Curriculum Development & Review Cycle

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CURRICULUM REVIEW and DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

Development

Phase I: Review and Evaluate the Current Status of the Curriculum

1. Compare the goals and content of the current curriculum to the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks and to national recommendations from professional organizations/associations for the content area under review. Identify changes that need to be made to improve the Andover Curriculum and to align it with the state curriculum framework.

2. Conduct a needs assessment based on the evaluation of student learning standards and benchmarks, community aspirations, and staff perceptions.

3. Identify recommendations for improvements in the curriculum and on the supports or resources needed to make the improvements.

Phase II: Write the Revised Curriculum

A curriculum guide is written and contains the following items:

1. Vision statement and broad goals

2. Curriculum Standards (What students should know and be able to do)

3. Performance Benchmarks for student growth by grade level or grade span

4. Student Learning Activities and Instructional Strategies that promote active learning.

5. Interdisciplinary Connections and Technology Infusion Opportunities

6. Description of assessment materials and qualitative and quantitative procedures to be used to evaluate student learning

7. Description of Modifications (Adaptations, Inclusionary Techniques, Enrichment)

List of core instructional materials/technological resources and supplementary materials

Phase III: Special Projects

The District sponsors special projects for teachers to write specific curriculum units or products. Examples may include:

1. Interdisciplinary curriculum units.

2. Lessons for technology integration into specific curriculum topics.

3. Assessment/Evaluation tool such as open-ended questions, performance tasks, or portfolios.

4. Modifications - adaptive, inclusionary, enrichment.

Implementation

1. Provide orientation and staff development for the implementation of new guidelines and materials.

2. Principals, coordinators, and department chairpersons will coordinate implementation activities at the school level. Team structures, study groups, faculty, and department meetings should all be used to help the school faculty understand new initiatives and work together to plan for implementation.

3. Principals and coordinators provide administrative supervision for the implementation of the program.

Allow for at least three years of implementation before conducting an evaluation of the new curriculum. Monitoring and feedback will occur during the first two years but a complete evaluation should occur after three years. It usually takes this long before the majority of faculty have refined their implementation of the new curriculum to the point that they have thoroughly adjusted to the program and have made the modification they found necessary to work out initial problems.

Evaluation

To conduct the evaluation, return to the beginning of the curriculum development cycle and conduct a Phase I review again. Gather data to evaluate the success of the current program. This data should include qualitative and quantitative student learning data, staff, and parent perceptions. Examine any new guidelines that have been issued for this curriculum areas from the state, from professional associations/organizations, or current research. Develop recommendations based upon the data and the new information. Having previously gone through a review and development cycle, it may be that only minor revisions need to be made to the basic framework of the curriculum. Efforts in this subsequent cycle may place more emphasis on updating materials, staff development, and on special projects that extend some aspect of curriculum, assessment, or evaluation.