West Clermont Local School District |
Administrative Guidelines |
2210A - CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
The District's curriculum development will be managed through the leadership of Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning.
A. |
Responsibilities |
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1. |
continually evaluate selected areas of the District's curriculum |
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2. |
establish priority areas for revision |
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3. |
establish working committees in the selected areas |
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4. |
maintain liaison with working committees to determine progress and assist with possible problems |
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5. |
determine how best to implement a newly developed or revised course of study including faculty orientation |
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6. |
develop or advise on in-service programs and seminars needed to strengthen and enrich the District's program |
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7. |
establish procedures for effective evaluation of courses of study |
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B. |
Composition (if committee) |
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1. |
Superintendent of Schools - (ex officio) |
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2. |
Chairperson (selected by the Superintendent) |
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3. |
One (1) principal or assistant principal (All principals are invited to participate.) |
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4. |
One (1) teacher from each grade level or subject area. |
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5. |
One (1) representative from Special Education Department |
The chairperson may establish curriculum working committees, define its purpose, and select its members. Each committee will serve as long as deemed necessary and may be reactivated as needed.
Upon approval of the Assistant Superintendent, all new or revised programs, courses of study, and/or course guides will be forwarded to the Superintendent and then to the Board for final approval.
Guidelines for Program Development
In developing or redesigning a learning program, a working committee should use the following questions as planning guidelines to prepare each component designated by the Board in its curriculum policy:
Component #1 - Intended Program Outcomes (Applied Learning) |
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What are the expected results of this program? and/or |
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What will students be able to accomplish as a result of properly completing this program? and/or |
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What kinds of "products" or performances will a student be able to produce or what kinds of situations will a student be able to effectively deal with through integration and application of the knowledge, attitudes, and skills this program should develop? |
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Component #2 - Intended Learnings (Knowledge, Attitudes, Skills) |
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SKILLS |
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What are the skills needed to accomplish the program outcome? |
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Which are new skill areas and which are applications of skills learned earlier? |
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What are the standards (result, time, process, etc.) for performance of each skill needed by the student in order to accomplish the intended program outcome? |
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How will the skills be sequenced? |
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What will be the means for initial assessment of each skill? |
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Is the means both reliable and valid? |
ATTITUDES |
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What particular actions must a student be willing to take consistently, if s/he is to accomplish what this program intends? |
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Which of these are applications of previously formed attitudes and which need to be developed in this program? |
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KNOWLEDGE |
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What concepts and cause/effect principles must a student be able to use in order to accomplish the intended program outcomes? Which of these should the student already have learned? Which will need to be learned or extended during this program? What level of understanding of each is needed for a student to accomplish the program outcomes? |
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Component #3 - Learning Activities |
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SKILLS |
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What will be the nature and frequency of practice? What opportunities will be provided for the student(s) to critique performance of each skill against the established standards? |
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ATTITUDES |
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What will be the means for initial assessment? What activities will be needed to reinforce the current attitudes? |
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What activities will be needed to develop the new attitudes? |
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What opportunities will be provided for the student(s) to assess progress in forming/applying these attitudes? |
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KNOWLEDGE |
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What will be the means for initial assessment? |
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Is this means both reliable and valid? |
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What activities are needed for the student to form or extend his/her understanding of the concepts and cause/effect principles? |
What will be done to provide evidence that the student has developed the necessary level of understanding? |
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ROTATION |
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How will the activities be rotated within a unit between introduction, data-gathering, processing of information, synthesis, and application to ensure maximum opportunity for a student to develop the intended learnings? |
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What are the contingencies when a student fails to accomplish the intended learning(s)? |
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How will the components of the program be sequenced? |
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Is the particular sequence critical to the outcomes or are variations appropriate? If so, what are some of the feasible, appropriate variations in sequence? |
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Component #4 - Methods of Instruction |
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What particular instructional strategies are needed for students to develop each type of learning and then make appropriate applications? |
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Which of these strategies and techniques are the instructors currently able to employ at the needed proficiency level? |
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What kind of assistance will be provided either through the program or through staff development? |
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Will staff development sessions be provided or are instructors expected to make program applications of the strategies on their own? |
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Component #5 - Materials and Resources |
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What materials/resources will be used to provide students with the information needed to develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills? |
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Will texts and other selected materials/resources be analyzed to ensure they contain the appropriate information for these particular learnings? |
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To what extent do the materials/resources allow the student to develop and apply his/her own learning as opposed to memorizing those of the author? |
Do the materials/resources meet the selection criteria for texts and other learning resources established in the District's AG 2510 and AG 2520A? |
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Component #6 - Evaluation |
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See guidelines for Program Evaluation in AG 2605. |
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Component #7 - Financial Needs and Constraints |
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How closely did the actual costs of development/revision match the budgeted costs? |
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Will the costs for implementation stay within those in current and estimated budgets? |
Introduction of New and Revised Courses of Study and Course Guides
In planning for the introduction of a new or revised course of study, it is essential that teachers are properly oriented and prepared to make effective use of the course. In-service programs, provided by District personnel or outside consultants, should include activities related to both the use of the course and the criteria and standards required for proper evaluation of both student outcomes and course utilization.
© Neola 2011