6141(a)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
Curriculum development is a dynamic and continuous process by which a school system plans, implements, and evaluates its educational programs in a coherent and logical manner. Curriculum guides the teaching/learning process by defining what is to be learned, how it is to be learned and how it will be assessed. Through the use of written curriculum documents, teachers are able to ensure that every student will encounter a planned, on-going, and systematic program. To be highly effective, the written curriculum must be used by teachers on a daily basis to make instructional decisions that are focused on a common core of mastery objectives. The curriculum must also be flexible enough to allow for a teacher’s creativity, enhancement and critical monitoring of effective learning strategies. The written curriculum must be a working document that is constantly reviewed and modified to meet the learning needs of students.
The Curriculum Council will establish an orderly and ongoing process for assuring that there is a written curriculum in each discipline which accurately reflects the philosophy and goals of the East Haddam Public Schools. To accomplish this purpose, the Curriculum Council must actively engage in a process of determining the need for curriculum review and revision. The Council must become the body which reviews current research, understands the impact of state initiatives, and is aware of how the future affects today’s curricular offerings.
The Council will set the standards for learning in East Haddam. The establishment of what is expected of a graduate of the East Haddam Public Schools has a major impact on the curriculum which, in turn, will affect what students will be expected to accomplish at each grade level.
Within the framework of the limited
resources of time and money, each program offering must be routinely evaluated
to determine those programs which are of value for today’s learners and those
which are not. It is through a process of ongoing evaluation that the
Curriculum Council will determine how best to design a curriculum which will
meet the present and future learning needs of our students.
The Curriculum Council will include a minimum of two teachers from each of the building level Curriculum Councils, a library/media specialist, an administrator from each school, one member of the Board of Education, and the Superintendent or his/her designee who will serve as Chairperson.
6141(b)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
The Curriculum Council is charged with the responsibility to fully consider the implications of all concepts, mandated or otherwise, which relate to the total curriculum of the East Haddam School System. In fulfilling this function, the Council shall serve as the major source for curriculum-related input to the Superintendent and the Board of Education and shall facilitate the implementation of the Council’s recommendations including the establishment of a master curriculum calendar.
Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes
10‑16b Prescribed courses of study.
10‑16c et seq. re family life education.
10‑17 English language to be medium of instruction.
10‑17 et seq. re Bilingual instruction.
10‑18 Courses in United States history, government and duties and responsibilities of citizenship.
10‑18a Contents of textbooks and other general instructional materials.
10‑18b et seq. re Firearms safety programs.
10‑19 Effect of alcohol, nicotine or tobacco and drugs to be taught. Training of personnel. Evaluation of programs by alcohol and drug abuse commission and department of education.
10‑19a et seq. re Substance abuse prevention team.
10‑24 Course in motor vehicle operation and highway safety.
10‑21 et seq. re Vocational education and cooperation with business
Policy adopted: September 14, 2004 EAST HADDAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Moodus, Connecticut
6141(a)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
Subject area committees shall conduct all activity required to periodically assess and update written curriculum guides.
Membership
The subject area committees for
Language Arts, mathematics, science, and social studies shall consist of:
1. At least one teacher representing each grade, K‑12;
2. At least one special educator;
3. At least one administrator from any school level; and
4. The committee shall elect one of its members as Chairperson and another as recording secretary.
The subject area
committees for fine arts (art and music), physical education and health shall
consist of:
5. At least one teacher from each school level, K-5, 6-8, and 9-12;
6. At least one administrator from any school level; and
7. The committee shall select one of its members as Chairperson and another as recording secretary.
The subject area committees for technology education, business education, world languages, family and consumer science, and vocational agriculture shall consist of:
1. At least one teacher from each
discipline representing each school level in which the discipline is taught, 6‑8
and 9‑12;
2. An administrator; and
3. The committee shall elect one of its members to serve as Chairperson and another as recording secretary.
6141(b)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
Membership (continued)
Members of subject area committees shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Curriculum Council (Superintendent). All teachers shall be invited to express their interests and preferences. Terms of membership shall be three years, with members being eligible for reappointment. Vacancies shall be filled so as to maintain a degree of continuity while simultaneously attempting to infuse new viewpoints through the selection process.
The subject area committees shall convene as needed to ensure that appropriate needs, assessments, periodic reviews and requisite updatings are accomplished so that written curriculum guides reflect the most current thinking in the field.
Curriculum renewal may involve all or some of the following tasks:
1. Conduct a review of the
research related to the specific subject area including cognitive research;
2. Conduct needs assessments to determine
program strengths and weaknesses;
3. Analyze student achievement on
standardized tests to determine student needs;
4. Review any state regulations that may
impact the curriculum;
5. Review/revise the philosophy and
program goals;
6. Develop or revise learner outcomes;
7. Assess available resources and identify
new resources needed including the reallocation of existing resources;
8. Select and recommend appropriate
instructional materials, including textbooks, supplies, equipment and
audio-visuals, and technology needs;
9. Develop plans for the implementation
and pilot testing when appropriate;
10. Conduct follow-up evaluations of
implemented changes;
11. Identify staff development (in-service)
needs associated with curriculum changes;
12. Make provisions for articulation of
programs between levels of instruction; and
13. Provide appropriate information to Board
of Education members and the community about curriculum topics.
6141(c)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
Meetings
It is expected that each subject area curriculum committee will meet at least twice annually to review and evaluate its curriculum. Meetings are generally held after school on a date that is convenient for most of its members. Committees are encouraged to meet as often as possible in order to complete its work.
Curriculum development is a
professional responsibility that all teachers and administrators must embrace.
The lack of time is often cited as a major reason for the inability to
implement a serious continuous curriculum development program. Many dedicated
staff members have voluntarily served on committees and the administration has,
whenever possible, budgeted funds to remunerate staff members for performing
curriculum work. Staff members cannot be expected to do a total curriculum
renewal project on their own time. It is equally unrealistic to expect that
funds could be available to remunerate all of the necessary curriculum work.
Professional cooperation is needed in this regard from all parties concerned.
Curriculum work will be accomplished
by a combination of committee meetings after school, on school days without
extra pay, meetings on a released time basis as scheduled by the administration
within the budgetary constraints, and summer curriculum work with additional
pay. Funding for paid curriculum work will be reserved for those committees
that may be ready to culminate a renewal project with a concentrated period of
work. Typically, committee members would be paid for curriculum writing during
the summer months.
The format for curriculum writing in
East Haddam will be guided by “The Connecticut Frameworks: K‑12
Curricular Goals and Standards.” The main focus of curriculum documents will be
on learner outcomes which will be a prime responsibility of each subject area
committee.
Any new or revised curricula used in
the East Haddam Public Schools will consist minimally of the following
components:
6141(d)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
1. Statement of philosophy (for the
subject area);
2. Programs goals;
3. K-12 content standards;
4. Learner outcomes stated by grade;
5. Illustrations of classroom activities that may be used to accomplish the standards and learner outcomes.
6. Equipment needed to support the curriculum;
7. Required textbooks and suggested supplemental materials (including AV materials);
8. Technology use;
9. Procedure for evaluating the curriculum; and
10. Other items that may be desired or necessary for a particular subject such as teacher training, teacher resources, vocabulary lists, descriptions of units of study, scope and sequence, scheduling considerations, etc. may be included.
The East Haddam Board of Education is charged with the legal responsibility under Sections 10-220(c), 10-16(b), 10-22(a), and 10-229 of the Connecticut General Statutes for the adoption of all courses, curriculum guides and textbooks in the East Haddam Schools.
Therefore, any significant changes
in curriculum content, objectives and basic textbooks will be adopted by vote
of the East Haddam Board of Education before implementation or use in the
schools.
The establishment of a master
curriculum schedule is critical to the planned, on-going, and systematic
curriculum process in the East Haddam Public Schools. The master schedule
establishes the primary charge to each subject area committee (i.e. revision,
evaluation, textbook adoption, etc.). Development of the master schedule is one
of the major functions of the Curriculum Council.
6141(e)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
The Curriculum Council is charged with the task of developing, reviewing, and revising curriculum with the goal of providing a curriculum which will “set and meet high expectations for academic achievement for all students in order to prepare them for productive adult life, continuing education and responsible citizenship.” (Connecticut Frameworks) The curriculum must attempt to be diligent in its standards and to reach all students according to their abilities and interests. The curriculum process must be continuous in its review of past and present learning experiences and environments and must provide for the current and future educational needs of its students.
In meeting that charge, the Curriculum
Council proposes standards for a curriculum that represents a broad array of
outcomes that should result from an education in the East Haddam Public
Schools, including academic skills and knowledge, social skills, attitudes, and
attributes. These standards allow for differences in abilities, interests, and
aspirations among students and serve to prescribe the highest expectations for
each child. The standards aspire to help students create and attain meaningful
goals and engage in lifelong learning. Reflected in these standards are the
spirit and philosophy of the goals adopted by the East Haddam Board of
Education, the Connecticut Frameworks, and the Common Core of Learning adopted
by the Connecticut State Board of Education. Also embodied in this document is
the Connecticut Common Core of Teaching which is embellished in the East Haddam
Public School’s Professional Development and Teacher Evaluation Plan.
Standards for the East Haddam curriculum include the cornerstones of Aspects of Character, Skills and Competencies, and Understandings and Applications. As a point of reference, these cornerstones, their rationale, and major points of emphasis are as follows:
A positive self-image and self-esteem are crucial to learning. These attributes determine goals, behaviors and responses to others. Furthermore, people depend on and influence one another.
Therefore, it is important that students take responsibility for their lives and set appropriate goals for themselves. In doing so, they develop lifelong attitudes.
1. Responsibility and Integrity
2. Effort and Persistence
3. Intellectual Curiosity
4. Respect
5. Citizenship and Sense of Community
6141(f)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
All educated citizens must possess a core of basic or enabling skills and competencies that provide the critical intellectual foundations for broader acquisition of knowledge. These enabling skills, applied in diverse ways, form the heart of an academic experience as each contributes to the development of understanding within and among disciplines.
1. Writing
2. Speaking, Listening, and Viewing
3. Quantifying
4. Reasoning, Problem Solving, and Creative Thinking
5. Learning Resources and Information Technology
6. Working Independently and Collaboratively
The Curriculum Council is
responsible for overseeing the evaluation of all programs within the East
Haddam Public Schools and to assure that these programs are in concert with the
systems mission and goals. The Curriculum Council will provide the general
framework for the evaluation of all curriculum. Each subject area committee
will be expected to follow these general guidelines to ensure that there will
be proper learner outcomes, coordination of content at each grade level and
effective articulation from grade level to grade level throughout the district.
To accomplish this task, each subject area committee must examine the connection between the written, taught, and tested curriculums. To ascertain whether or not the curriculum is achieving what is expected, subject area committees must ensure that what is written is both appropriate and implemented effectively. The testing component of the evaluation process will measure student outcomes and validate the written and taught curriculums.
The purpose of evaluation is to determine what is working, what is not working, what to change and what to keep. Evaluation is a process used to assess the quality of the educational program. In order to make these determinations, each committee must concern itself with the relationship among the work being done (teaching/implementation), the work design which guides teaching (curriculum), and work measurement (testing/assessment).
6141(g)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
1. A review of content objectives, activities, and materials at each grade level to determine:
a. Teacher usability
b. Cognitive, social, emotional, and physical appropriateness to the learner
c. Accuracy with respect to current research and trends
d. Congruence to the content tested on all tests
2. A determination of the extent to which
these objectives are being appropriately addressed at each grade level,
system-wide.
Student Assessment
Assessment is the ongoing process of collecting information about student learning that provides valuable data from multiple sources to improve both student performance and teacher instruction.
Student learning should be assessed continuously throughout a unit or course of study. Determining prior knowledge and assessing student performance during and at the end of an instructional unit will provide valuable data regarding student understanding.
Data regarding student learning should be gathered using various forms of both formal and informal methods.
The philosophy should reflect a single philosophy K‑12 for the particular discipline.
At a minimum, the goals for each curriculum should be the program goals from the CSDE “Curriculum Frameworks.”
6141(h)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
Each curriculum document should be organized by K‑12 Content Standards as delineated in the “Curriculum Frameworks.”
1. Outcomes & objectives should be stated in measurable terms by grade level.
2. Objectives, when applicable, should reflect the objectives of the CMT, CAPT, etc.
3. The objectives that are ultimately written will constitute the core of the curriculum and should serve as the major point of instructional emphasis.
4. A statement on how students will be assessed on the relevant objectives should be included as well.
1. The suggested activities or class illustrations should appear directly after the objectives and should reflect the instructional context (i.e. best practice methodology and instructional context).
2. This list need not be extensive. It is important, however, to use illustrations whenever the objective requires specific teaching strategies.
VI. Required texts,
supplemental materials, including AV materials (within reason), equipment, and
technology.
Textbook adoption procedures will be identified by the Curriculum Council.
Additional items that are both germane and significant to the curriculum should also be included (such as course description at the high school level, scope and sequence, in‑service recommendations, etc.).
6141(i)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
Skills and competencies cannot be ends in themselves. Unless students have the knowledge and experience needed to apply those learning and develop a fuller understanding of life, their education will be incomplete. Schools must, therefore, accept responsibility for leading students through a body of knowledge and its application. This is what compromises the major content of the curriculum.
1. The Arts
2. Health and Safety
3. World Languages
4. History and Social Studies
5. Language Arts
6. Mathematics
7. Physical Education
8. Science
9. Technology Education
10. Applied Education:
a. School-to-Career Transition
b. Adult Life and Lifelong Teaching
Assessing student attainment of the District’s curricular goals requires the integration of information collected from many sources. These sources include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Teacher Made Criterion Referenced Tests
2. Connecticut Mastery Tests
3. Connecticut Academic Performance Tests
4. Formal and Informal Teacher Observations
5. Follow-up Studies of High School Graduates
6. Commercially Produced Tests by Publishers
7. Performance Assessments
8. Portfolio Assessment
Attention by subject area committees
to both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the curriculum as broadly
detailed above can ensure that graduates of the East Haddam School System have
been well prepared to become responsible citizens.
6141(j)
Instruction
Curriculum
Design/Development/Evaluation
Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes
10‑16b Prescribed courses of study.
10‑16c et seq. re family life education.
10‑17 English language to be medium of instruction.
10‑17 et seq. re Bilingual instruction.
10‑18 Courses in United States history, government and duties and responsibilities of citizenship.
10‑18a Contents of textbooks and other general instructional materials.
10‑18b et seq. re Firearms safety programs.
10‑19 Effect of alcohol, nicotine or tobacco and drugs to be taught. Training of personnel. Evaluation of programs by alcohol and drug abuse commission and department of education.
10‑19a et seq. re Substance abuse prevention team.
10‑24 Course in motor vehicle operation and highway safety.
10‑21 et seq. re Vocational education and cooperation with business
Regulation approved: September 14, 2004 EAST HADDAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Moodus, Connecticut