CURRICULUM PERSONNEL INTERVIEW PROJECT

Interview with:

Dr. Corbin Witt

Executive Director of School Improvement USD 305 - Salina

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Speak to anyone in education today, and they will tell you that change is in the air. With the intense pressure of state assessment that the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 set into motion, educators are wondering what does this change mean for their district, their profession, and the students that sit in their classrooms.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Corbin Witt, the Executive Director of School Improvement of USD 305, to find out how his view of curriculum meshed with what I had learned in class and what it means for Salina schools in the future.

Lets talk curriculum!

 Began

as an elementary school teacher

teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, superintendent 305 four years as Executive Director of School Improvement

DR. CORBIN WITT

Lead

USD

DISTRICT

UNIFIED SCHOOL

8th largest in Kansas 7,300 students K-12

8 elementary, 2 middle schools and 2 high schools

305 - SALINA

Learning for all... Whatever it takes!

Curriculum is simply what students should learn and how to help them learn it.

3 TYPES OF CURRICULUM

Written
The document produced by the state education agency, the school system, the school, and/or classroom teacher (Hughes, 2002). This would be the same as the planned curriculum we learned about in Marsh and Willis (2007).
Tyler (2009): It is essential for us to identify the major concepts and skills to be taughtThese educational objectives become the criteria by which materials are selected, content is outlined, and instructional procedures are developed. (p. 70)

3 TYPES OF CURRICULUM

Taught
This would be the The curriculum that same as the the teachers actually enabled curriculum deliver to the we learned about in students (Hughes, Marsh and Willis 2002). (2007).
Eisner likens what happens in the classroom to artistry, whichhe believes teachers actually go about creating varied, meaningful, and satisfying learning opportunities for students (Marsh and Willis, 2007, p. 85)

Dr. Witt stressed that really makes a difference is the taught curriculum. The taught curriculum is the culmination of all the teachable moments and classroom discussions along with the curriculum as it is being enabled.

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3 TYPES OF CURRICULUM

Tested
The curriculum that is embodied in state tests, school system tests, and teachermade tests (Hughes, 2002).

This would be the same as the experienced curriculum we learned about in Marsh and Willis (2007).

Glatthorns view (as cited in Hughes, 2002) is that tested curriculum has a tremendous influence on what teachers teach. Due largely to teacher accountability, teacher focus more on what is in the tested curriculum than what is in the written curriculum.

THE TESTED CURRICULUM AND NCLB

Many are concerned about teaching to the test and some states have actually lowered their standards to make their test results look good (National Education Standards, 2010).

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We dont want to be so focused on state assessments that we dont teach a well-rounded curriculum anymore. It scares me that we will get so focused on the test that we forget we have standards (Dr. Witt).

USD 305s Revising Process

Step 1-Assess which subjects/grade levels need reviewed Ask administrators and department heads if revision is necessary.

Step 2-If revision is necessary, curriculum team is put together. Team is made up of mostly teachers, a couple of principals, and Dr. Witt.

Step 3-Team meets to revise curriculum. The team meets in the summer with compensation or during the school day (a sub is hired).

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Dr. Witt has a great deal of trust and respect for the teachers in the district. The subject area experts are the teachers, so they make up the bulk of the team (Dr. Witt). For curriculum development to result in real change, that change must take place in individual classrooms (Marsh and Willis, 2007, p. 148) so teachers from the classroom are the obvious ones to put on the team.

NATIONAL CURRICULUM COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS INITIATIVE GOOD OR BAD IDEA?

It depends on who you talk to!

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SEVERAL STATES HAVE ALREADY SIGNED ON. KANSAS HAS NOT, BUT DR. WITT THINKS THEY WILL
BY THE END OF THE YEAR

http://www.ascd.org/public-policy/common-core-standards.aspx

I ASKED DR. WITT WHAT HE THOUGHT ABOUT A NATIONAL CURRICULUMHIS ANSWER SURPRISED ME
The more who collaborate and work together instead of everyone trying to create the wheel on their own is a move in the right direction.
He believes it will pushed textbook companies to make national textbooks instead of being aligned to Texas or California as they currently are. He does not see it impacting his job negatively.

One big concern is whether the proposal amounts to a federal takeover of education even though the common standards are being proposed by 48 state governors (National Education Standards, 2010). Proponents of the CCSSI says states may have concerns about these standards but a federal takeover should not be one of them. The best defense against a heavy federal hand is for states to act collectively (National Education Standards, 2010). They made the standards voluntary (National Education Standards, 2010)

NO NEED TO BE CONCERNED!

NOT SO FAST
Voluntary is not the real story.

Flashback to Vermont and the NCLB Act

Tucked into the federal stimulus was the Race to the Top (RTTT) fund, a $4.35 billion pool of money controlled by the U.S. Secretary of Education. To compete for the RTTT dollars, states have to first endorse the CCSSI, and now have to agree to adopt its standards by August 2 (McCluskey, 2010)

Vermont informed the U.S. Department of Education that it did not care to participate in NCLBs standardized testing, it was informed that it would lose its federal educational funding. When it replied that it would accept the loss, it was then told it would also lose all federal aid for highway construction and maintenance. Vermont thereupon capitulated (Marsh and Willis, 2007, p. 63)

WHETHER YOU AGREE WITH CCSSI OR NOTCHANGE IS IN THE AIR.

So

I asked Dr. Witt what he thought precipitated change in curriculum.

Change is so hard because every person has experienced being a student. They think if it was good enough for me, it is good enough for students today (Dr. Witt).

It started in 1983 with A Nation at Risk, in 1987 with America 2000, and a few years later with Goals 2000. Each was designed to work out and install a system of measurable goals and evaluation practices that would ensure that our nation would be first in science and mathematics by the year 2000 (Eisner, 2009, p. 327)

And the competition has not stopped.

UNITED STATES VS. THE WORLD

Concerns

Interesting

The Pisa test results underscore concerns that too few U.S. students are prepared to become engineers, scientists, and physicians, and that the country might lose ground to competitors (Glod, 2007, para. 6).

Gary Philipps of the American Institute of Research (cited by Carey, 2009), broke down TIMSS test scores from 4th grade math test by individual states and then compared them to top performing countries.

A few of our states are on par with the worlds highest performing countries when it comes to educational achievement. Massachusetts in particular stands out, and four other states Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Kansas rank right up towards the top (Carey, 2009).

Dr. Witt gave me a sneak peek into the aims which will be introduced to the district when we return back for inservice in August.

AIMS GOALS, IDEALS, LIFE SKILLS

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Higher order thinking Engaged learner Authenticity Relationships Technology

AIMS for USD 305

There is no EASY button The construction and shaping of a dynamic responsive curriculum are challenging tasks, particularly when we reflect upon the complexity of our times (English, n.d.) But as Dr. Witt shared and we have learned in this class

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Regardless of what the future holds, curriculum in Salina and across the nation will be the driving force behind what students will be learning and curriculum will be shaping the next generation.

References Carey, K. (2009, June 18). USA vs. the world. The quick and the ed - Education sector. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from www.quickanded.com/2009/06/usa-vs-world.html Counts, G. (2009). Dare the school build a new social order?. In D. Flinders & S. Thornton, Eds. The Curriculum Studies Reader (3 ed., pp. 45-51). New York: Routledge. Eisner, E. (2009). What does it mean to say a school is doing well?. In D. Flinders & S. Thornton, Eds. The Curriculum Studies Reader (3 ed., pp. 327-335). New York: Routledge. English, F. (n.d.). Curriculum focuses and connects the work of school professionals. NA. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from http://www.spotswood.groupfusion.net/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/462809/File/D istrictDocuments/Curriculum/DistrictCurriculumDescription.pdf?sessionid=0cec96ffbfd48 2cb767395 bc1cea Freire, P. (2009). Pedagogy of the oppressed. In D. Flinders & S. Thornton, Eds. The Curriculum Studies Reader (3 ed., pp. 147-154). New York: Routledge. Glod, M. (2007, December 5). U.S. teens trail peers around world on math-science test. The Washington Post. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/12/04/AR2007120400730.html Hughes, G. (2002). Aligning curricula and standards in an era of accountability. Laboratory for Student Success, 702, 1-2. Marsh, C. J., & Willis, G. (2007). Curriculum: Alternative Approaches, Ongoing Issues (4th Edition) (4 ed.). Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall. National education standards not a federal takeover of public schools. (2010, March 31). The Christian Science Monitor, n.a.. Retrieved July 7, 2010, from http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2010/0331/Nationaleducation-standards-not-a-federal-takeover-of-public-schools Tyler, R. (2009). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. In D. Flinders & S. Thornton, Eds. The Curriculum Studies Reader (3 ed., pp. 69-77). New York: Routledge.