The Passions That Drive Your Journey

This week, I have learned about nine areas that are major wonderings for school leaders. One of the most important wonderings I reflected on this week includes curriculum development. I reflected on a principal's observation of the writing curriculum being conducted at her school:

     Curriculum Development

A principal observed that the teaching of writing at her school had not been explored in depth by her faculty in some time. She hoped to provide opportunities for her faculty to learn more about the teaching of writing, to collaborate across grade levels, and build a writing curriculum that was coherent and aligned with best practices. The principal conducted inquiry based upon if she can build her own knowledge of exemplary writing practice and how she can use learning communities as a tool for the entire campus to use in the transformation of the writing curriculum.

Curriculum development is an important area for action research in schools. Action research in curriculum can help achieve academic excellence. Without sound curriculum, poor content is being delivered to students, resulting in low performance. The best curriculum includes curriculum functions at several levels- state, district, school, and classroom. A principal can utilize action research on curriculum to become an expert with the curriculum and to determine the expertise and knowledge of each teacher. Through these experiences, the curriculum is enhanced and best practices are taking place. (Dana, 2009, pgs. 35-39)