asked to review curriculum or develop curriculum, then you should be careful to avoid bias. What is good for your own child may not be good for every child. Politics are unavoidable when it comes to curriculum development, but educators can improve the curriculum development process by seeking multiple perspectives.
9. Leadership Is Not A Title
This statement has been made in business leadership books and it holds true in any organization. You may be the chief academic officer or the department chair, but titles don’t matter. People matter. Maxwell (1995) wrote, “If you really want to be a successful leader, you must develop other leaders around you. You must establish a team” (p. 2). If curriculum development becomes a matter of pleasing the person with the title, there will be little buy-in and that will have a negative impact on students. “A good leader has the ability to instill within his people confidence in himself. A great leader has the ability to instill within his people confidence in themselves” (Maxwell, 1995, p. 55).
10. The Ultimate Goal Is Student Achievement
According to Wiggins and McTighe (2007), “The job is not to hope that optimal learning will occur, based on our curriculum and initial teaching. The job is to ensure that learning occurs, and when it doesn’t, to intervene in altering the syllabus and instruction decisively, quickly, and often” (p. 55). School districts must confront the brutal facts of their current reality in order to improve (Collins, 2001).
One of my favorite quotes on the topic of curriculum leadership is from Allan Glatthorn (1987):
“One of the tasks of curriculum leadership is to use the right methods to bring the written, the taught, the supported, and the tested curriculums into closer alignment, so that the learned curriculum is maximized” (p. 4).
Conclusion:
Curriculum development plays a significant role in teaching and learning. Most educators will admit that planning is an essential part of their profession. If curriculum development drives the work of teacher teams, then schools must create time for teachers to collaborate, engage in conflict and provide a process for reflection and revision. Curriculum development should be a priority in schools, rather than something that is handed to teachers as a top-down product. When teachers collaborate to develop the curriculum, they will have co-workers who support them when they come to a fork in the road in instruction. Curriculum leadership is important to the success of a school district and these ten truths can help a leader develop multiple leaders. Curriculum leadership is about empowering those around you to be successful.
About the Author:
Steven Weber is the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. He blogs at ASCD EDge. Recently, he was selected as a PDK Emerging Leader. In 2014, he was nominated for a Bammy Award, as a Connected Educator. He received the Educator’s Voice Award from the Academy of Arts & Science.
Connect with him on Twitter (@curriculumblog) or Voxer (sweber242). He is an active participant in Twitter Chats and enjoys discussing ways to transform learning space.
References:
Anderson, L.W. (2002). Curricular Alignment: A Re-Examination. Theory into Practice, 41, 225-260.
Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: why some companies make the leap and others don’t. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
English, F.W. (2000). Deciding what to teach and test: Developing, aligning and auditing the curriculum. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Glatthorn, A.A. (1987). Curriculum renewal. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Hale, J.A. (2008). A guide to curriculum mapping: Planning, implementing, and sustaining the process. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Jacobs, H.H. (1997). Mapping the big picture: Integrating curriculum and assessment K-12. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Maxwell, J.C. (1995). Developing the leaders around you. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Maxwell, J.C. (2008). Leadership gold: Lessons I’ve learned from a lifetime of leading. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Steller, A.W. (1985). Forward. In Beane, J.A. (Ed.), Toward a coherent curriculum. The 1985 ASCD Yearbook. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Tomlinson, C.A., & McTighe, J. (2006). Integrating differentiated instruction and understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2007). Schooling by design: Mission, action, and achievement. Alexandria, VA: Assocition for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
