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11/21/2022 How to Facilitate District-Wide, Teacher-Led Curriculum Development with Dr. Steven WeberRead Now
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Curriculum is part of every classroom, every grade level, and every subject matter. It’s key importance to the field of teaching and education demands we’re always checking in and asking: how is our curriculum serving and supporting students? In his role as the Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning with Fayetteville Public Schools, Dr. Steven Weber is continually asking just this. Through an extensive curriculum development project, he’s asking: is our curriculum relevant for students today? We chatted about this and other topics on episode 95 of the Time for Teachership podcast. Here’s some of the key takeaways from our conversation. Knowledge Transfer, not Compliance Dr. Weber’s big dream for education is that we could return to the joy of learning, and that it would be marked by knowledge transfer and not mere compliance. Knowledge transfer is when students learn curriculum that’s relevant and can apply it to other areas of life, both presently and in the future. This differs from compliance-style education—finish an assignment, check a box, and move to the next grade. There are two key values that support this concept:
Teacher-Led Curriculum Development Dr. Weber believes, and has seen in practice, a high level of engagement by creating curriculum task forces. His district is currently completing a multi-year project to produce relevant, teacher-led curriculum for all grade levels. Their project is designed on a few principles:
How to Teach Current Events Current events are more relevant in the classroom than ever before because students are more connected to the broader world than ever before. And while they’re important and necessary to talk about, it can be tough to do. With that in mind, Dr. Weber had a few ideas on how to make current events part of your curriculum:
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Listen to the episode by clicking the link to your preferred podcast platform below: No matter how long you’ve been teaching, curriculum design requires ongoing growth and development. Creating relevant and impactful curriculum that hits learning targets is no easy task! But if we want to truly set up our students for success in this world, it’s a necessary one. To help make this process a bit simpler, I’ve pulled together seven resources to support justice-based curriculum design. Some are pre-determined projects while others are resource banks to pull from. Either way, they’re designed to help you build curriculum that gets students to think, engage, and learn through a justice-focused lens. I elaborate on all of these resources on episode 94 of the Time for Teachership podcast, so if you want the full run-down, have a listen! 7 Resources for Justice-Based Curriculum Design There are two categories within this list of resources. The first three are specific project-based curriculum ideas that are designed to bring learning outside of the classroom. The last four are text libraries for you to access justice-centered and justice-focused resources for your classroom. 1. KQED Call for Change Youth Media Challenge What is it? This project is designed to amplify student voices around relevant current events. Students are invited to create a 1-3-minute video or audio project about a prompt of their choosing. There are clear standards, rubrics, and resources for teachers to use as well. All student submissions are published online, and some submissions are shared on KQED or NPR—a huge potential audience to amplify student voices! More details: www.learn.kqed.org/challenges 2. CSPAN StudentCam What is it? This is a similar project-based curriculum idea to the first one. Students from grades 6-12 are invited to submit a 5–6-minute video documentary on a topic that relates to this theme: If you were a newly elected member of Congress, which issue would be your first priority and why? This competition offers cash prizes to the top 150 documentaries, totaling $100,000. It’s a great way to get engaged in current events with real-life impact and some cash incentive. More details: www.studentcam.org 3. Learning for Justice: Do Something What is it? Learning for Justice has compiled 34 different performance tasks that are designed to have students demonstrate their anti-bias awareness and civic competency in a real-world context. Tasks range from artistic showcases to a community newsletter to a film festival. Students can pick the medium to demonstrate their knowledge and learning about relevant current events and issues. More details: www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/student-tasks/do-something 4. Learning for Justice What is it? This resource database has over 628 different texts and resources, including social justice standards for all educators to use in their classrooms. The database can be filtered by social justice domain (i.e., race and ethnicity, ability, or religion), grade level, subject, medium, and topic. More details: www.learningforjustice.org 5. Facing History and Ourselves What is it? With nearly 5,000 resources in its collection, the Facing History and Ourselves website is an excellent resource for justice-centered curriculum design. Their content is divided into topics such as democracy and civic engagement, justice and human rights, global immigration, bullying and ostracism, etc. There is also a wide variety of resource types and mediums, including blogs or webinars as well as more common types like books, podcasts, or videos. More information: www.facinghistory.org/resource-library 6. Zinn Education Project What is it? This is an excellent resource to access teaching materials. They’re divided into three options—time period (i.e., colonization, civil war era, cold war, present day), theme (climate justice, African American art and music, food, labor, Latinx, LGBTQ, math, sports), or resource type (books, film clips, photos). More information: www.zinnedproject.org 7. Newsela What is it? This learning platform is a great place to access material on current events and news stories at various reading levels. While not all of it is specifically justice-focused, it provides key texts and materials on relevant, timely issues that you want to discuss in the classroom. More information: www.newsela.org --- Creating justice-focused curriculum can take time and energy, especially for new educators or those who are new to this space. Luckily, there are so many resources out there to help us out! Take a look through each of these in the list and spend some time exploring what they have to offer. Then, consider: what will this look like in my class? For more discussion about these resources, check out episode 94 of the Time for Teachership podcast. Quotes:
If you enjoyed this episode, check out this video for more on curriculum design:11/7/2022 Transforming Curriculum in 3 Years Through a Culture of Coaching and Joy with Chris Chappotin and Alisen AdcockRead NowListen to the episode by clicking the link to your preferred podcast platform below:
When you think about education, instruction, or curriculum, what comes to mind? Is fun and joy part of your perception or goals? Is levity, connection, and celebration part of your curriculum and teaching goals? If it’s not, you need to listen to Episode 93 of the Time for Teachership podcast. On it, we hear from Chris Chappotin, Assistant Superintendent for Boyd ISD in Texas, and Alisen Adcock, a middle school principal in the same district. Together we discuss what curriculum design looks like on a three-year plan and how important fun and joy is to the process! We also chatted about developing a culture of coaching for continuous growth and improvement. Three Years of Change In his role as an Assistant Superintendent, Chris has to keep an eye out on the big picture, the big goals. And in his district, that revolves around curriculum instruction and coaching. They’re currently in the third year of a plan that centered on creating engaging learning. Specific focus areas included:
Culture of Coaching Addressing curriculum is a massive undertaking for any district or school because it requires growth and change. For that reason, a culture of coaching is essential to success. Instead of a traditional coaching model where some people are the mentors, some the mentees, a culture of coaching involves everyone. Coaching happens across all levels from teachers up to superintendents—it’s not for a select few. Alisen and Chris spoke to two essential aspects of a culture of coaching:
Bringing Back Joy and Connection Underlying anything related to curriculum, coaching, or other aspects of teaching and education is this simple reminder from Chris: this work is about people. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities, but education is a relational field. Relationships between educators, students, and leaders should be at the forefront of everything we do. Two ways to prioritize people and relationships:
By prioritizing small steps and changes, we can collectively move towards relationship-centered education, built on a culture of coaching, and infused with joy. Check out the full conversation with Chris Chappotin and Alisen Adcock on episode 93 of the Time for Teachership podcast. You can also connect with Chris on Twitter and Instagram at @chris_chappotin and Alisen on Twitter at @TexanMath1. Quotes:
Listen to the episode by clicking the link to your preferred podcast platform below: Each educator has their own personal values. And every class, school, or district has them too. Some of these values are deeply integrated into classroom curriculum while others are placeholders on the website. No matter where you are on this spectrum, we can all agree that there needs to be alignment between values—what we say we care about—and what we actually do. For this reason, educators can take some time to complete a values-action alignment activity to take stock of where they are and how they can improve. I covered this practice in-depth on episode 92 of the Time for Teachership podcast, so you can listen to it as well! Step 1: Decide your values The first step to align values with action is to actually know what your values are. Think through these questions:
Step 2: Values-action curriculum alignment Once you have identified the values that are important in your setting, it’s time to align them directly with curriculum content and activities. Take an inventory of everything that’s going on in your setting—activities, curriculum, projects, etc. You can do this by engaging various stakeholders including students, other teachers and colleagues, and the curriculum plan. Once you have a scope of the content and curriculum, assign one of the values to each item. You can do this by creating a document or log of each item and it’s assigned value. Step 3: What is success? After aligning your values and actions, zoom out and ask: what does success look like? What makes the curriculum successful can be divided into a few different parts:
Step 4: Design with values in mind After going through this exercise, you can continue the process by asking one simple question for every decision: what values are prioritized here? Make it an ongoing process by writing the question on the top of every agenda or curriculum plan so that your values are visible and obviously aligned with each task and item. And, in all of this, consider the process. It’s not just about the end product, but how we got there. So, who’s involved? Does everyone get a voice? Are we asking the right questions? Commit to the process and don’t try to rush through this practice. --- If you want to go even deeper into this practice, listen to episode 92 of the Time for Teachership podcast. This simple activity will take some time, but it will help you better align your values and actions, which positively impacts your class and your ability to support students. Quotes:
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As educators, we wear a lot of hats. Every day is full of diverse, varied tasks and responsibilities that keep our days full. Dr. TJ Vari, guest on episode 91 of The Time for Teachership podcast, also wears many hats—he’s a superintendent in a fast-growing school district, professor, coach for principals, father, and social justice advocate. And the variety of this experience, that we all have, is what makes us better educators. Because with each new role, we learn something new that can be used to create positive change and impact in our schools. We touched on a lot of topics together, but most of it centered on this question: how do we evolve our current system so that it doesn’t just prepare students for the real world, but is the real world? For Dr. Vari, two big shifts are achieving guaranteed and viable curriculum, and understanding the art and science of education. Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum One of the biggest problems with our current education system in America today is the variance. Dr. Vari pointed out just how diverse students’ experiences are—education differs between teachers, schools, districts, and states. So even two students in the same school will have wildly different experiences learning, say, grade six math. And think about the differences across states, too! The first step for any change to the school system, then, is to achieve guaranteed and viable curriculum:
As you scale up, guaranteed and viable curriculum should be a priority across school districts and states, too. This is the way we can fight injustice and discrimination and ensure that all students have equal access. Art and Science of Education Talking about a guaranteed and viable curriculum might seem rigid to some educators—shouldn’t education be personalized? Isn’t there room for flexibility? Dr. Vari offered a few thoughts on this dichotomy of flexible vs. rigid curriculum. From his perspective, it comes down to understanding the art and science of education. There are some things that are a science—studied, proven, and should be standard. Other things are an art—open to flexibility and creativity. The four sciences of education are:
So instead of seeing a rigid curriculum in front of you, consider what’s an art and what’s a science. We can all study and grow in knowledge of the science of education while maintaining our unique and creative identities as educators. --- This is just the tip of the iceberg from our conversation with Dr. TJ Vari on episode 91 of The Time for Teachership podcast. You can listen to the full episode or connect directly with him and his work at www.theschoolhouse302.com. Quotes
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Not too long ago, most of us were glued to our phones and social media to hear the outcome of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. This landmark Supreme case brought up so many cultural conversations around bodily autonomy, consent, sexual assault and more. And it’s a conversation that needs to be brought into the classroom. Our students need a place to unpack and understand important cultural events. Through careful and intentional curriculum planning, we can provide that space for them. Recently I’ve started doing mini curriculum bootcamps, where educators can learn how to design a unit around a specific topic. A recent one centered on the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which was also discussed on episode 90 of the Time for Teachership podcast. Here are the steps educators can take to design a unit that opens the conversation of this important current event. Principles for Justice-Centered Curriculum Before diving into the how-to, it’s important to clarify some principles for justice-centered curriculum. Here are the core principles to remember when designing a unit:
How to Design a Justice-Centered Unit With those core principles of justice-centered curriculum in mind, educators can structure a lesson plan. I go into this in more detail during Curriculum Boot Camps, but here are the main steps an educator can take when designing a unit: 1. Start with a mind map. Get out your computer, a pen and paper, or a whiteboard and start brainstorming everything that comes to mind in the context of the Dobbs v. Jackson case. This could be related to the content of what to teach, questions that come up, or texts and resources you want to use.
This is to get at your driving question for the unit. Some examples related to this topic are:
Start with your own ideas, but also invite students to come alongside you and co-create some ideas. Since one of the goals of justice-centered curriculum is for it to go beyond the classroom, consider ideas like a multimedia project (podcast or movie) or a presentation to the school board. 4. Determine protocols and how you’re going to teach the unit. Establishing regular protocols and rhythms is essential to teaching a successful unit. Consider having check-ins each week on Monday, as it’s a heavy topic and important to see how everyone is doing. Then set up the rest of the weekly teaching plans to align with your guiding question and project. 5. Determine a strategy for resource gathering Don’t leave this to the last minute! Make sure you’re constantly curating and collecting resources—podcasts, TV clips, books, news stories, art, etc. There are so many directions to go with content, so start collecting it early and store somewhere easily accessible. --- Creating a justice-centered curriculum and unit plan needs to be intentional and thoughtful. The ultimate goal is to help students interact with current events in an inclusive space that upholds everyone’s dignity. To dive in deeper to this topic, go listen to episode 90 of the Time for Teachership podcast. You can also check out my resource list for support in creating a unit around the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. Interested in Curriculum Boot Camp for your staff? Book a call with me. Quotes:
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We hear the term “buy in” all the time, especially in the field of education. We want people to be on the same page about proposed changes or new ideas. But are people really buying in? Or are they just complying because they have to? We talk about how to initiate and sustain true change on episode 89 of the Time for Teachership podcast. Dr. Samuel D. Nix shares his wisdom with us for how to take steps towards significant, impactful change and progress. He highlights the importance of making a mindset shift and allowing that shift to impact your actions. Here are some of the takeaways from our conversation. Acknowledging Unconscious Biases When asked what his dream for the field of education is, Dr. Nix said it was that there would be no more equity gap or learning gap. That every student would enjoy their education, benefit from it, and have the same opportunities as their peers. But before this dream can be realized, we need to start recognizing and dismantling our unconscious biases. Dr. Nix does an exercise with educators where they look at photos of a diverse set of students. Then, based on their ethnicity, gender, clothing, etc., educators will give them a grade from A to F, based on what they think they’d have. Then comes the question: why? Why are certain grades assigned to certain students? Dr. Nix goes on to say that these are all A-level students. So why do we think otherwise? It comes down to those unconscious biases each and every one of us have. Recognizing we have those biases is the first step to any real change and is the over-arching mindset shift that most educators need. Steps to Initiate Change Besides this understanding of unconscious biases, Dr. Nix identified five steps to get true buy-in from others—five steps to initiate true change. They are as follows:
Change doesn’t come over night—we know this. It’s an ongoing process that requires openness, vulnerability, and persistence. It also requires the ability to look inward and reflect on where you are. Dr. Nix’s one next action step for all educators is to stop and think: are your actions having the impact they have the potential to have? Start with yourself and start with reflection. We covered so much more in this conversation with Dr. Samuel D. Nix! Have a listen to the whole thing on episode 89 of the Time for Teachership podcast. You can also connect with Dr. Nix at his website, www.snix3consulting.com, or over on twitter: @samuelnix. Quotes:
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It’s hard to believe that what started as a simple blog a few years ago is now approaching the 100th podcast episode! Time for Teachership has come a long way, and we are excited and ready to launch right into season three. Episode 88 is the intro to season three, and you can have a listen here. We covered everything new and exciting that’s coming up. Season 3 of the Time for Teachership podcast will have two main focus areas:
Curriculum and Instruction The student voice and student leadership has always been at the center of my teaching practice. This season, I want to explore how curriculum and instruction can integrate and elevate student voice. And, taking it further, I want to better define what good curriculum and instruction looks like. When thinking about what makes great curriculum, I came up with the acronym CAI:
District-Level Curriculum Policy Season 3 will feature learning for and from district curriculum leaders. The reason for this is that when change comes from the district level—along with resources and motivation—then teachers are better supported to make change in their classroom. It’s possible to make a positive impact as an independent teacher, but it is both easier and more desirable to do it together in community. So, we’ll focus on what’s happening at the district level and how policy changes there can make impacts in each classroom. Practical Things Along with this new content direction, there are two more exciting developments for season 3 of the Time for Teachership podcast:
Season 3 will also feature more solo “how-to” episodes that walk you through aspects of curriculum or instruction. We’ll also have case studies from educators and teachers who’ve successfully implemented new changes or curriculum into their classroom. There will be some of the regular interviews with inspiring educators, too! So, are you ready? This is going to be a good one. Make sure you’re following along with the Time for Teachership podcast to listen to every new episode that comes out. Thanks for being here—we’re so excited to have you along for the ride. Quotes:
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Curiosity is something we’re born with—it’s innate to who we are as human beings. And when we look at children, we see that curiosity and wonder show up every day as they interact with and experience the world around them. But, as they move through the school system, that curiosity is often stamped out through rules, standardized testing, and prescribed learning outcomes. Gail Swift, guest on a Time for Teachership podcast episode, shared that her biggest motivator is to reclaim that sense of curiosity in education. Her primary way of doing this is by helping students and educators learn about their aptitudes—innate gifts and skills they have that helps motivate them and inspire action. Embracing Your Theme There are a lot of things that are out of the control of educators. But there’s also a lot that is within our control, primarily what goes on in the classroom. Gail recommends that teachers identify a theme for their class or department that helps focus and guide decision-making. For example, Gail’s main theme is to raise up contributors—students who are active participants in their learning, education, and society. To be an active contributor, they need to be curious, creative, and empowered to make decisions. Once you have a clear theme, you use it as a benchmark for all daily decisions. If you are raising active contributors, ask: does sitting for hours at a time support the theme? Does clothing choice support the theme? Do my curriculum choices fit the theme? Centering decision making on themes can help educators establish what is important and what’s not. This also helps them focus on what’s within their locus of control versus what’s not. Student Aptitudes and Decision-Making Gail’s primary tool for raising up active participators is by teaching students and teachers about their aptitudes. Aptitudes are innate skills, abilities, and gifts—it’s how each person uniquely views the world and takes action. With the Student Aptitude Quiz, participants learn about how they make decisions. There are four main needs people have to make decisions:
This is equally important for educators to know about. Gail pointed out that most teachers are similar in the way they teach. Typically, teachers have a high need for information and organization and a lower need for risk and hands-on experiences. So, if you have a student in your class who learns differently than you teach, there’s going to be frustration. But if both teachers and students learn more about their aptitudes, they can find the way that works best for them. Teachers can learn how to teach diverse students and students can learn their strengths and capitalize on them. Educators strive to empower their students. Two ways to do this is to get clear on your theme—what’s the driving goal of your work?—and to learn about each student’s unique aptitudes and skills to help them learn better. To learn more about Gail’s work, check out Plans to Prosper Coaching. And if you want to hear her full interview, check it out on the Time for Teachership podcast along with other interviews and content.
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Ask someone what the purpose of school and the educational system is, and they’ll say: to help students learn and prepare them for the future. But what kind of future are we preparing them for? Ideally to live as happy, healthy, whole members of a democratic society. Does the current education system really do that? Collin Jewett was a recent guest on the Time for Teachership podcast. From his perspective as an accelerated learning and memory coach, schools are authoritarian in structure and operate on top-down decision-making. Is that the best way to prepare them to live in a democratic society? From radical systemic overhaul to practical next steps, Collin shared his ideas on how we can get back to what learning is all about: helping students find their own personal journey of discovery. The Purpose of Education The education system as it currently exists is a product of the industrial system. As Collin described, our society needs people to fill certain roles and education helps shape them into that. The result of this is the commodification of students and learning, focused on outcomes and specific data points. But we know that the education system is broken and not serving all students. So, it’s time to think critically and ask some questions:
Learning as a Personal Journey of Discovery Collin defines learning as a personal journey of discovery. To make this a reality, we need to democratize education. Students need more say than they have on the student leadership committee, just making decisions about prom or other events. For them to learn they need to go on a personal journey, which requires a choice and autonomy. An example of this in practice is Sudbury Valley School, where Collin has visited and researched. They have a radical—though we can question if it should be deemed such!—model of learning that includes democratic decision making, no formalized classrooms, and complete freedom for students to do what they want. And here’s the thing--it works. Follow up studies on Sudbury Valley’s graduates show that they’ve gone on to ivy league schools, successful jobs, and entrepreneurship. Practical Steps for Educators Until there is a massive systemic overhaul, we need think about the practical next step. What can we do in our classrooms to encourage learning as a personal journey of discovery? Collin had a few ideas:
It’s time to re-think learning. The current top-down authoritarian model is not preparing students to live and thrive in a democratic society. Instead, we need to introduce choice and autonomy, letting our students create and explore their own personal journey of discovery. If you want to keep up with Collin, check out his course, Discover Your Inner SuperLearner. Also make sure to catch his full interview, along with other amazing guests, on the Time for Teachership podcast.
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AuthorLindsay Lyons (she/her) is an educational justice coach who works with teachers and school leaders to inspire educational innovation for racial and gender justice, design curricula grounded in student voice, and build capacity for shared leadership. Lindsay taught in NYC public schools, holds a PhD in Leadership and Change, and is the founder of the educational blog and podcast, Time for Teachership. Archives
November 2022
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