Giving Compass' Take:

•  Dianne Gizowski, writing for The 74, discusses why professional development, pacing, and parent input are all crucial factors in adopting a new curriculum. 

• What are the challenges that school districts face when providing teachers with adequate professional development training? What are some workarounds for this issue? 

• Read about what education experts think curriculum reform should look like. 

As a staff and curriculum development coordinator for 16 public school districts in upstate New York, I’m excited to see curriculum finally getting the attention it deserves.

In recent years, New York has heavily invested in curriculum development to ensure that classroom materials live up to the college- and career-ready standards our state has adopted. Independent reviewers such as EdReports.org are making the textbook and curriculum industry more transparent.

Amid these important trends, I’ve seen many of the districts I work with become more thoughtful about curricular choices and their implementation in the classroom.  But it’s only the beginning. You can’t just turn the pages of a textbook and expect students to learn.

Before introducing a curriculum to students, teachers have to study it and engage in professional development to ensure they understand the concepts they are teaching. When districts adopt new curricula, school and system leaders must give teachers opportunities to collaborate with other teachers in their grades, to share ideas and support one another. Peer observations, particularly those that are nonevaluative — for learning purposes only — can be especially helpful when adopting a new curriculum.

One of the most common challenges for teachers in their first year with a new curriculum — and something that should be addressed no matter how schools and districts deliver professional development — is getting the pacing right. So, teachers can’t just open a textbook or teacher workbook and go through a curriculum automatically. They have to be thoughtful about what to emphasize and how to tailor the resource to their students’ needs and schedule.

A word of caution to administrators and educators when adopting a new curriculum: Don’t forget parents. Some changes our districts have made over the years have been big leaps for teachers as well as moms, dads, and guardians.

Read the full article about adopting a new curriculum by Dianne Gizowski at The 74