SREB Training: Prioritzing, Mapping, & Monitoring the Curriculum

On January 19, 2005, from 4-8 pm, and January 20, 2005, all day, leadership teams from 4J elementary, middle, and high schools participated in the "Prioritizing, Mapping & Monitoring the Curriculum" training workshop put on by the Southern Region Education Board. The purpose of this training is to develop knowledge, skills, and commitment among participating school leaders that will make it possible to create and sustain high-performance leaning cultures in our schools. After this portion of intensive training, participants were given follow-up action plans to do, which they will re-visit and refine in the next training session in April. Below is a pictoral overview of the January process.

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SREB trainer Ervin Knezek welcomes participants to the training session.	Sam Tupou, high school curriculum coordinator, introduces himself to his table partner.	Participants from the newly formed Holt Elementary School talk about their goals.
In a group mixer, participants come up with action verbs to describe the talents of their animal (squirrel, rabbit, eagle, duck).	Here are the classes you'll be attending: swimming, flying, running, climbing - how do you think you will do?	The activity leads into a discussion of the kinds of supporting structures their animal will need to meet standards successfully.
Table groups ponder what research says about standards and success - having standards is good, having too many is overwhelming.	So can you prioritize which standards are more important, or which come first...	A report from ABC television demonstrates that Japanese have fewer standards, but they are inquiry based (rather than just memorization) resulting in higher levels of learning.
Successful prioritzation takes collaboration, monitoring of progress, grades based on mastery of standards, as well as standards that are clearly stated, focused, and rigorous.	Priority standards determine what is essential (most critical, 50% of objectives), important (next 30%), and condensed (last 20%, teacher can reduce or possibly eliminate). Plan for the essentials first.	An essential question poses a sstudent learning objective as an inquiry, and invites the student to search for an answer through critical thinking. It leads to understanding, focus, purpose, incentive, and engagement.
What does a good prioritized curriclum look like? What does it contain? Teams examine samples and pick out what's good and bad.	Teams fill out a matrix to report the strengths and weaknesses of the curriclum sample they looked at.	Kay Mehas, Director of the Wallace Grant, stops by to join the discussion.
Reports included whether the curriclum guide was divided by content area and grade level, and whether it showed continuity/support from grade to grade.	Reports were looking for guides that were not textbook-based, but had essential questions that clarified scope, sequence, and depth of learning for students in a meaningful context.	Did the guide indicate whether each standard is essential, iimportant, or covered? Did it inclue consideration of state, federal, and local standard, assessment results, and support long-range planning as well as short-term preparation and clear communication?
The session leader explains that the "unwwrapping" of standards needs to occur before prioritizing.	Unwrapping allows you to determine appropriate instructional methods and instruction.	Unwrapping details exactly what the standard means, sharing a commom understanding.
Unwrapping provides information to facilitate prioritization.	So how might unwrapping hlep my school? What would support or hinder its use?	How could we get started? How does it connect with what we are already doing?