Highlights

Throughout all of my blog posts I have learned more about curriculum in terms of where it is, where it should be, and where it's going. I think that one of the highlights of my blog posts throughout this course was my post about the "collaboration age" and how important it is for education to change along with technology. This is one of the highlights of my blogging thus far because it was at the beginning of this course when I learned just how linear our curriculum currently is. This also connects to a couple other blog posts about my comments on the need for curriculum change, including the post about the depth at which students need, and even demand, this change. I have learned that our students really are "21st century learners." These learners are finding more and more new ways to gather information at the hands of technology, and, as educators, we need to brainstorm ways to utilize these technologies instead of banning them.

This is the second graduate course that I have taken in which the assignments included posting to a blog. I think that if I had my own classroom, I most definitely would be interested in keeping a blog, similar to this one. I think that this is a great way to communicate with other teachers. I would be interested in sharing my experiences in the classroom and reading about others experiences as well. My hope is that, when I do obtain my own classroom, I can utilize my blog to communicate with other educators in a way that is beneficial for myself, my colleagues, my school, and beyond.

Blogging would be a great professional development experience because it is a resource where educators can bounce ideas off one another. Blogging is a give and take, reciprocal kind of resource because not only can you get something out of it for your own use but you can also give your own input and ideas so that others have a resource as well.

Curriculum 21, Chapters 1-4

After revisiting chapters one through four of Heidi Hayes Jacobs' Curriculum 21, I think that the most prominent key ideas are based around the fact that we are now in the 21st century and "as educators, our challenge is to match the needs of our learners to a world that is changing with great rapidity" (Jacobs, pg. 7).

I think that the first four chapters of Jacobs' book are not only about the "21st century learner" but they are also based on a 21st century education. In order for educators to provide these 21st century learners with a 21st century education, reform is necessary. However, I do agree that these ideas that Jacobs conveys are "small steps." We can't change everything all at once, but instead we need to focus on the little steps that we can take to make that transition from an outdated education to a 21st century one.

CCSS

While I agree with a lot of the Common Core, Marion Brady's article about the problems with the Common Core brought quite a few things to light. I don't feel that negatively about the Common Core but I did like some of her perspectives about what it lacks. Brady talks about how we are in a changing world and shouldn't be sticking to a "static strategy in a dynamic world" which reminded me of the discussion in chapter three of Heidi Hayes Jacobs' Curriculum 21. I agree with Hayes and I agree with Brady. We should be asking these questions: "What is essential and timeless? What is not essential or dated?  What should be created that is evident and necessary?" (Hayes, pg. 31). Which way does the CCSS lead us?

Honestly, I don't have the answers. I would say as of right now, I'm indifferent. I don't completely agree with the CCSS, but I don't disagree with it either. There are some things with the CCSS that need to be considered, or maybe reconsidered? I think that moving from the MLRs to the CCSS was a step in the right direction but there is still some fine tuning that needs to take place.

Persistent Curriculum Issue

When beginning this week's assignment, I could think of a few different ways in which I could take this assignment. While I thought about some of the issues in our curriculum, I also went back to the curriculum interview that I conducted with the curriculum coordinator of our district to remind myself what we had talked about in terms of areas of improvement for our curriculum. Ultimately, I decided that the most persistent curriculum issue in our district is the lack of parent involvement and knowledge about how the curriculum works

Overall, I would say that parents in our district don't have a very accurate perception of what our curriculum entails. Our curriculum is not currently readily available to parents or the community. As the curriculum coordinator of our district told me in our interview, this is something that they are working toward. I am looking forward to putting together this assignment to collect my thoughts on how this issue can be dealt with in our district in order to better involve parents and provide them with a comprehensive view of our curriculum.

Curriculum 21 - Chapters 6 and 7

I found chapter 6 of Curriculum 21 to be very eye-opening as to just how much the world has changed since the 20th century - especially in the world of education. Since the beginning of this course, I, along with others in the class, have been involved in discussions about how our education system needs a serious overhaul. Chapter 6 really dives into the idea of "global trends" and how these have affected the world in which we live. This is the same world that we are preparing our students for. In order to prepare them for this, we need to transform our learning systems to equip our students with the knowledge and skills they will need to succeed in this new global era" (pg. 101).

Chapter 7 talks about making the curriculum (and learning in general) more appealing to our students and what we, as educators, can do to make this happen. I really enjoyed the story in this chapter about the 8th grade boy that sought out his principal to teach him something that normally he would not have the opportunity to learn. This tells me that this school is on the right track with implementing a school experience for this student, and others, that is inspiring to him and interests him to a point where he wants to take it one step further. I found some of the ideas in this chapter to be what I would consider a little bit more idealistic than realistic but it is a great place to start and definitely provides me with some great ideas of where to start.

The Myth of Charter Schools

This article by Diane Ravitch really dives right into charter schools and school reform in general. Although I have not seen Waiting for "Superman," I am more than inclined to agree with Ravitch about Guggenheim's seriously slanted depictions of charter schools as well as public schools. Do I agree that there are "bad" teachers in the public school system? Probably so. However, it is just as likely for there to be bad teachers in charter schools as in public schools. As Ravitch says in her article, "There are excellent charter schools, just as there are excellent public schools" (pg. 1) More importantly, teachers are not above contextual factors. Poverty still plays a great role in low test scores and schools that are considered to be "low-performing." This being said, while there is always room for improvement, teachers are not solely to blame for all of the discrepancies in the public school system.

Overall, Ravitch's article is about educational reform. As a nation, we could benefit from strengthening our "teacher force," as Ravitch said in her article (pg. 3). Administrators should become such after years in the field of education. A strong background in education gives administrators the qualifications and expertise needed in order to hire "good" teachers. The idea of this reminds me of UMF, where their goal is to send their education graduates into the field of education as: caring teachers, confident educators, and confident professionals. These are all desirable qualities in the education world, but even the best of the best teachers are bound to face challenges when there are children that live in poverty or with low-to-no parent support/involvement, right?

ASCD Resource

I had not previously heard of ASCD before seeing it listed in the resources, which I suppose is what drew me towards this resource the most. I was very intrigued by this resource because of its unfamiliarity to me. This website is a resource that assists educators to learn, teach, and lead.

This resource provides teachers with online PD opportunities on top of other resources such as conferences and ideas/information about differentiated instruction, common core standards, etc. This non-profit membership organization provides educators with "expert and innovative solutions" to assist them in their learning, teaching, and leading. I really enjoyed learning about ASCD and how it could be helpful, not only to teachers in general, but to myself as well.

Mass Customized Learning

I found the resource about Mass Customized Learning (MCL) to be very interesting. This resource takes you to a website that describes the ins-and-outs of MCL. This is the idea of moving out of the "industrial age" and moving into the "information age." The way I understand this concept is that education right now is very "specific" in terms of what we learn, when we learn, and how we learn. MCL suggests a less specified approach where anyone can learn anything, anytime, anywhere, and in any way.

The Industrial Age involves a time-based approach, while the Information Age is all about learning-based instruction. According to the website, MCL is all about "transformational change." I agree with the premise of this resource. Our outdated education system does need help. This website provides just some of the information from a book titled: Inevitable. I would be interested to read this book, as what I have read on the website has really caught my attention.

Students need change

In Chapter 12 of Curriculum 21, Jacobs talks about how technology and a student's "ability to gather information" (pg. 197) are seeking a change in the classroom. When I was in elementary school, we had old mac computers and the only thing we could do on them was draw pictures and print them out. That is the only form of technology we really had. Now, students have smart boards, iPads, laptops, LCD projectors, and many other technological devices at their disposal. As Jacobs mentioned, choosing a tool to use and how to integrate it may take some extra thought.

Before TV and other multimedia tools, teachers taught the curriculum to their students through textbooks, pictures, maps, and other instructional strategies. Many teachers still teach this way today. this seems like a problem to me. Students are demanding a change in the way that the curriculum is brought to them. They have so many ways to gather information so teachers really need to create new ways to implement the curriculum. As Jacobs said in Chapter 12, "It is crucial to begin looking at what is truly driving change in the 21st century classroom: the students" (pg. 199).

"Commencement means beginning"

Reading Chapter 4 of Curriculum 21 by Heidi Hayes Jacobs really got me thinking about our current "school program structure" and how it would benefit our learners to reinvent and reunite what is currently in place. There was one particular section of this chapter that really stuck with me. This is the section about schedules. To be more specific, the sub-section, "Against Graduation as We Know It." This information left me feeling both inspired and perplexed.

The structure that we currently have in place says that once a student has completed kindergarten through 12th grade, they have "graduated." While there are some exceptions (like retention), students are expected to complete a precise 13 years of schooling. HH Jacobs suggests that perhaps there shouldn't be a set number of years. She says, "We need to give our learners the time that they need to grow and to be ready for launch" (pg. 64). This would seem to benefit any type of student. Students that need a little more time can easily be given an extra year or more to work toward a diploma. On the other hand, for those students that are ready (but have to wait) to move on to higher education, they will be given that opportunity to move on when they are ready. This was what I found to be so inspiring. Now that I have read about this idea, I'm interested in knowing what's next.

I suppose this would be where the "perplexed" feeling comes in. I'm perplexed because I want to know: why (if this makes as much sense as I think it does) are we not moving toward a structure more similar to the one that HH Jacobs describes? What needs to happen for a structure like this to be put in place? I know this isn't just something that can happen overnight, but something needs to change, right?

"The Collaboration Age"

After reading the article titled: "World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others," I was very inspired. I was intrigued by Laura Stockman, an eleven year old blogger. She has so many readers from so many different parts of the world. She is a community volunteer. And all at the age of 11? I'm impressed. What a great way for this developing mind to learn and share her ideas. I suppose this is what the Collaboration Age is all about.

After reading this article, I couldn't help but make a connection back to my own childhood. It might seem like a stretch, but this form of collaboration amongst young children reminded me of having a "pen pal" when I was about her age. Granted, I was writing to one person in another state somewhere, with a pencil and paper, snail mail, and the whole nine yards. Now, Laura (and probably many others her age), have taken it to the next level with blogging. She is collaborating with multiple people at a time, giving and receiving feedback through the Web.

This article suggests that this linear curriculum that surrounds us is on it's way out the door. I can only hope they are on to something. Students are discovering new ways to obtain information. Textbooks are no longer a go-to tool. As technology changes, education needs to be changing with it, especially curriculum.

Curriculum Planning and Development

As a Title I Ed. Tech. (or long term sub), I don't have as much involvement in the planning and development of the curriculum as I would like. My main role is to supplement the curriculum by providing student with extra support.
 
In RSU 64, the math curriculum is based around the Common Core Standards. RSU 64 uses the Envision Math Program to meet these standards. A scope and sequence is created and defined by the grade level teams. My role in this math program is to provide students with extra support, including re-teaching, extra practice, and intervention.
 
The district where I am currently employed uses Lucy Calkins as a guide for the writing curriculum and DWA as the assessment piece. Again, the grade level teams create the scope and sequence for the writing curriculum, basing it off of the Lucy Calkins writing program. All of the literacy topics are decided upon by the grade level teams and literacy coach.

All of that being said, I know how the curriculum is planned and developed in my district, I just am unfortunately not a part of it just yet.