1. Defining & Aligning Local Curriculum

2. What is Curriculum? Individually consider your personal definition of the term curriculum What words do you think of when you hear the term curriculum?

3. Curriculum exists and evolves within the operating culture of public schools

4. The North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards Form the Foundation of that Culture

5. Teachers Are Expected To: Work collaboratively to create a professional learning community in order to plan instruction appropriate for students.

6. Teachers Are Expected To: Understand how students learn and make the curriculum responsive to cultural diversity and to individual learning needs.

7. Teachers Are Expected To: Engage students in the learning process and understand that instructional plans must be constantly monitored and modified to enhance learning.

8. Teachers Are Expected To: Collaborate with their colleagues and use a variety of data sources for short and long range planning based on the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.

9. When NC teachers are asked: “What is it you expect students to learn?” Curriculum They most often reply: “The North Carolina Standard Course of Study”

10. This Answer is Only Partially Correct

11. If this is the goal….

12. Mountain

13. Climbers

14. Gear

15. If this is the goal…. Achievement

16. Mountain Content Standards

17. Climbers Teachers & Learners

18. Gear Local Curricula

19. Teachers Are Expected To: Collaborate with their colleagues and use a variety of data sources for short and long range planning based on the North Carolina Standard Course of Study.

20. Curriculum is a Complex Combination of Materials, Resources, and Actions

21. Curriculum Is: What teachers teach What students learn What the district mandates What DPI requires What is expected by –Parents –Community –Higher Education

22. Curriculum –Identifies Critical Expectations Instruction –Defines Essential Outcomes –Presents Relevant Information –Develops Understanding Assessment –Reveals Students’ Achieved Skills Formative Assessment Summative Assessment Dimensions of Curriculum: three distinct components

23. Intended –Identifies Critical Expectations Implemented –Defines Essential Outcomes –Presents Relevant Information –Develops Understanding Achieved –Reveals Students’ Achieved Skills Formative Assessment Summative Assessment Dimensions of Curriculum: three distinct components Also Known As

24. Written –Identifies Critical Expectations Taught –Defines Essential Outcomes –Presents Relevant Information –Develops Understanding Tested –Reveals Students’ Achieved Skills Formative Assessment Summative Assessment Dimensions of Curriculum: three distinct components Also Known As

25. DPI & District –Identifies Critical Expectations Teacher –Defines Essential Outcomes –Presents Relevant Information –Develops Understanding Student –Reveals Students’ Achieved Skills Formative Assessment Summative Assessment Dimensions of Curriculum: three distinct components Shared Responsibility

26. Curriculum is a Complex Combination of Materials, Resources, and Actions, for clarity, we will refer to the components designed and deployed by a district as the Local Curriculum

27. The Department of Public Instruction Deploys STANDARDS The District Develops LOCAL CURRICULUM The Teachers Design INSTRUCTION Curriculum is a Shared Responsibility

28. STANDARDS Define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers to prepare them for higher education or work Standards include multiple components: –Common Core Standards –Essential Standards –Major Concepts –Clarifying Objectives –Assessment Prototypes

29. LOCAL CURRICULUM Articulates district expectations regarding scope, sequence, and achievement benchmarks for each content area Local Curriculum may have a variety of components: –Clear Learning Objectives –Instructional Calendars and Timeline –Context and Cognitive Type Expectations –Local Assessments and Benchmarking –Local Rubrics and Scoring Guides –Recommended Resources for Instruction

30. Local Curriculum Sets the Bar and Identifies for the Community What is Expected of and Provided for Students in That District

31. INSTRUCTION Provides learning experiences, aligned with local curriculum expectations, to prepare students to meet the standards set by the state Instruction includes but is not limited to: –Essential Learning Outcomes –Lesson Timelines –Content Learning Experiences –Opportunities for Practice –Formative Assessment –Corrective instruction where required –Assessment of Student Knowledge and Skills using: Teacher Designed Assessments District Assessments (where available) DPI Assessment Prototypes (where appropriate)

32. Teachers Are Expected To: Work collaboratively to create a professional learning community in order to plan instruction appropriate for students.

33. Professional Learning Communities are Guided by Four Essential Questions

34. 1.What is it we expect students to learn? 2.How will we know when they have learned it? 3.How will we respond when they don’t learn it? 4.How will we respond when they already know it? DuFour Reference

35. 1.What is it we expect students to learn? 2.How will we know when they have learned it? 3.How will we respond when they don’t learn it? 4.How will we respond when they already know it? DuFour Reference If Students are to be Successful, Teachers Need a Clear Understanding of “it”

36. Guidance Comes From the Standards… But the Standards Alone are Not Enough

37. Define it: What is it we expect students to learn? Measure it: How will we know when they have learned it? Scaffold it: How will we respond when they don’t learn it? Extend it: How will we respond when they already know it? Teachers Need Tools and Resources to Help Them

38. In Addition to Standards, Teachers Need the Local Curriculum to Clarify District Expectations

39. LOCAL CURRICULUM Articulates district expectations regarding scope, sequence, and achievement benchmarks for each content area Local Curriculum may have a variety of components: –Clear Learning Objectives –Instructional Calendars and Timeline –Context and Cognitive Type Expectations –Local Assessments and Benchmarking –Local Rubrics and Scoring Guides –Recommended Resources for Instruction

40. Importance of Alignment Alignment is an even stronger predictor of student achievement on standardized tests than are socioeconomic status, gender, race, and teacher effect. (Elmore & Rothman, 1999: Mitchell, 1998; Wishnick,1989)

41. Learning occurs best when there is: A purposeful process that aligns: –Curriculum –Instruction –Assessment Complete alignment: –Content –Cognitive Type –Context

42. Content Alignment “Does the teacher teach and test the topics listed in the curriculum?”

43. Lets Take a Test Please work independently

44. How Did You Do? Why Were Some More Successful Than Others?

45. Cognitive Type Alignment “Do the students get to work and think at the level the curriculum prescribes?”

46. Context Alignment “Are the parameters of the assessment reasonably similar to the parameters of the instruction?”

47. How well could you learn to cook brownies from Rachael Ray?

48. You have practiced all week! Are you for the test? How well do you expect to do?

49. How well would you do?

50. 1.What is it we expect students to learn? 2.How will we know when they have learned it? 3.How will we respond when they don’t learn it? 4.How will we respond when they already know it? DuFour Reference The Local Curriculum Designs and Defines the “it”

51. These Questions Can Provide a Focus for Developing Local Curriculum

52. What is it we expect students to learn? Curriculum learning tasks need to be clearly stated What policies and practices, regarding curriculum development, exist in the district? What resources are provided to give teachers in the district a common understanding of curricular expectations? Scope & Sequence Charts Pacing Guides Alignment Documents/Curriculum Maps Professional Development

53. How will we know when they have learned it? There needs to be a plan to assess all areas taught, even those the state does not test What policies and practices, regarding assessment, exist in the district? What resources are provided to give teachers in the district a common set of tools for assessing student learning? Diagnostic Assessments Formative Assessments Benchmark Assessments Content Rubrics Student Task Scoring Guides

54. How will we respond when they don’t learn it? Achievement gaps need to be strategically and methodically addressed What policies and practices, regarding student support and intervention, exist in the district? What resources are provided to give teachers in the district a common set of tools for addressing achievement gaps Instructional Resources Instructional Strategies Professional Development

55. How will we respond when they already know it? Cognitive complexity and rigor should be expected and supported What policies and practices, regarding student support and enrichment, exist in the district? What resources are provided to give teachers in the district a common set of tools for addressing higher order thinking skills Instructional Resources Instructional Strategies Professional Development

56. Planning & Design Organizing Existing Resources Aligning and Developing Resources Policies and Practices Framing Professional Development