Leading Curriculum Development

Jon Wiles
Copyright © 2009 by Corwin Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wiles, Jon.
Leading curriculum development/Jon Wiles.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4129-6140-0 (cloth)
ISBN 978-1-4129-6141-7 (pbk.)
1. Curriculum planning. I. Title.

LB2806.15.W558 2009

375’.001—dc22 2008021946

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

08 09 10 11 12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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 Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1. Defining Effective Curriculum Leadership
What Is Curriculum?
Curriculum Is the Essential Function
Curriculum Maintenance
Dynamic Curriculum Leadership
School Leaders Must Also Be Curriculum Leaders
The Leader as Helper and Guide
Accepting the Challenge of Curriculum Leadership
Summary
End Notes
2. Basic Tasks of Curriculum Leadership
Defining the Program
Collaborating for Success
Providing the Path
Coordinating Activity
The Leader’s Role
Summary
End Notes

3. Making Curriculum Purposeful

Finding Your School Philosophy
 Techniques for Finding Consensus
If–Then Logic
The Role of Standards and Benchmarks
Clarifying Goals and Objectives
Pre-Assessing School Capacity
Establishing a Destination
Validation as a Critical Element
Summary
Sample Problem and Leader Actions
End Notes
4. Building the School Curriculum Team
Selecting the Team
Using Committees to Activate Change
Small Groups
Conducting Meetings
Conferencing
Other Methods for Effective Communication
Leadership Style and Climate Formation
Achieving Consensus for School Improvement
Summary
Sample Problem and Leader ActionsEnd
Notes

5. Constructing the Path for Curriculum Improvement

Determining the Vision
Clarifying the Steps
The Use of Feedback in Curriculum Work
 Management and Time-Dating Goals
Standards as Boundaries, Not Goals
Summary
Sample Problem and Leaders Actions
End Notes
6. Detailed Planning to Implement Change
Curriculum Mapping
Alignment Criteria
Standards in the Curriculum
An Emerging Blueprint for School Improvement
Planning Tools That Empower
Summary
Sample Problem and Leader Actions
End Notes

7. Curriculum Improvement Means Staff Development

Teachers as the Critical Ingredient
Why Many Teachers Dislike Staff Development
Preferred Staff Development Designs
Assessing Staff Development Efforts
A Word About Adult Learners
Curriculum as the Rationale for Staff Development
Summary
Sample Problem and Leader Actions
End Notes

8. Closing the Circle Through Evaluation

General Functions
 A Generic Design
The Purpose of Evaluation
Eight Areas for Study
Using Technology in Evaluation
Summary
Sample Problem and Leader Actions
End Notes
9. Coordinating Successful Curriculum Work
Some Reasons for Curriculum FailureThe
Elements of a Comprehensive Plan
We’re All in This Together
Planning Tools
Reporting to the Board and Superintendent
Timing Is Everything in School Improvement
Program Evaluation and Review
A Bathtub Filling Up
Boosters That Can Accelerate Change in Schools
Summary
Sample Problem and Leader Actions
End Notes

Resource A. Reproducible Planning Sheets

Resource B. Standard Curriculum Planning Resources
Resource C. Curriculum Resource Sites on the Internet
Resource D. Reading for Greater Understanding
Resource E. Glossary
Suggested Reading
Index
 Preface

T his is a book about how to do curriculum work. Curriculum work is an essential

function of leadership in schools because it is through the curriculum
development process that we identify purpose, define activity, and rationalize decision
making in schools. Curriculum work often separates the poor school from the excellent
school. A school without a defined curriculum can be likened to a ship without a
rudder; it lacks direction and is easily blown off course.
Many different kinds of people in a school can participate in curriculum work,
including building principals, assistant principals for curriculum, department heads,
teaching team leaders, and classroom teachers on special assignment. It is the activity,
rather than the title, that determines who will provide curriculum leadership in an
educational institution. Often, a person may be assigned such a leadership role without
any formal preparation or real understanding. This book guides such people through
the development processes that make up sound curriculum leadership in a school
setting.
There are two distinct conceptualizations of curriculum leadership present in
schools. First, there is a static or managerial kind of curriculum leadership that seeks
to maintain and keep current all existing programs. Examples of static or maintenance
functions are subject-matter reviews, accreditation reviews, and regularly scheduled
in-service programs like the orientation of new teachers. Static curriculum leaders try
to produce a degree of predictability and routine in the day-to-day operation of
schools.
A second and very different kind of curriculum leadership is dynamic (leading).
This leadership focuses on constructing new programs to meet the changing needs of
schools and our society. Adapting the curriculum to the power of new technologies,
for example, requires new and creative ways of thinking about education at a school
site. Dynamic curriculum leaders establish direction, motivate people, and clarify the
steps for changing. In contrast to maintenance leadership, the dynamic curriculum
leader makes things happen; it is a visionary and forceful kind of leadership.
This book addresses both static and dynamic curriculum leadership, but is biased
toward a dynamic role for those involved in curriculum work. I believe that the degree
of change being experienced by our nation, and the world at-large, demands that
curriculum leaders be active and visionary. Upon completion of this book, the reader
will understand both roles of curriculum leadership in a school setting.
ORGANIZATION OF THIS BOOK
The chapters of this book will take the reader from a conceptual understanding of the
curriculum function to the actual construction of school programs. Following a general
curriculum cycle of analyzing, designing, implementing, and evaluating, the reader
will begin with defining purpose in school work and an introduction to the basic tasks
of curriculum work. Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 define effective curriculum leadership
and the basic tasks of curriculum leadership, aligning the reader to the development
process.
Beginning with Chapter 3 and continuing through Chapter 9, the book provides the
reader with detailed methods for bringing curriculum work to life in a school setting.
Clarifying your destination by making the curriculum more purposeful (Chapter 3),
building the school curriculum team (Chapter 4), and constructing the path for
curriculum improvement (Chapter 5) are the prerequisites for successful practice.
Detailed planning (Chapter 6), meaningful staff development (Chapter 7), and sound
evaluation (Chapter 8) are key to the full implementation of curriculum plans. Finally,
in Chapter 9, I provide insights from 30 years of field experience developing
successful school curricula.
The reader will note various tools provided to assist in understanding curriculum
work. In Chapters 3–9, a sample curriculum problem is introduced along with the
identification of tasks required of the curriculum leader. Many of the identified tasks
are illustrated by the 24 reproducible planning sheets in Resource A; these are forms
drawn from real schools and real problems.
In addition to these forms, I have provided the reader with a master list of standard
curriculum planning resources (Resource B), curriculum resource Internet sites
(Resource C), some recommended resources for keeping up-to-date in the field of
curriculum development (Resource D), and a glossary of terms to help the reader
comprehend the literature of this area (Resource E).
As the reader proceeds through this book, the development process in curriculum
work will unfold as a logical and clear way to provide leadership in schools. The
reader will discover that curriculum leadership is a natural kind of activity in school
settings, and that by focusing on school improvement, other day-to-day tasks of leading
will follow effortlessly.