21 Questions To Ask About Curriculum Development

Written Curriculum

1.  What are the key concepts we will address in this course/grade level?

2.  What are the key skills we will address in this course/grade level?

3.  What are the priority standards for this course? How will we ensure that
these standards are emphasized throughout the year?

4.  Have teachers and administrators unpacked the standards?

5.  What are the soft skills that students need in order to be successful in our
course/grade level and at the next level? How will we teach soft skills?

6.  If I had a son or daughter enrolled in this school district, would I be satisfied
with the written curriculum?

Taught Curriculum

7.  How will we implement the 4 Cs (Critical Thinking, Collaboration,

Communication, and Creativity) in curriculum, instruction, and assessment(s)?

8.  Will we use technology to support teaching and learning? How? What are
the goals?

9.  What is the ratio of compliance vs. contribution in my classroom/school?

10.  Are there opportunities for student-led lessons or is every lesson dictated
by the district’s curriculum and teacher-led?

11.  Are there multiple options for personalized learning throughout the
lesson/unit?

12.  Does the lesson incorporate Accountable Talk or student-led questions

which deepen student understanding?

Assessed Curriculum
13.  How will we measure student understanding?

14.  Are we designing authentic tasks for students?

15.  What is the role of formative assessment in measuring the written, taught,
and understood curricula?

16.  How do we teach for transfer?

17.  Do we have a plan for when students don’t learn?

Learning Space

18.  Does our learning space support student understanding of the key
skills, concepts, and soft skills that our staff has identified as important?

Alignment

19.  When will our grade level/team meet to discuss teaching and learning?

20.  Do we analyze college and career readiness indicators? What is my role in

supporting college and career readiness?

21.  Do teachers have the opportunity to provide ongoing feedback regarding
the school district’s curriculum?

 Based on recent conversations with curriculum design teams, I have found that
a meeting agenda designed around questions can be a powerful tool. Too often,
we enter meetings with our own agenda. By answering questions about
teaching and learning, we are forced to grapple with our current reality. Before
you begin dusting off last year’s lesson plans, ask your team one or more of the
questions above. When educators focus on answering questions, we may find
powerful answers that lead to student understanding.